Try to alleviate these feelings of loss by keeping in contact with people you have met abroad and keeping your international interests alive at Cornell. Remember that they are not rejecting you or your achievements. You just need to be realistic in your expectations of how fascinating your journey is going to be for anyone, and remember that they may not be able to relate to your experiences. Just as you have altered some of your ideas and attitudes while abroad, the people at home are likely to have experienced some changes, too. Flexibility and openness are important qualities in successfully developing new relationships with relatives and old friends.
Some students feel unsure of how to integrate their old and new selves.
Feeling frustrated about the lack of opportunities to apply recently acquired social, linguistic and practical coping skills is also common. Returnees often worry that they will lose their international experiences. Memories and experiences are not souvenir objects that you take out occasionally and look at. Keep your study abroad experience alive by maintaining contacts with friends and host families abroad, talking to people who have experiences similar to yours, pursuing the interests and using the skills you developed when you were abroad. The Top Ten Immediate Re-entry Challenges, by Dr. Bruce LaBrack.