Difficulties in returning home

By Doug Ancey

Study abroad has become an integral part of students' experiences here at Santa Clara. According to Assistant Director of Study Abroad Programs Vidalino "Vid" Raatior, anywhere from 80 to 90 percent of Santa Clara's junior class studies abroad during the fall quarter each year in various destinations around the globe. However, the transition back to U.S. college life can be stressful and take its toll on the returning student.

"Being back at SCU has definitely been more stressful than being abroad," says junior Andrea Dlugos, who recently returned from studying abroad in Rome, Italy this past quarter. "It was definitely a shock having to come back and start doing work again. Being in the library on the first week of school was a little depressing."  

What most students experience upon coming back is the "reverse culture shock" of returning to their home country after living abroad for three months or more. "I wasn't ready to come home," said John McCorkle, a junior who studied abroad in Grenada, Spain during the fall quarter. "You immediately form a pretty tight-knit group with the other American kids who are studying in your city, and you really only have a short period of time to take in your surroundings and/or travel to these amazing cities."

Dlugos said "The travel was a major aspect of my experience. I mean, studying in Rome, which has a major international airport, you could fly two hours in any direction and be in another city, in another country. It was unreal."

Traveling every weekend either within the country where you're studying or to other countries may seem like it takes away from students' study habits, but the work load abroad compared to that of Santa Clara is very minimal and allows for students to travel almost every weekend, should they choose to do so.

"Most people don't really go abroad for the school work aspect of it," says Dlugos, "they go for the culture experience and the independence you get from it. For the most part, the work in Rome really only picked up around midterms and finals."

According to McCorkle, "In Grenada, we didn't even have class on Fridays, and when you get there, you have nothing to do the first two weeks because instead of class the study abroad programs have adaptation courses and things like that so that students can get to know their surroundings."

Acclimating back to a rigorous academic schedule can be a struggle for some students. Raatior said, "It can be hard for students to jump right back into day-to-day life at Santa Clara after being abroad for the entire quarter. Everybody goes through a re-adjustment period when they return home and that culture shock or ‘reverse culture shock' can be minimal or in some cases severe, where students fall behind with their schoolwork.

"Students experience things in their time abroad that may have challenged who they are, their identity, or their views of their own country, or even their own campus. It's a good thing really, we encourage that type of learning, but at the same time, the re-entry students face is challenging."

In addition to study abroad counselors, who are available for students both before and after study abroad, the university offers services for students who are having trouble readjusting to campus life. The International Club (look for them on Facebook), which is run by senior Claire Smith, holds events both on and off campus and allows study abroad students to interact with one another and share their experiences. The club is also open to exchange students studying here at Santa Clara.

Santa Clara's study abroad website also has resources available to students. These include questionnaires, open forums, tips to get involved in the international community, as well as tips for returning students. The study abroad offices also plans a re-entry day each year for students returning home.

Contact Doug at dancey@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4546.