Students abroad fall quarter find it tough adjusting to classes, housing, lifestyle at Stanford

January always marks the beginning of the rainy season and a new quarter at Stanford. But for many students returning from a fall quarter abroad, the beginning is not such an easy transition.

“I haven’t heard a word longer than six letters in six months,” said a dazed Justin Hefter ’11, after his first PoliSci 2 lecture of the quarter. Hefter had just recently returned from a six-month “Semester-at-Sea” program.

Cameron Poter ’11, who studied at the Stanford in Madrid program and had abided by the Spanish-only contract unique to the Madrid program, wore a similar, glazed expression.

“I almost liked the classes in Spanish better because it was already understood that I wouldn’t understand anything,” he said.

Alas, the return to the reality of classes is not the only hardship returning students face. For some, relationships and experiences fostered abroad were some of the hardest things to leave.

“I had a lovely 65-year-old señora that I fell in love with,” Poter said. “She cooked like no one’s business AND she really included us in any family outings that she had. I got to know her family really well, too.”

Pamon Forouhar ’11, who studied in Berlin, said that his experience abroad exceeded his expectations.

“Everyone had said that going abroad would change my life and I was very determined to not have that expectation,” he said. “I went in with low expectations and my experience did end up changing my life. I don’t think that’s always true, but for me personally it absolutely changed my life.”

The return to the joys of Stanford housing has also been one of the biggest obstacles to overcome for returning students. Many were left unassigned until the first week of school, while others struggle to fit back into the campus swing of things while living in off-campus housing. For many, the two-day move-in that Stanford Housing allowed before the start of school proved to be a little overwhelming.

“It’s tough moving into a dorm where everyone knows each other, and I feel like everyone’s already used to school and I just came back from the summer,” Poter explained. “I’m not used to my dorm or my classes; I feel a lot more overwhelmed than the typical Stanford student now.”

Katie Gera ’11, who studied in Oxford, communicated a sense of isolation upon returning to campus.

“The worst part has been realizing that life at Stanford went on while we were gone and we didn’t get to be a part of it,” she said. “Also, since now I live in Oak Creek, it’s really strange to not have a home base on campus.”

Lee Dukes, student relations coordinator for Stanford’s Bing Overseas Studies Program (BOSP), said that many students enjoy their abroad experience to such an extent that they make plans to continue their work after graduation.

“A lot of students that I speak to have enjoyed their time abroad and many of them wish they could go back there and even have a hard time adjusting to being back on campus,” he said. “Some students get motivated to go back there and do so either to do research, work or even do some graduate work.”

Forouhar, for one, agreed.

“It’s much, much harder to be back than I thought. It’s great seeing everyone but I could definitely do another quarter abroad,” he said. “But it’s also made me think of working in Europe after graduation. I would definitely like to take some time off and go back and work.”

But some students don’t wait to graduate. Many enjoy the first quarter abroad so much, they elect to stay and do another quarter abroad. According to Dukes, during the 2008-2009 academic year, 43 students stayed more than one quarter at the same location, 25 students went to two different locations (e.g., one quarter in Madrid and one quarter in Florence) and 63 students did a quarter abroad and then stayed to do an internship in the location.

Although many returning students have expressed their delight at returning to Stanford and seeing all the familiar sights and locations, the transition from an abroad program back to the Stanford bubble can prove to be quite interesting and may even produce reverse culture shock.

“Being immersed in the European lifestyle for three months gave me a new perspective on what it means to be American and what cultural idiosyncrasies differentiate Americans from the rest of the world,” said Robert Toews ’11, who is also a writer for The Daily. “For instance, the more laid-back and relaxed approach Europeans have toward things–taking longer lunches, stopping to chat more often and not being in a rush all the time.”

For those students experiencing reverse culture shock, Dukes offered some advice.

“Stay active in the BOSP program and talk about [your] experiences to students who are thinking about going abroad,” he said.