Returning from out of the country Forum

[poo]

I'm applying this upcoming cycle and it looks like I will have the opportunity to work overseas for a foreign government for a year. I have called the schools I will be applying to and they all said that I will be able to defer admission in order to do this job. However, I will get back with about 2 weeks to spare before classes start from Eastern Asia and I'm not sure if this is enough time to rest up before law school (the 1 year contract I will sign can't really be changed to better dates). I can probably have my SO or whoever find housing for me so I won't have to worry about that, but I have heard of "reverse culture shock" and things like that and I'm just wondering if somebody with more experience in this area can tell me if ~2 weeks is enough time to rest up for law school from a foreign country (I'm guessing it's not).

EDIT: Man I'm tired

[Dman]

From someone who lived 5 years in East Asia.There is reverse culture shock but I would think this would not really interfere with your studies. Maybe I am a bit more calloused but I left during the last Clinton term and returned to post 911 Bush regime, and although I felt people acted strange (FEAR FEAR FEAR OMG!), I don't think it hindered me at all in a professional regard.

Moreover, I also felt law school was a bit of a culture shift, so everyone there is also preoccupied with adjusting to the new lifestyle. This will give you plenty of time to get your bearings and will keep you on even footing.

This, of course, is purely anecdotal and just my personal expereince.

[poo]

From someone who lived 5 years in East Asia.There is reverse culture shock but I would think this would not really interfere with your studies. Maybe I am a bit more calloused but I left during the last Clinton term and returned to post 911 Bush regime, and although I felt people acted strange (FEAR FEAR FEAR OMG!), I don't think it hindered me at all in a professional regard.

Moreover, I also felt law school was a bit of a culture shift, so everyone there is also preoccupied with adjusting to the new lifestyle. This will give you plenty of time to get your bearings and will keep you on even footing.

This, of course, is purely anecdotal and just my personal expereince.

Hey thanks for your response... This may seem like a stupid question, but I have never traveled internationally so I don't know: is 2 weeks enough time to get rested up and unpacked and everything else before starting law school?

[joekim1]

Reverse culture shock between the East and the West can be pretty severe if you get caught up in Eastern culture. My thinking is, the more you try to understand the East, the more severe your reverse culture shock will be. Things are just that different, and bridging that gap isn't really a day-and-night thing. If you really assimilate a lot, you might find yourself adopting new values, perhaps even your identity, and things won't be so black and white by the time you get back.

My advice is, if it's only one year, enjoy it while not getting so caught up in trying to understand "why." Just "do", and try to keep your personal identity exactly as it is right now. This should help you when you get back, and your experiences will still change who you are a bit, but not to the extent that adjusting back to American life becomes difficult. The key is to keep your personal values in check, and not to get too caught up in trying to understand the other culture, unless you're simply reading objective studies (there's a good bit of East-West stuff out there). Try to keep it simple, and all should be well.

[poo]

Reverse culture shock between the East and the West can be pretty severe if you get caught up in Eastern culture. My thinking is, the more you try to understand the East, the more severe your reverse culture shock will be. Things are just that different, and bridging that gap isn't really a day-and-night thing. If you really assimilate a lot, you might find yourself adopting new values, perhaps even your identity, and things won't be so black and white by the time you get back.

My advice is, if it's only one year, enjoy it while not getting so caught up in trying to understand "why." Just "do", and try to keep your personal identity exactly as it is right now. This should help you when you get back, and your experiences will still change who you are a bit, but not to the extent that adjusting back to American life becomes difficult. The key is to keep your personal values in check, and not to get too caught up in trying to understand the other culture, unless you're simply reading objective studies (there's a good bit of East-West stuff out there). Try to keep it simple, and all should be well.

Good points, and from the research I've been doing/ people I've talked to this seems to be all true. If I don't get so attached to the culture/ values over there, I think I can return with jet lag and nothing else (and many of the people I've talked to who have gone overseas say they have done this, intentional or otherwise).