Box 2.

Sample case study from PGGH part 3: readjustment and adaptation section.

Melissa returns to school and is excited to see her classmates and friends again. However, she struggles with telling others about her experiences over the summer. They ask questions such as ‘How was Uganda?’ She struggles with a simple answer, but they do not seem interested in anything longer than a one word or sentence answer. She is struck by how much money her friends spend eating at restaurants. Thinking of how little money her NGO had to spend feeding so many hungry orphans, she feels guilty and selfish spending so much on herself As classes begin, Melissa feels bored by the daily routine of lectures and wonders why she is doing this and if it really matters compared to the work she was doing this past summer. She finds herself pulling away from friends and family, spending more time alone Symptoms of reverse culture shock (abbreviated) Family, friends, and old routines bore you after your excitement and challenges abroad You’re irritated by inane questions about your experiences and answer sarcastically You feel that you can’t fully explain your experience or its importance You feel alienated and experience ‘reverse homesickness’ for your host country You constantly criticize your own culture in comparison with where you’ve been