TCKs and Repatriating

I came across an interesting article on expats repatriating (or re-entering) to their home countries. The Process of Re-entry by Gary Weaver presents both the good with the bad about repatriation. I believe this article speaks of older rather than younger expatriates who are also known as Third Culture Kids - having been immersed in both their home culture and the cultures of their homes abroad - because the beginning of the article discusses that a person who leaves their native country usually "find their culture by leaving it".

I can understand that from an older expats experience and possibly even someone who is leaving their culture to study abroad. It is often an exciting and eye-opening adventure that changes the lives of those who travel to countries that are quite different from their own.

But it is quite different for someone who grew up living their life abroad from the time they were a child.

One quote that is interesting from the article and that also helps shed some light on why I had a difficult time repatriating is "those who have adapted best to life overseas tend to have the most difficulty reentering their home culture."

This makes sense because the TCK's life overseas has become their "norm," their "home" and it's quite confusing when you use the language "OK, now you're going to move back home to -fill in the blank country-" especially if your home country (passport country) really was never a place that you remember as home.

The article discusses that reverse culture shock is more stressful, prominent, and worse than culture shock. My question to you, though, is: should we really be labeling it reverse culture shock when TCKs repatriate into their home countries especially when there isn't much of a memory there of it ever being "home"?

How would you explain it???

The other aspect of this article that I enjoy and taking in, making sense of, and hopefully will apply what I can (even thought it's been 10 years since I repatriated) is the coping strategies section.
The coping strategies that the author suggest are:

• Decompression
• Communication Outlets
• Stress Management
• Cues or Reinforcers
• Identity and Cultural Transition

My next blog will include how I both did and/or did not have access to, utilize, know about, and recognize these coping strategies. I would love to hear your thoughts.