bringing it all back home!

I used this CNN article about reverse culture shock to remind me of the reverse culture shocks I have felt in my life of which I am still living with the aftershocks. 
on my travels I remember it was not so much the shock of going to the developing world that was a shock, (with years of prep I think intercultural travel and paradigm shifts are somewhat easier) it was returning to our affluenza, the degree of materialism in the United States, and the (by comparison to most central and south American cultures) rude and brash individualism.
This CNN article explains the difficulties of returning home after living aboard for long periods of time. Not just in terms of what the cross culture traveler has missed with current events, but also integrating to the pervading changes and differences all around. When the travel to the other culture has been long enough the travel, and living in the other cultures area will usually change the traveler which again increases the challenge of adapting to living life as it is lived in the home culture.
The idea of the language barrier can be a tricky one also going both ways. The article I chose also describes some tools and techniques to integrate with the home country and deal with reverse culture shock after long trips abroad. The conclusion bares repeating, long term travel changes you. Cultures change each other, and people adapt sometimes it just takes longer for healthy changes to process themselves out for each cultural traveler.

According to Chen and Starosta, the W pattern curve is too U shaped curves together usually represents the process of reentry or reverse culture shock, as Chen and Starcosta explain that: this double u pattern is the “pattern (that shows) sojourners readjustment to their own culture. The W- curve pattern suggests that when we return home, we must proceed through the four stages of the U Curve pattern once again. (honeymoon, crisis, adjustment, biculturalism)  ” Although we may experience less trauma and adopt faster when we readjust to our own culture, culture shock is again inevitable.” (p. 174) Chen and Starcosta go on to explain Kohls steps oh how to help “sojourners” reenter or reintegrate with their home cultures.
Arasaratnan in his text: Perceptions and communication in Intercultural spaces (2011) writes that the sojourner returning from a host country “discovers that time has elapsed in his (or her) absence his (or her) friends have had new shared experiences that did not include him (or her), and possibly they are neither interested in nor capable of understanding the new insights he (or she) has had from being exposed to a different cultural environment.”  (p. 69)
It is important that we don’t forget to prepare ourselves for what awaits us when we travel no matter where from or to in our diverse and uniquely cultural world! Even if what we are doing is just coming home.

References:

Arasaratnam, L. (2011). Perceptions and communication in intercultural spaces. Lantham, Maryland: University Press of America.


Anjarwalla, T. (2010, August 26). Dealing with reverse culture shock. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/08/24/cultural.reentry/index.html

Chen, G., & Starosta, W. (2005). Foundations of intercultural communication. Lantham, Maryland: University Press of America.