Bitter-sweet reentry after studying abroad

This qualitative study was conducted to explore reentry experiences of U.S. college students and to provide possible explanations for those experiences. Study participants took part in a semester or year-long study abroad program organized by a Midwestern public research university and shared their experiences through semi-structured interviews and an online survey. The major finding was that the participants reported a wide range of experiences during reentry, instead of just the challenging side mostly present in the literature. This study suggests approaching reentry from a more inclusive perspective and possibly describing it as “bitter-sweet” – the phrase used by several interviewees.The “bitter” side of the reentry was connected with students’ sense of loss over the people, experiences, and cultural environment they encountered while abroad; their inability to communicate their intercultural experiences to people at home who did not have similar experiences; and developing a critical lens toward U.S. culture. These findings support the existing literature on the challenging side of reentry experiences. The “sweet” side was connected to students’ reuniting with people, experiences, and elements of their home culture they missed while being abroad; communication with people who had similar intercultural experiences and could understand the need of the returnees to talk about their experiences; and developing an appreciative lens toward U.S. culture. These findings add to the very limited amount of literature on the positive side of reentry and provide explanations of those experiences that were almost lacking in the literature. Recommendations for future researchers and implications for practitioners are provided.