Six Helpful Questions to Reflect On Your Experience Abroad

Studying overseas can bring about a whirlwind of emotions not only prior to departure and during your stay, but also afterward when returning home. No matter the amount of time you’ve been abroad, it’s important to reflect back on your experiences and appreciate the life-changing moments you’ve had while traveling. 

Returning home from studying abroad is a period when students reconnect with loved ones and best friends back home, while acclimating to changes in your lifestyle and routine, such as your school, workplace, living situation, etc. Reverse culture shock comes with processing the emotions that surface when travelers re-enter their home country and learning how to fit back into their home culture, which can be difficult and stressful. Sometimes, the process of re-adapting to home can be more arduous than when you first adjusted to your host culture! This process is unique for everyone, and it’s advised to be mindful of it upon return. 

The person you are now since returning from studying abroad is not the same person who left a handful of months ago. You’ve had so many incredible moments packed into a short span of time, that you might not have had much downtime to really think about everything. Carving out time to unpack your experience and reflect about all you did and learned is important.

Below are six helpful questions to help get you started on your own reflection:

1. What did you discover about yourself?

Personal change and growth is crucial to reflect upon when adapting to your old home. You most likely experienced challenges, differing values or worldviews, not to mention being immersed in a brand-new culture, differing academics, having newfound independence, and so much more. Personally, you may have matured and gained confidence. 

Change and growth also occurs in new environments, such as foreign language skills, problem-solving skills, new subjects, and efficiencies used in daily life within your host culture. Regardless, studying abroad undoubtedly changed you in numerous ways! 

2. How can you extend these skills into a professional setting? 

Did you know that skills learned while abroad can be transferable into the workplace? Use your international experience to your advantage, because those skills have real world implications!

While overseas, you developed a plethora of skills that are cross-cultural, such as establishing rapport quickly, adaptability, critical thinking, and patience. Reflect upon your experience and skillset to better understand how studying abroad has improved your abilities in and out of the classroom. 

3. Consider the people you met along your journey. What did you take away from them? 

An additional way to reminisce is understanding how others you met made a lasting impact on your life. Think about teachable moments, adventures, connections, strong bonds and friendships, or even how your homestay has become family. 

Appreciation for those who’ve supported and celebrated you should not be overlooked. Certain people come into our lives at certain points, and they’ve made up a major part of your study abroad journey as well. With appreciation comes gratitude, you might consider thanking those at home and those abroad for being a part of your journey, too. 

4. What surprised you the most about your experience? 

What’s something you didn’t expect to learn from your time abroad? Life is full of expectations, and studying abroad is no exception to that rule. Aside from learning the local way of life and a second language, what other opportunities have you taken in during your time away? 

Your greatest lessons can also teach those around you about your host culture and study abroad in general. What habits have you adopted from your host country? After living in another culture for a while, some of those habits might also return home with you. Did you adopt certain mannerisms, preferences, or behaviors abroad? 

5. What did you learn from a challenging situation you faced? 

How did particular instances challenge who you were, and how did you overcome them? Be proud of who you have become because of it. Maybe you’ve increased your sensitivity to cultural differences, and have a deeper appreciation of global diversity. As you’ve dealt with the challenges of living abroad and understanding a new culture, you’ve successfully embraced the challenge of conquering a language barrier, being away from those familiar to you, and staying motivated during your time abroad.

6. How can you best describe your experience to others who haven't lived it? 

Navigating a response when someone asks, “How was your study abroad program?” can be tough. How might you include moments of joy, anxiety, adventures, challenges, and friendships all in one answer? Embrace your truth and feel free to share any specific or general experiences as you see fit. 

Your answer could simply be, “Study abroad was great!” and while this is probably true, oftentimes the listener wants to hear stories that really bring your experiences to life. If someone is asking you about your time abroad, they’re looking for interesting answers too! Being honest about how things were overseas can be important as well, therefore express the beauty you saw, places you visited, and your biggest takeaways from your journey. In short, live through the adventures you’ve experienced through the stories that you recount and relive to others.

Returning home is a crucial component to your overall study abroad experience. Things will feel different, and it can be challenging having to readjust back to your routine. After you’ve returned home, you might begin to miss the people you’ve met, local cuisine, and tons of little things you loved about your host country.

The most important thing you can do for yourself when dealing with re-entry is simply giving yourself an adequate amount of time to readjust. Dedicate real time to reflect on how you can continue to take on new challenges as a global citizen, reflect on how much you’ve changed, and see how you can invest your time to continue learning and growing. 

For additional advice on holding onto experiences once you’ve returned home, check out “Five Ways How I Keep My Study Abroad Experience Alive” by EdOdyssey Alum, Jake Leary!