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Preparing Ourselves & Others for Rapid Changes in Times and Circumstances

6/22/2018

How do we prepare ourselves and help the international students we love to adapt to the rapidly changing times and circumstances in which we live? Human nature proves that most of us do not particularly like change, and most of us prefer circumstances to remain the same because a lack of change provides for comfort and security. When faced with rapid change, our reactions to it are fairly predictable: denial, bargaining (to keep the good old days), frustration, and finally tentative acceptance.

What can we do to help facilitate this process? First, deal with our attitude about the reality of rapid change. How have we managed change in the past? How has our student friend managed major changes in his or her past? If we were successful in the past, then it would reason that we can do so again.

In the process, however, honesty and transparency in expressing our feelings in a safe environment with friends helps greatly. Sharing information, laughing about our reactions, naming our fears, evaluating our options, identifying obstacles to change, and listening to one another helps to ease the process. Choosing to make a plan to deal with specific changes also helps. We gain some sense of control returned to our lives.

Staying focused on desired outcomes is a large part of that process, as is celebrating our successful adaptation to change. One commentator said that the watchword for today is “adapt, adapt, adapt!”

Initiating conversations with our international student friends about these types of issues can significantly help students gain a vocabulary for dealing with them. What’s more, our students can learn from our positive examples. Helping them voice the emotions which are normal with the process of adapting is a great help to them as is the safe environment we can provide in which they can discuss these things.

Principles cited in this blog: Awareness of stages in dealing with change and gaining a vocabulary about the accompanying emotions is important for ourselves but more so for our international student friends. Taking initiative to have discussion aides the process of change.

Application for ISI ministry: Providing a safe environment to process through adapting to change is a beginning point, and walking beside students to help them feel safe to work on rapid change is a wonderful service we can provide.

Next blog topic: Preparing myself and students to lead change in our families, places of work, and culture.

Doug Shaw with Derrah Jackson

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Issues Muslim Students Face Upon Returning Home

6/15/2018

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The issues Muslim students face upon returning home vary greatly by gender, level of wealth, and country. The experience of men and women in Muslim cultures is vastly different, more different than most Americans can imagine. Adjusting to the relative freedom Muslim women experience while studying in American universities takes time. But the reverse culture shock of their going home is an even more difficult adaptation. Men also experience reverse culture shock, but their shock comes from different experiences.

One’s level of family wealth prior to coming to an American university is another key factor in projecting the issues one might face when returning home. Many Muslim students come here with no financial worries, and others come with great financial need. Not only does that issue impact one’s experience during study here, but one’s experiences upon returning home can also be affected. Parental and extended family expectations on the student might vary based upon wealth. Some women may have arranged marriages awaiting them upon return. Whether the student will be working in the family business or must look for a job is another potential factor.

The Muslim country a student came from and is returning to can significantly impact the types of issues the student faces. A student who came here from Syria is returning to a war-torn country where there are probably no jobs to be had. A student from Malaysia is returning to a country under an entirely new government.

If the student returns home to a Muslim country as a believer in Christ, they could face any number of circumstances (most of which could be bad). Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) face potential persecution and ostracization by their families and town. The family may find it difficult to marry off the daughter, or the student may struggle greatly just to get a job. Survival may depend upon the level of discipleship the student received before going home and that student’s ability to seek out Christians in their home land.

For Muslim students returning home as unbelievers, it is nice to connect them with Christians in the culture if possible and to stay in touch with them via Skype or WhatsApp.

Principles cited in this blog: Muslim students face many issues when they return home after studying in the U.S. All are in addition to traditional reverse culture shock issues. Much depends upon the country they return to, their gender, and their level of wealth.

Application for ISI ministry: We need to help Muslim students become aware of the implications of reverse culture shock and help them think through those issues.

Next blog topic: Preparing myself and students to adapt to rapid changes in the times and circumstances.

Doug Shaw with Derrah Jackson

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Issues Indian Students Face Upon Returning Home

6/7/2018

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The issues Indian students face upon returning home after studying in the U.S. are significant. They face the usual reverse culture shock issues that most other international students do—strained relationship with parents, friends lacking interest about time abroad, missing friends in the U.S., having to encounter again the things they were glad to leave behind in India previously, adjusting to new cultural restraints in seeking a job, working in an environment different to what your university classes prepared you for, and the like.

In addition, the government in India (and thus the social culture) has become much more nationalistic in recent years and has refocused on its Hindu traditions and worldview. This may be difficult for some of the more secularistic Indian students returning home. While the Indian culture has been traditionally known for its acceptance of differences and even passivism toward such differences, that seems to now be intentionally changing. The government’s asking of more than 20,000 NGOs (non-governmental organizations; mainly Christian charities) to leave India last year is a prime example of this.

Indian culture is much more politically charged these days than it has been historically. This political component to culture may or may not make their return comfortable, depending upon returning students’ politics. Their family of origin may be more politically charged than in the past, and that may create issues.

As the population continues to grow in India and the older generation is living longer because of improved medicine, issues may be created for the returning students. In many cases, multiple generations are living together, and family roles are quite prescribed. And finding a job could be increasingly difficult.

Many Indian students simply follow the job market wherever it leads and do not feel inclined to return home. Many desire to find a job in the U.S., but many go to other countries where there are open jobs and the opportunity to advance their careers. A new term has been coined to describe them: career global nomads. The fact that they have adjusted to one cross-cultural situation (in coming to the U.S.) bodes well for their ability to adapt to another culture. Many graduated students find jobs in the Middle East or Africa where the job competition is not as great.

If we can find a Christian contact in the country to which a student is returning, that would be great. Certainly, we can pray that the Lord would arrange such a contact to continue to witness to them.

Principles cited in this blog: Indian students face many new issues when they return home after studying in the U.S. All in addition to traditional reverse culture shock issues.

Application for ISI ministry: We need to help students become aware of the implications of the changes in India for them personally and make a significant effort to follow up students after they return. Finding a Christian to reach out to them would be a great help.

Next blog topic: Issues Muslim students face returning home

Doug Shaw with Derrah Jackson

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Issues Chinese Students Face as They Return Home

6/1/2018

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The issues Chinese students face returning home after studying in the U.S. have become more complex in recent years, adding to the intensity of reverse culture shock most will experience.

The relative openness under China’s previous president, Hu Jintao, has changed under Xi Jinping’s leadership since 2013. Xi’s message of Chinese culture trumping all religious beliefs and practices and a return to Communist Party values in all facets of life has changed the cultural landscape significantly. Xi’s recent restructuring of military and police forces, placing all functions under his leadership, coupled with the removing of any term limits for himself, insure that the change will dominate Chinese culture for the foreseeable future. Moving many functions previously overseen by the Chinese government to be under Communist Party leadership will ensure implementation as Xi desires.

One of the most significant changes is the institution of a Social Credit Score, set to be fully implemented by 2020. While Americans are familiar with a financial credit score, China’s version encompasses multiple arenas of life. It will include your legal history, your friendships with the “right” or “wrong” people, your social media posts (considered positive or negative towards the government), complaints from your neighbors, your workplace, and more. A low score can impact your ability to get a loan or a job, buy a train ticket, or get a good school placement for your child. It is Orwellian “Big Brother” control of the population personified. Initial reports from cities where it has been fully implemented are that people are being nice to one another, obeying traffic laws, and promoting harmony between people. The Social Media Score is the ultimate carrot and stick! It will take some effort for returning students to adjust to this after living in the relative openness of U.S. culture.

Chinese students who have come to Christ in the U.S. will face a more difficult time finding a church when they return. The new religion law which went into effect in February 2018 has changed many things for Christians, especially for the unregistered church in China. The new law forbids the existence of unregistered churches. Registered churches are under governmental control and use facial recognition software to record one’s presence at each service. Those under 18 years of age cannot attend a registered church. Unregistered churches had in many cases grown into hundreds of attendees, but not now. Group religious meetings as large as twenty people would be considered illegal by local police. Thus, those who have been attending unregistered churches (which were once free to worship as they choose) now meet in house churches with ten or less people in the home. Training in how to start small group Bible studies will now be more important than ever for Christian returning students. They will inevitably have to start their own group in an apartment to continue to worship.

These new issues only add to the reality of reverse culture shock that students experience upon return to their home country: parents treating you like the child you used to be, old friends having replaced you as their best friend, missing the things you loved about the U.S. and your college friends, getting a job in a culture which feels strange, to name a few. Americans following up friendships with international students once they return can help the transition, even if we must be careful about what we say and write in communications with the students. (All forms of communication in China are monitored, even if the student tells you they are not!)

Principles cited in this blog: Chinese students face many new and daunting issues when they return home after studying in the U.S., all in addition to traditional reverse culture shock issues.

Application for ISI ministry: We need to help students become aware of the implications of the changes in China for them personally and make a significant effort to follow up with students after they return home (being careful of what we say since all communications are monitored by the government).

Next blog topic: Issues Indian students face returning home

Doug Shaw with Derrah Jackson

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Preparing Ourselves & Others for Rapid Changes in Times and Circumstances

Issues Muslim Students Face Upon Returning Home

Issues Indian Students Face Upon Returning Home

Issues Chinese Students Face as They Return Home

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