Back home to foreign feelings
A new sprint class helps Miami students get used to the familiar
Alaine Perconti
Issue date: 11/17/09 Section: Features
Imagine not being able to go out to eat at 45 East on a Friday or stop for Bagel and Deli after an exciting night uptown. When you study abroad, many things you're used to at Miami University aren't around, like being able to go out to eat at night because restaurants close early. Students in Oxford take many things for granted, such as the close proximity to classes, entertainment and friends. But when you travel to a different country you expect things to be different. The language, customs and food are unfamiliar and take some getting used to. What most people don't expect is to feel just as out of place when they return to the United States. When students at Miami study abroad, they can experience a reverse culture shock after arriving back at home.
Jacqueline Rioja, assistant director of the Center for American and World Cultures, helped create an interdisciplinary studies course with her colleagues to help students cope with the readjustment process after a study abroad experience.
A class to cope
Rioja said the class is in a three semester trial period and emerged from a need from the student body.
Three years ago, the need became apparent during the round table discussions put on by the International Education Study Abroad Initiative. During these discussions students were given a place to share their study abroad experiences with others and reflect on what they had learned while abroad. There was an overwhelming response to these discussions; even Provost Jeffrey Herbst
attended a few. The problem was round tables were not frequent enough and students requested more opportunities to express how they felt after studying abroad. As a result, this class was created to maximize students' study abroad experiences.
The class is open to students who have studied abroad both through Miami University and through outside programs. The class features projects and group work that emphasize reflection and expression and culminates with an interest project that integrates each student's academic and professional goals into the reflection on their experience.
Rioja said the goal is not only to share with the class, but to make it public so part of the interest project includes public exhibition of the project in some way. Her hope for the class is that the students gain a global perspective and understand how to use their international education after returning to the States.
Honeymooners
When students return from a study abroad experience they encounter a warm welcome and can enjoy sharing stories from their trip.
Jennifer Rybski, first-year adviser in Thompson Hall, said it doesn't take long for friends and family to tire of the stories because it is difficult for them to relate. Students can then experience what is called a "reverse culture shock" when a returning student begins to recognize the changes he or she has gone through while abroad and also how "home" is now different.
"It's your memory, not everyone else's and you can't make it their memory," Rybski said.
Rybski said she shares her story with the class as an example of the re-adjustment process. She studied abroad in France and experienced many of the same feelings that students have during study abroad and during the aftermath.
"I knew things would be different, but I didn't know how different," Rybski said.
Like Rybski, many students said they experienced different ripple periods of adjustment - the shock of a new country, getting adjusted, the honeymoon period after returning home and the shock of having to readjust to something as familiar as your own home.
Laura in Luxemburg
One of Rioja's students, junior Laura Brady, studied in Luxemburg for a six-week period in summer 2009. During such a short period, she didn't expect much to change, but to her surprise she noticed a big difference after returning home. In Europe, she was used to a fast-paced traveling lifestyle, but back in America she found herself bored with everyday activities.
"No one really understood," Brady said.
She said she didn't know what to expect from the class when she signed up for it this semester, but is very pleased with how it is helping her in her re-adjustment period.
Brady said she found the reflection side of the class helpful.
"I've never really put down on paper all my feelings about the study abroad experience before," Brady said.
After visiting European cities like Amsterdam and Florence, she is now able to reflect on what she has learned from those experiences. Brady said a photo essay project she is working on for class has helped her synthesize her experience. She said the project has allowed her to reflect on themes like misconceptions about Europeans and sharing cultures with other people.
Sarah in Santiago
Senior Sarah Quaint has studied abroad multiple times and was able to compare the two re-adjustment periods before she took the class and now, when she's currently enrolled.
She has studied abroad in Chile twice, the first time as an exchange student while in high school and a second time as a Redhawk. Her first experience was staying with a Spanish-speaking host family in a small town before she spoke Spanish. Quaint said she had her first culture shock that year. The language barrier, she said, was the most difficult part of adjusting to living in a different country.
"It was so great to be home, for about a week," Quaint said.
Her friends and family had no way to relate to her stories and she said it was difficult for her to wrap her head around how much she had changed while away. A few years later with three years of Spanish class under her belt, Sarah returned to Chile, this time to live in the big city of Santiago. She had an idea of what Chile was and what it was like to live there, but still experienced new challenges in a different environment. One of the things she noticed in Santiago was the lack of discourse about issues like gay rights and political correctness.
Sarah returned home in July expecting an easier re-integration period because of her previous trips abroad and this time she had a new ally, IDS 156. She said she is enjoying the class because the readings have outlined the same feelings she has.
"It's good to know that the feelings I've had are justified," Quaint said.
Class readings include selections from The Big Guide to Living and Working Overseas by Jean-Marc Hachey, Maximizing Study Abroad by R. M. Paige and The Art of Coming Home by Craig Storti.
Another way the class helps students cope with the transition is through discussion with others classmates. In class, students engage in group work and share common ground based on their study abroad experiences.
Another IDS 156 student, senior Laura Flamm, was looking forward to hearing other students' reactions to their time abroad. Laura chose an independent study home-stay program in South Africa in spring 2009.
"I learned a lot of things you can't necessarily put on a test," Flamm said.
It is important to Rioja that all students are given the chance to express their feelings and accomplishments after study abroad.
"It's not just about going abroad but about gaining a global perspective," Rioja said.
Jacqueline Rioja, assistant director of the Center for American and World Cultures, helped create an interdisciplinary studies course with her colleagues to help students cope with the readjustment process after a study abroad experience.
A class to cope
Rioja said the class is in a three semester trial period and emerged from a need from the student body.
Three years ago, the need became apparent during the round table discussions put on by the International Education Study Abroad Initiative. During these discussions students were given a place to share their study abroad experiences with others and reflect on what they had learned while abroad. There was an overwhelming response to these discussions; even Provost Jeffrey Herbst
attended a few. The problem was round tables were not frequent enough and students requested more opportunities to express how they felt after studying abroad. As a result, this class was created to maximize students' study abroad experiences.
The class is open to students who have studied abroad both through Miami University and through outside programs. The class features projects and group work that emphasize reflection and expression and culminates with an interest project that integrates each student's academic and professional goals into the reflection on their experience.
Rioja said the goal is not only to share with the class, but to make it public so part of the interest project includes public exhibition of the project in some way. Her hope for the class is that the students gain a global perspective and understand how to use their international education after returning to the States.
Honeymooners
When students return from a study abroad experience they encounter a warm welcome and can enjoy sharing stories from their trip.
Jennifer Rybski, first-year adviser in Thompson Hall, said it doesn't take long for friends and family to tire of the stories because it is difficult for them to relate. Students can then experience what is called a "reverse culture shock" when a returning student begins to recognize the changes he or she has gone through while abroad and also how "home" is now different.
"It's your memory, not everyone else's and you can't make it their memory," Rybski said.
Rybski said she shares her story with the class as an example of the re-adjustment process. She studied abroad in France and experienced many of the same feelings that students have during study abroad and during the aftermath.
"I knew things would be different, but I didn't know how different," Rybski said.
Like Rybski, many students said they experienced different ripple periods of adjustment - the shock of a new country, getting adjusted, the honeymoon period after returning home and the shock of having to readjust to something as familiar as your own home.
Laura in Luxemburg
One of Rioja's students, junior Laura Brady, studied in Luxemburg for a six-week period in summer 2009. During such a short period, she didn't expect much to change, but to her surprise she noticed a big difference after returning home. In Europe, she was used to a fast-paced traveling lifestyle, but back in America she found herself bored with everyday activities.
"No one really understood," Brady said.
She said she didn't know what to expect from the class when she signed up for it this semester, but is very pleased with how it is helping her in her re-adjustment period.
Brady said she found the reflection side of the class helpful.
"I've never really put down on paper all my feelings about the study abroad experience before," Brady said.
After visiting European cities like Amsterdam and Florence, she is now able to reflect on what she has learned from those experiences. Brady said a photo essay project she is working on for class has helped her synthesize her experience. She said the project has allowed her to reflect on themes like misconceptions about Europeans and sharing cultures with other people.
Sarah in Santiago
Senior Sarah Quaint has studied abroad multiple times and was able to compare the two re-adjustment periods before she took the class and now, when she's currently enrolled.
She has studied abroad in Chile twice, the first time as an exchange student while in high school and a second time as a Redhawk. Her first experience was staying with a Spanish-speaking host family in a small town before she spoke Spanish. Quaint said she had her first culture shock that year. The language barrier, she said, was the most difficult part of adjusting to living in a different country.
"It was so great to be home, for about a week," Quaint said.
Her friends and family had no way to relate to her stories and she said it was difficult for her to wrap her head around how much she had changed while away. A few years later with three years of Spanish class under her belt, Sarah returned to Chile, this time to live in the big city of Santiago. She had an idea of what Chile was and what it was like to live there, but still experienced new challenges in a different environment. One of the things she noticed in Santiago was the lack of discourse about issues like gay rights and political correctness.
Sarah returned home in July expecting an easier re-integration period because of her previous trips abroad and this time she had a new ally, IDS 156. She said she is enjoying the class because the readings have outlined the same feelings she has.
"It's good to know that the feelings I've had are justified," Quaint said.
Class readings include selections from The Big Guide to Living and Working Overseas by Jean-Marc Hachey, Maximizing Study Abroad by R. M. Paige and The Art of Coming Home by Craig Storti.
Another way the class helps students cope with the transition is through discussion with others classmates. In class, students engage in group work and share common ground based on their study abroad experiences.
Another IDS 156 student, senior Laura Flamm, was looking forward to hearing other students' reactions to their time abroad. Laura chose an independent study home-stay program in South Africa in spring 2009.
"I learned a lot of things you can't necessarily put on a test," Flamm said.
It is important to Rioja that all students are given the chance to express their feelings and accomplishments after study abroad.
"It's not just about going abroad but about gaining a global perspective," Rioja said.
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