Your travel experience does not end as you board the plane home – in fact, there are still many important things to do and be prepared for upon your return. After being away from home for so long and having so much freedom and independence, it may be strange to hear that the hardest part of your experience may be settling back in!

Here are some useful tips about how to deal with Reverse Culture Shock if it strikes.


1 Stay busy! Throw yourself back into life at home and catching up with family and friends – don’t give yourself time to get bored!

2 Relive the memories! Make a record of your experiences so you can keep them fresh in your mind – make a photo album, a scrapbook, reread your diary.

3 Keep in contact! Stay in touch with the friends you made on your travels. Facebook, Twitter, Skype, snail mail – keep the contact with these friends and share the memories.

4 Talk about it, but not too much! No doubt you’ll be dying to tell your family and friends all about your experiences, but try not to rub it in how much you’ve done, whilst not much has happened back home for them. So share your tales, but don’t go on about it too much!! You don’t want to make them too jealous!

5 Travel…again! After the initial excitement of coming home you’ll probably get itchy feet again for more adventures. If you’ve got some money left, go away again soon to get over your travel withdrawal symptoms. Strapped for cash? Your new-found taste for travel will give you the drive to go about creating more opportunities to do it.

For more information on reverse culture shock, check out the following websites

Safegapyear
Studentsabroad