ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the nature of university student’s relationships—both in their host culture and in their home culture—and how those may have changed over time. Relationships, like that between Lin-Lee and her sister Tan, may need renegotiating in re-entry. Often, time will help relationships sort themselves out into comfortable places once back home. Sometimes, relationships will end or fade when students return home. Several studies suggest that the difficulty many returnees encounter in readjusting to relationships at home can contribute to more general feelings of dissatisfaction. Interestingly, however, a study by researcher Sarah Brabant and colleagues found that students who felt they had adapted very well to life back home were more likely than others to have experienced changes in their relationships with friends from home. This suggests that while experiencing relationship changes is often difficult, it can also be productive when those changes are linked to a sense of development.
