Pre-Arrival Information

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Going Home Checklist

Reflection Questions

Coping Strategies

Resources on Re-entry

Reentry: Suggested Coping Strategies

The following are strategies to help you deal with various re-entry issues you might be faced with and helpful ways to turn your overseas experience into lifelong learning.

Personally, you can try to ....

• Make sure to take time to ask your family and friends what has happened in their lives while you were gone.
• Befriend other people who have had an intercultural/international experience.
• Keep in touch with your friends, professors, co-workers, advisor(s) and supervisor(s) in Minnesota.
• Be patient with yourself and others.
• Be careful about generalizing about how Americans think and feel, and be clear about speaking from your own point of view.
• Understand that it is ok and only natural to compare cultures, but try not to be too negative or boastful. Rather, focus on adopting positive aspects of both cultures for yourself.
• Remember that “home” is within yourself; there is always a choice which set of cultural values you will use in any given situation.
• Find creative ways to keep up with your English skills, such as watching American movies, and reading books, magazines or newspapers in English.
• Use your English skills in a helpful way with others.
• Meet with a career counselor to go over your resume and career options to include your international experience and your newly acquired skills in a culturally appropriate manner.
• Begin job hunting in your home country before you return home. You can try to find a job with a multinational company or a company that has opportunities for bilinguals.

In your community, you can try to ....

• Volunteer to give a presentation about your experience in the U.S. to a local school in your home country.
• Check with local study abroad recruitment services and/or universities to see how you can help recruit students to study overseas.
• Volunteer to help at a local university orientation for international students.
• Join an English club and/or befriend other English speakers.
• Volunteer to help teach English at a school or to family members and friends.
• Organize a gathering of fellow U of M alumni.
• Volunteer to become a host family or language partner for an international student.
• Join a professional organization in your field.
• Join a local organization that advocates for a political or social cause that you support.