After abroad: students find return to Tufts challenging

While studying abroad requires difficult adjustments -- learning new languages, adjusting to new cuisines, and making new friends -- coming home is rarely any easier. Upon returning to the States, many students step into unfamiliar territory or "reverse culture shock."

Senior Paul Kresser, who returned from Greece, found the transition difficult. "A lack of change at home was what made readjusting really hard," he said. "I had just experienced something incredible and came back to my home life where everything was predictable, and this was very hard to articulate -- what exactly had changed inside you -- to someone who hadn't ever left in the first place."

The Tufts Office of Programs Abroad recognizes the stress that students may undergo as they reacquaint themselves with life in America as well as life at Tufts. In order to ease students into this readjustment process, the Study Abroad office holds academic advising sessions to troubleshoot any scheduling, credit transfer or registration concerns.

A welcome back dinner and discussion is also held about a month after students return to Tufts. At this event, students are able to share stories and photographs from their various programs and experiences. A Counselor from the Counseling Center also attends the dinner in order to introduce students to the idea of reverse culture shock.

"Everyone has experienced so much, and changed so much, that it's important to make that connection with others," Sheila Bayne, the Associate Dean of Study Abroad, said. "I noticed some conversations between students getting very deep and emotional."

Junior Seth Keim attended this dinner after returning from Melbourne, Australia. "It was really nice to see a lot of new and familiar faces and to hear about everyone's semesters," Keim said. "It really helped to talk to friends who had also studied abroad because I was able to connect on some level with them, even if we weren't on the same program."

Often upon their return, students can feel depressed and alienated from life on campus and their old friends. "When you come back from abroad you don't go back to who you were before you left," said Julie Jampel, Senior Staff Psychologist at the Counseling Center. "It involves a process of finding your place again, which sometimes can be extremely difficult."

Senior Erica Hirsch agreed. "I never really did fully adjust to being back," she said. "I never wanted to remove myself from the experience, which I couldn't express properly to friends from home. I went from waking up to the skyline of Jerusalem to waking up in Somerville-it was not necessarily something I looked forward to."

Hirsch feels so adamantly about her connection with Israel that she plans to move their after graduation.

According to Jampel, the ability to surpass the possible feelings of depression, isolation and lack of motivation is something that comes with time.

"Each person needs time to settle down," Jampel said. "You need to use your time as an opportunity to reevaluate what is important and what you want to be doing."

According to many students, in order to conquer the restlessness of readjustment, it is helpful to get involved with extracurricular activities. "I had an easier adjustment than most because I came back to the swim team," senior Jamie Meyers said. "Returning to a sport was helpful because it threw me into a routine again."

Another common reaction upon returning from abroad is a disappointment with American culture. "I began to question a lot of American values," said senior Melanie Yasner, who traveled to London last year. "I started to look at our role in the world very differently."

"When I first got back, I just realized that the Greek culture excited and interested me a lot more than American culture," Kresser said. "I just liked it better over there-it was not as monotonous as [the U.S.]."

Students and administration both agree that an integral part of making a smooth transition from abroad to Tufts is to make sure to remain familiar with the culture one leaves behind.

"People seem to think that when you return from abroad, you leave your experience behind," Bayne said. "We encourage students to embrace their semesters or year abroad and make them parts of their lives here at Tufts."

"I try to read The Economist-stay more up to date with the world," Yasner said. "I also try to stay in touch with my two roommates from London. I got very attached to my life there, so I do my best to integrate parts of my life in London to parts of my life at Tufts."

Keim maintains a similar attitude. "I didn't realize how attached to the culture I had become," Keim.said "I wish I had more contact with Australians so I could keep in touch with them all the time. I know when Australian Rules Football season comes around I will be checking out the websites of Melbourne newspapers to keep up with the sport."