Elon helps students adjust after spending time studying abroad

Angela Ragouzeos / Columnist

Although I find Leanne Jernigan’s Feb. 12 article about study abroad (“Elon study abroad students experience re-entry shock”) true in some indisputable ways; that being thrust back into the confines of our small university setting after studying abroad is a surreal and difficult experience, I still question a few of her suggestions about Elon’s role in helping students readjust to life on campus.

Isn’t there already a class geared toward returning Elon students to help them readjust to the “Elon culture?” Last spring, a class called “Study Abroad: Analyzing Your International Experience” was offered for “...students who have studied abroad and would like to reflect upon and expand their understanding of their experiences overseas in a shared learning setting,” as last year’s course description stated.

So the article’s statement, “Some universities around the country offer programs that help students who are returning to the states with reverse culture shock. Elon does not offer students the chance to receive help or advice on adjusting back to regular life,” is perhaps true now, after having such a course in the past either fail or simply not be re-approved for this year’s curriculum.

I think that the workload of Winter Term is as demanding, if not more demanding, than the normal course load. During previous years at Elon, I’ve taken both a sociology course as well as an art course, neither of which I would have considered easy, as every night I had required reading much longer than that of a spread-out semester. I had projects to complete, papers due, exams that were worth so much I became a nervous wreck.

This past Winter Term, I studied abroad in Greece, and it was as rigorous as I’ve always considered Winter Term to be.

In order to take advantage and learn all I could in three weeks, I found it difficult to enjoy the comfort of a weekend off and some leisure time to enjoy the surroundings. I found that people in the country of Greece where I studied were very different from the students interviewed for Jernigan’s article. The people wore makeup, dressed in normal dress and were not so different from what I am accustomed to seeing people at Elon wear.

I found a considerable amount of work came packaged with my course abroad. I had to read a lengthy book and write a five-page paper during the New Year’s holiday before departing that next Monday. I also had to take notes on lectures and get up before the rest of the country every morning to get on a bus, return for dinner, write in my journal, find enough time to recreate and photograph, and after seeing countless sights and museums, finish up with a 10-page paper on “what I learned.” I can’t imagine a semester being more intense, and I’m taking 19 credit hours this semester between Elon and UNC-Greensboro.

If people are returning from fall term abroad, it is a difficult thing to study only one subject after being exposed to such a variety of observations while living abroad. The best solution then is to take a general studies course related to the country or a subject about another culture that can ease the transition.

“Since Winter Term consists of only one class, returning students are just now feeling the pressure of 16 to 18-hour class weeks,” comments Jernigan. In actuality, I find it a relief that I can do my laundry again, that I can decide when I wake up, how far I’m going to travel and the comfort level of my bed.

I believe after having such a deep and rich overview of what is important in my country of study, I hardly took one course, I took several. I learned art, architecture, history, religion, sociology, business, politics, theater and gained respect for the vast differences and similarities between my home country and the home of my heritage.

Nothing could have prepared me to start at Elon again, because I feel so small in comparison to what is out there for me to learn.

If students struggle with being reacquainted with their surroundings, perhaps they should consider timing when they travel abroad. A five-week summer course leaves all the month of July and half of August to readjust to life back home.

Spring courses may be better for students not quite ready to immerse themselves in a three-week Winter Term course. I would just be careful not to compare the experiences of semester and winter studies.