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Home arrow Going Abroad arrow Returning Home
Returning Home PDF Print

Coming home and returning to Ohio State is sometimes just as challenging as leaving. This section contains important information for returning study abroad students.
 

Study abroad program evaluation

OIA wants and needs to hear about your experience abroad and learn how we can better prepare future participants. Therefore, OIA asks each study abroad participant to complete a written evaluation of their study abroad program.  After your program concludes, you will be sent an email that will provide you with instructions to complete an anonymous, online evaluation.

Please give the evaluation careful consideration. We want to hear your suggestions, criticisms, and what to do/not do next year ideas. The evaluation form is a valuable tool that we will use to improve our study abroad programs, so your input is essential. We thank you in advance for your cooperation in completing the evaluation form.
 

Processing your study abroad credit

There are two key steps in getting your study abroad credit transferred quickly to Ohio State: a) obtain credit evaluation for the courses you took abroad from the pertinent academic department at Ohio State, and b) make sure a transcript is sent to your Study Abroad coordinator responsible for your overseas program. See Study Abroad Credit Evaluation on page 20 for further information.
 

Where to live at Ohio State

You will need a place to live after you return from your study abroad program. OIA recommends that you make housing arrangements well in advance of your return to the United States. If you wish to live in an Ohio State residence hall when you return, then you should contact Ohio State Housing Services before you leave for your study abroad program.
Ohio State Housing Services
350 Morrill Tower
1900 Cannon Dr.
Columbus, OH 43210-1290
(614) 292-8266

You may want to consider living in International House, a residence hall for both international and domestic students, who share an interest in international travel and culture. International House features international programming and social events. For information about off-campus housing options, you should contact:
Off-Campus Student Services
(614) 292-0100

Off-Campus Student Services is temporarily located at 1836 N. High St. (corner of High Street and 15th Avenue).


Re-Entry and ways to stay involved internationally

When you return home, you will be entering the last stage of cultural adjustment called the re-entry phase. For some people, re-entry may be challenging. Study abroad students often find that they themselves have changed a great deal. For many people, the process of re-entry is greatly eased by sharing the overseas experience with like-minded and/or interested people. Seek out other students who have returned from studying abroad and international students, especially those from the country from which you have just returned.

Your study abroad experience has also provided you with new skills that will assist you both personally and professionally. OIA offers a booklet, “Back on Campus, Now What? A Survival Guide for Study Abroad Returnees,” for all students after they return from their programs. This booklet offers useful information to help assist in your transition back to life at Ohio State. The booklet is also available on the OIA web site at oia.osu.edu/pdf/StudyAbroadReentrypacket_1.pdf. Also for students who are interested in learning about using their study abroad experience in the job search process, OIA and Career Connections offer a workshop to help highlight your new skills and abilities gained from your international experience on your resume and in the job interview. Please visit the OIA web site for dates of the quarterly workshop.

Here is a list of strategies that may ease your re-adjustment to life after study abroad:
  1. Give some thought to the types of changes you have undergone as a result of your time abroad. How have you changed? What is now important to you?
  2. Be patient with your friends and family. They are trying to understand your recent experience even as you are listening and trying to understand what they went through while you were gone.
  3. Expect some negative feelings about your home culture. You may be viewing your culture from a completely different perspective. Remember that there are positive and negative aspects of all cultures.
  4. Find ways to keep the international aspect in your life:
    • Participate in orientations for students going to your country. OIA coordinators are always interested in having past participants share their experiences and photos at orientations, information sessions, in the residence halls, or helping with our Study Abroad Fair.
    • Get involved with foreign students/faculty on campus.
    • Live in the International House residence hall at Ohio State.
    • Take internationally focused courses, or consider adding a major or minor in international studies. Visit the international studies web site at internationalstudies.osu.edu.
    • Become an English Conversation Partner (ECP). The ECP program brings U.S. and international students together to share conversation and friendship. Registration forms and more information are available at OIA.
    • Obtain a copy of “Back on Campus, Now What? A Survival Guide for Study Abroad Returnees” from OIA or from the web site, oia.osu.edu/pdf/StudyAbroadReentrypacket_1.pdf.
    • Subscribe to a newspaper from your host country.
    • Visit the OIA web site at oia.osu.edu for upcoming international events at Ohio State.
  5. Consider how you can use what you learned abroad in your academic studies or career. OIA, Student Career Services, and your academic advisor can explore options available to you.
  6. If you are eligible for Federal Work Study, consider working at OIA. Interested students should send an e-mail to abroad@oia.osu.edu.
  7. Start planning how you might go abroad either on a study abroad program, work/volunteer abroad, or travel. You can explore your options with a Study Abroad Coordinator during our walk-in hours on Monday through Friday, 1 - 4 p.m. in 100 Oxley Hall.
     

Final Thoughts

Study abroad will enrich your life in so many ways and become a part of your identity. Students frequently describe their study abroad experience as life‑altering. For some, the experience is an occasion for personal reflection; for others, it marks the beginning of broadened perspectives, reassessment of personal values, and new directions in career paths. The journey you make to foreign countries does not end upon your return home; rather the journey continues throughout your life and your past experiences become a part of who you are.

SONGS MY PEOPLE SING

Up the edges of Vipya plateau
Down its caves along river banks
I will pick a rock
And stroke by stroke
With a porcupine quill dipped in ochre
I will carve out on its smooth surface
Boundaries of my village
And chronicles of my people

Down the edges of the plateau
Up brooks dotting the countryside
I will cut a reed flute from river banks
And at sundown
When the herd is back in the kraal
I will compose songs in praise of bountiful yields
of our farmers, dexterity of our hunters
artistry of our potters.

I will exalt the agility of our men
digging gold in the mines
elegance of our women
ululating at wedding ceremonies
majesty of our girls
balancing pots from the village well
chivalry of our boys cattle herding.

When work is done for the day
barns constructed, cows milked,
I will sit in the middle of the village yard
And sing from dusk to dawn
The songs of our people

“Songs My People Sing” was written by Dr. Lupenga Mphande, associate professor in the Department of African American and African Studies at The Ohio State University. From Malawi, Professor Mphande teaches and researches in applied linguistics, foreign language education, and African literature. He has led Ohio State’s Southern African History and Culture program for the past 10 years, the Swahili language program in Tanzania, and more recently initiated a service learning program in Malawi. He is also a published poet.