ED 368 290 AUTHOR Hansel, Bettina TITLE · DOCUMENT RESUME ED 368 290 HE 027 307 AUTHOR Hansel,...

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 368 290 HE 027 307

AUTHOR Hansel, BettinaTITLE An Investigation of the Re-Entry Adjustment of

Indians Who Studied in the U.S.A. Occasional Papersin Intercultural Learning, Number 17.

INSTITUTION AFS International/Intercultural Programs, Inc., NewYork, NY. Center for the Study of InterculturalLearning

SPONS AGENCY Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. Office of InternationalEducation.; Syracuse Univ., NY. Div. of InternationalPrograms.

PUB DATE Dec 93NOTE 28p.

AVAILABLE FROM AFS Center for the Study of Interculturul Learning,313 East 43rd St., New York, NY 10017.

PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Case Studies; Coping; Cross Cultural Studies;

Cultural Context; *Cultural Influences; ''CultureConflict; Culture Contact; Employment; FamilyRelationship; Foreign Culture; *Foreign Students;Higher Education; *Sociocultural Patterns; StressVariables; *Student Adjustnent

IDENTIFIERS *Foreign Students Home Country Reentry; *India;United States

ABSTRACTThis study explored the readjustment experience of 49

Indians who came to the United States to study and then returned totheir home country. Interviews revealed that most experienced somestress or difficulty after their re-entry, with problems ranging frominitial anxiety about getting a job or shock at the crowdedconditions, pollution, or the frustrations of power and telephoneoutages, to an intense period of depression and alienation. A few whohad been back in India for 4 to 5 years were still having a difficulttime, while some students who had been back for less than a yearseemed quite comfortable witn their lives in India. Twelveinterviewees specifically mentioned that they "think about goingback" to the United States. Factors in difficult re-entries relatedto cultural differences, economic differences, changes in values, andhaving to make adjustments in many aspects of their lives such aschanging family roles and changing from student life to work life.Profiles of five returned students are presented to illustrate theirvery different re-entry experiences. Issues discussed includereturning to mutual dependence in the family, marriage and family,the job search, the work environment, national identity, attitudes,and coping strategies. (Contains 14 reference notes.) (JDD)

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An Investigation of the Re-entryAdjustment of Indians whoStudied in the U.S.A.

by BetEna Hansel

Occasional Papers inIntercultural Learning

Number 17. December 1993.

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3

An Investigation of the Re-entry Adjustment of Indianswho Studied in the U.S.A.

Bettina Hansel, Ph.D.AFS Center for the Study of Intercultural Learning

Acknowledgements

In 1991-92, I spent three months in India through an Indo-American Fellowship for advanced research. Havingstudied the exchange experience at AFS for more than a decade, I had proposed a study related to student exchangeand was pleased to learn that both the Indian and the U.S. governments felt this issue was important enough to fundmy project. I am indebted to the staff of the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars, particularly LydiaGomes and Marianne Cunningham who helped me make my preparations for this experience.

I would like to thank all those who supported my work in India, especially those who so willingly agreed to beinterviewed for this project, who invited me into their homes for meals, who took a special interest in my project,and who welcomed me so warmly to their country. I am particularly grateful to the entire staff of the AmericanInstitute for Indian Studies, and its Director, Dr. Pradeep Mahendirata, who dealt with the logistics of my stav inIndia. I also thank my sponsoring institution, Jawaharlal Nehru University, where I stayed for much of my timein New Delhi, and my dear friend and sponsor there, Dr. Saraswati Raju.

The study would not have been possible without the support of the U.S. Educational Foundation in India and Dr.Sharda Nayak, who provided my introduction to the USEFI offices in New Delhi, Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta.These offices, their directors and student counselors, provided my contacts with virtually all of those I interviewed.I am especially grateful to Dr. Nayak and Ms. Sarina Paranjapa in Delhi, Dr. Di lip Patwardhan and Ms. Roopa DesaiTrilokekar in Bombay, Ms. Geetha Nayar and Ms. Rajalakshmi Sankarnarayanar in Madras, and Dr. Uma Das Guptaand Ms. Kumkum Mittal in Calcutta, all of whom were extremely helpful in putting me in contact with formerstudents. Without this support, the research could never have been completed in three months.

This number of thc Occasional Papers series presents a discussion of the findings of this research.

December 1993

4

An Investigation of the Re-entry Adjustment of Indianswho Studied in the U.S.A.

by Bettina HanselAFS Center for the Study of Intercultural Learning

Colleges and universities in the United Stateshave increasingly attracted students from around theworld, about 75% coming from developing countries.'While still under 10% of the national student body onaverage, international students in engineering andscience departments are often found in much higherproportions. Since these departments often havetrouble attracting enough students from the UnitedStates who are as qualified to fill these slots, interna-tional students who come from top level institutionsin their own countries are often aggressively recruit-ed, highly valued for the talents they bring to theU.S. academic departments, and given opportunitiesto stay on as faculty members or post-doctoralresearchers.' Others find opportunities for profes-sional employment at salaries that far outstrip thosethey could earn back home, even when assuminggreater living expenses in the U.S.

While the United States may seem to benefitfrom the influx of foreign talent, a negative side ofthis trend is that developing countries may be indesperate need of their most talented people, whomight put their talents to use in their own country'sdevelopment efforts For this reason, USAID(through NAFSA) and the International Organizationfor Migration have madc funds available to pilot testprograms designed to help returning students success-fully readjust and be productive in their own culture.'Though it is not clear that sending countries losesignificantly when their students permanently migrateto the United States, there is general agreement thatthe returning students with their enhanced skills canplay a very important role in national development if

5

they are able to establish themselves in an appropriatecareer to make the best use of their talents.'

Indian students make up nearly 6% of thetotal foreign student population in the U.S., makingit one of the top ten nations sending students forstudy in the United States.' The Indian Institutes ofTechnology are just an example of some of the top-level educational institutions in India that have earnedan international rcputation for the quality of theirstudents. In these ihstitutions, the best students aretypically encouraged to apply for advanced trainingin the United States, and many do so simply as amatter of course.

Students from India have had to make anenormous cultural adjustment in coming to the UnitedStates, even while their normal fluency in Englishmay ease some of the communication problems facedby students from other countries. The four obviousdifferences in the patterns of family, diet, clothing,and religion give a quick measure of how differentthese two societies are. As one woman said, "it'shard to believe that India and America exist on thesame planet." In thc Unitcd States they must adjustto a more independent life than they were likely tolead in India. Many, for example, are faced for thefirst time with the need to cook their own food orwash their own clothes. Life on the campus of aU.S. university exposes them to a range of very alienvalues, from a very informal classroom atmospherewhere they are encouraged to question the professorsand draw thcir own conclusions to a social lifeamong their peers that often includes a more readyacceptance of alcohol, dating, and pre-marital sex

4 An Investigation of the Re-entry Adjustment of Indians who Studied in the U.S.A.

Yet most Indians do adjust to the UnitedStates and frequently enjoy the atmosphere of theiruniversities. They are often encouraged to remain inthe United States, typically lured by job opportunitiesthat seem unmatchable in India. The Americans theymeet also may encourage them to stay in the U.S.Many do stay: a commonly cited figure is that 80%of those who study in the U.S.A. do not returnpermanently to India.' Figures quoted by Ong et alshow that from 1972-85 almost 50,000 highly educat-ed Indians migrated permanently to the United States;of these, some 31,000 were physicians or engineers.'

But there are plenty who do return home fora variety of reasons. This study explored the experi-ence of 49 such Indians and attempted to learn moreabout the process of readjustment for this populationand to understand some of the factors that affect thisprocess and make it more or less easy to readjust.Because the interviews were open-ended, this researchfocussed on an in-depth investigation of individual re-entry experiences rather than on specific factors thatcould be expected to have some bearing on the easeor difficulty of the readjustment.

In this group of 49, several remembered notrouble whatsoever in their re-entry experience, orhad been able to cope so easily with the annoyancesand minor inconveniences they faced that they can beseen as having no readjustment difficulty. Typicalcomments from this group were: "It took a littlewhile to get used to the crowds, but otherwise I hadno problem." or "It was not so difficult to return;after all, I'd lived in India for 22 ycars and only livedin America for two years." One or two of thoseinterviewed seemed to take their easy readjustmentfor granted, and were at a loss to ideatify any prob-lems they might have had.8

Yet most (35 or more) of those interviewedexperienced some level of stress or difficulty aftertheir re-entry, with problems ranging from initialanxiety about getting a job or a certain shock at thecrowded conditions, pollution, or the frustrations ofpower and telephone outages, to an intense period ofdepression and alienation faced by two or threestudents upon their return The most intense prob-lems seemed to occur in the first few months to ayear after return, hut a few who wcrc back in Indiafor 4 or 5 years were still having a difficult time,while a couple of students who were back for less

6

than a year seemed quite comfortable with their livesin India.

Twelve of those interviewed specificallymentioned that they "think about going back" to theU.S., or are considering some plans to go to the U.S.or another country for work or, more often, forfurther studies. At least one of these has alreadyreturned to the U.S. for more studies. These wereusually students who had faced a challenging re-entryand who were not satisfied with the range of optionsavailable to them (and their children) in India.

It is important to distinguish between an easyreadjustment and "successful" re-entry, since the easeof readjustment does not reflect the extent of students'intercultural learning, their effectiveness on the job,their integration in their society and family, or theirlevel of responsibility in their community. In termsof intercultural learning, an often-used model of thereadjustment process suggests that those who "revert"to their home culture tend to have few problems intheir adjustment but may not have learned much interms of the type of growth and development that canbe expected from having lived sometime in anotherculture. On the other hand, those who become"alienated" by their own culture and try to live aforeign lifestyle within their own culture arc likely tofind re-entry a very difficult experience, but againhave not taken advantage of the opportunity forlearning that the re-entry experience can provide.Those who are able to "integrate" the experienceabroad into their life back home are seen in thismodel as those who learn the most from the interna-tional experience. Typically, this is not an -easyexperience either.

The readjustment of Indian students is acomplex proces ' at is affected by a wide variety ofvariables. The research method used in this investi-gation was a naturalistic inquiry in which 49 individ-uals in four cities were interviewed in depth inloosely structured interviews that ranged from about45 minutes to over 2 hours. Those interviewed wereasked a few facts about their college or university andthe degree they pursued as well as their generalimpressions of this experience and their adjustmentprocess in the U.S They wcrc thcn asked to talkabout their experiences in coming home with a seriesof opening questions focussing on how they hadchanged, how things in India had changed, what they

A n Investigation of the Re-entry Adjustment of Indians who Studied in the U.S.A. - 5

found surprising or difficult on their return, what theyliked about being home, and how they dealt with anyproblems they identified in readjusting to India.

Efforts were made to get as diverse a groupas possible. While the opportunity to study in theUnited States automatically limits this research tothose who come from higher educational and sociallevels, the sample of individuals interviewed is

otherwise quite varied. A near equal number ofmales and females from four cities were interviewed.They studied a variety of subjects in the U.S., wherethey remained anywhere from one year up to 17years. They attended colleges, universities, andspecial professional institutions of varying sizes andlocations.

In using in-depth interviews as the mainsource of information, this reearch was able to lookat diverse outcomes in the re-entry process as well asthe normal complex circumstances that tend tocharacterize peoples lives, decisions, and relation-ships, and which have implications for both the easeof the readjustment and the extent of interculturalintegration that is possible. In the next section someprofiles of returned students are discussed illustratingthe very different re-entry experiences and the cir-cumstances that faced five of these students, whosenames have been changed here.

Profile 1: RupaRupa did her graduate work at a large Midwesternuniversity where her husband also was a student.Living close to campus in married student housing,they made many friends from many countries andbecame active in the student lifc. Each summer theyreturned to India for a couple of months. At somepoint, they decided to return to India, largely becausethe husband's father was not in good health. Thatsummer when they returned for a visit, the husbandspent some time looking for employment and re-ceived a very good offer with a well-known institute.Rupa also made some contacts, but she had not yetfinished hcr degree. She took sonic time off from hcrstudies to help hcr husband resettle in India, then shereturned to thc U.S.A to finish her Ph.D. 13y then

shc was pregnant, but this only seemed to make hermore determined to finish her degree on time She

7

returned to India just one month prior to the birth ofher child.

In her first months back in India, Rupa stayed athome with her baby, but also did some consultingwork. She got a variety of job offers, and when herchild was old enough, she took a post with a univer-sity, where she continues to work. Meanwhile, herhusband's job gives him opportunity to travel; at thetime of the interview, he was on a temporary assign-ment in the United States.

Rupa enjoys the academic environment. Althoughthe issues in her field are very different in India andthe U.S., she believes that her background in the U.S.has prepared her well for her work. Her style ofteaching is one that gives students more freedom.She uses more open-ended questions and discussionin class, all of which are much less common in Indiathan in the U.S. While she has the ability to use amore Western approach in the classroom, she doesresent some of the constraints on her research.Specifically, she dislikes giving the credit for herwork to more senior members of her team.

Rupa and her husband do not live in the same townas his or her parcnts, but she feels that family life isa major source of satisfaction in being back to India.She looks forward to visiting her parents and her in-laws each month. While the family would havepreferred that Rupa and her husband lived in thesame town, the couple made a conscious decision tolive near the family, but not too near, so that theycould have some independence. Rupa feels that sheis perhaps morc independent than most Indian women

for example, she takes her own decisions withoutasking advice from her mother-in-law but is notsure whether it was her own personality, being in anacademic setting, or having spent time in the U.S.that made her that way.

Rupa does not find it very hard to live in India andseems very- unconcerned about what she calls the"minor physical inconveniences" that are part ofbeing in a developing country. It helps, she notes,that she has some influential family connectionsWhile she avoided wearing Indian clothing during herstay in the 11 S . here she adjusts to the more tradi-

6 - An Investigation of the Re-entry Adjustment of Indians who Studied in the U.S.A.

tional ways of her in-laws by always wearing a sariin their home, while she does not feel compelled todress any special way when visiting her own parents.She has taken on part-time servants rather than live-inservants, and notes that she would sometimes ratherdo the work herself than bother training someone elseto do it. For example, she prefers to cook for herselfthan hire and train a cook.

Discussion:What makes Rupa's readjustment easy is the ability tomake significant choices in her life, including whereshe will live and work. Her academic ability andfamily conneciions have paved the way for her tohave certain privileges and opportunities that othersin India do not have. Perhaps because she recognizesher privileges, she is willing to make a number ofsmall concessions, such as wearing a sari at the in-laws and, perhaps a not-so-small one, avoidingconflict at her university by allowing senior people totake credit for her work.

Those who have ample freedom to meke choices inIndia may be those most likely to return after study-ing in the U.S. They also tend to be among thosewho are able to make the easiest readjustments. Asin Rupa's case, being offered jobs and having theluxury to select the best one not only removes someof the anxiety around job hunting, but immediatelycreates a situation in which the returned student canfeel confident about the value of her newly-gainedskills. Because she works in an academic environ-ment rather than in industry or government, Rupa hasmore choices than many. She can chose her researchtopics and use a more western teaching style. In thistype of work, she also has verv limited need to dealwith government bureaucracies and so does not facethe frustrations that many of those in their ownbusinesses may face.

It is typical that Rupa and her husband returned toIndia because of concerns about his father's healthAt the age in which these students arc typicallycoming to the United States, their parcnis arc ap-proaching an age at which health is an ongoingconcern Of the group of 49 Indians interviewed, six

8

lost a parent either while they were gone or within afew months of their return home.

Despite their concern over the father's health, Rupaand her husband also have made the choice not tolive with his parents and even to take jobs and live inanother city so that they can be close but not tooclose. They travel frequently to visit both parents,spending every holiday in their hometown. Rupasays she loves being back in India so she can beclose to her parents and in-laws, but the choice theyhave made allows them the kind of independence thatmost couples in the United States expect.

Profile 2: AmitAmit spent almost nine years in the United States,living in three different states while working onadvanced degrees in engineering. After his arrangedmarriage, he brought his wife to stay with him in theUnited States for the last two years. He depended onthe funding he received from the universities heattended as well as a research post he was offered.But before he could complete his doctorate, theuniversity cut his funding for reasons that are stillunclear to him. The best solution seemed to be toreturn to India with his wife, though he still hopesand plans to return to the U.S. to complete his workat that or another university.

Amit saw himself as only temporarily home, and thisseemed to make it more difficult to readjust. He didnot try to find work for several months while helooked into getting his university funding back. Interms of his finances, Amit did not have to worrymuch, since his parents had property where he couldlive and his wife, a professional woman, found workimmediately upon their return. Yct he admitted thatis was "not good psychologically to bc unemployed "When he began to look for work, he was depressedand disappointed in what he saw. At most employersthere was inadequate equipment for the kind of workhe wanted to do. Also, among the employees, thereseemed to be little actual work being done. Hewould have to start at the bottom of the career ladder.A ll this was verv disillusioning, hut he graduallvadjusted his expectations As he said, "When vou

An Investigation of the Re-entty Adjustment of Indians who Studied in the U.S.A. - 7

have been in a brightly lighted place, a covered placelooks dark at first, but your eyes adjust after a while."

Some of the students who worked for a time in Indiabefore they went to the U.S. felt that the workexperience gave them more realistic expectationswhich made their readjustment easier. Amit hadworked in another part of India and lived alone foralmost ten years before he went abroad to study, andhe also felt this gave him a useful reference point.While he was in the United States, he had continuallytackled his engineering research by thinking, "Howcan I improve the situation of technology in India?How can I bring back this information to use inIndia?" Now that he has found work in a companyhe likes, he is doing just this: bringing to India theuseful skills and information he learned in the U.S.

Yet his sense of accomplishment is mixed. He feelsfor many reasons that India has a brighter future inindustry than the U.S., but he is frustrated by theproblems of disarray in the infrastructure and laborforce. He tries to adopt the quick decision-makingprocess that he learned in the U.S., but believes thatit is generally hard for Indians to make decisions, dueto years of colonial dependence.

Though he does not live with his parents, it is impor-tant for Amit to be close by in case of an emergencyin the family. Amit and his wife have made the bestof the lengthy commuting pattern into which theyhave been forced as a result of their jobs. They aremanaging to spend a considerable amount of timetogether under the circumstances, and seem to havedeveloped a good relationship.

However, he still wants to find a way for them to goback to the U.S. so he can complete his work and heworries about tha problems he may have getting avisa.

Discussion:Amit has adjusted to India and to his situation, buthis "premature" return to India seems to have madeit more difficult for him to accept wholeheartedlybeing in India Although his low expectations for his

9

career in India have been bettered in his present job,he remains oddly hopeful and cynical at the sametime about the future of India's business and technol-ogy. He seems to have managed his adjustment bothby having a sense of purpose in working to improveIndia's technology, and also by making plans toresume his studies in the U.S.

While most of the students in this research did finishtheir degrees, three of the five who did not completethe final degree they originally sought for whatev-er reason felt some sense of frustration aboutbeing home.

Previous research by the Indian Institute of Technolo-gy (IIT) found that national pride and service to Indiawas the most frequently mentioned that Indianstudents gave for returning home.' This also wasfrequently mentioned in this study, but as the case ofAmit shows, even in wanting to be of service toIndia, many of these returned students face frustra-tions in trying to work and participate in makingIndia a better place. While some have found theniche where they believe they can make a difference,others are still searching, or are disappointed whenchange comes too slowly to India.

Like Rupa and many others in this research, Amitfeels a new sense of responsibility for his parents;who seem old to him now and in potential need ofassistance from him. Many, many others talked aboutwanting to be there for their parents who were stillhealthy, but at 60+ were seen as approaching old age.

Profile 3: UmaUma spent two years in the U.S. getting a mastersdegree in a liberal arts field that she believed wouldsupply her with useful skills in her chosen career. Ather U.S. university, she felt a tremendous amount ofsupport from her faculty advisor, and noted that theforeign students were well integrated into the sociallife of the department. She was pushed to work hardin her discipline, but it was satisfying. Best of all,she had the opportumty to teach undergraduates. In

general, she felt accepted and comfortable in the U.S


Before she left to return home, one of her professorstold Uma that it would be difficult for her to readjustto India because she had changed so much in thattwo years.

Not back in India a year yet, Uma is thinking aboutgoing back to the U.S. "I didn't think it would bethis bad," she complained. She doesn't like theatmosphere of the business firms here. Little thingsshe might not have noticed before she went to theU.S. now strike her as difficult. She has not beenable to find a job, though she does get interviews.Potential employers are looking for experience ratherthan liberal arts degrees, and many do not recognizethe value of her studies. Her father is either unableor unwilling to assist her with family contacts andcapital to start her own business.

Superficially she fits in with her friends, but most ofthem are getting married and have different priorities.She wants to do something for herself before mar-riage. In the U.S., she became used to living aloneand independently. Here, she lives under her family'ssupervision as well as the social pressure of thecommunity that forces her to stay in line and avoid"talk" that might make it hard for her to find ahusband. She wishes she could live without theserestrictions, but she recognizes that her behavior willalways have implications for her parents in Indiansociety, and she cares too much about her parents todefy the conventions she dislikes.

Discussion:Uma's re-entry experience is a difficult one right now,but she has support and a number of coping strategiesthat are helping her in this process. First, her familyprovides important support, despite the fact that someof hcr readjustment problems concern readjusting tofamily supervision. Uma finds it quite helpful attimes to talk frankly with her parents about how sheis feeling. They don't always agree with her, but theyaccept her disagreement and are understanding.Second, shc is exploring new types of career plansa sort of contingency planning if she is unable to landa job in the field of her choice. Third, she recognizesthe ups and downs of her readjustment process, and

although she is often confused about what she wantsto do, she reminds herself of the feeling she hadwhen she first arrived in the U.S. Her problems thenseemed so big that she wondered if she could man-age. Now, those problems seem so minor, and shethinks that in time her current problems will also fadeaway.

Some of the transitions these returnedstudents face are not related as much to the culturaldifferences between India and the United States as tothe economic differences between the societies.There are also other important transitions studentsface at the time of their return that relate to suchthings as their age and their changing roles andresponsibilities in their families. Many commentedthat the transition from studeat life to work life wasprobably more difficult than the cultural transitionfrom the U.S. to India. This may be especially truefor those who had not worked before going to the

Students who face a difficult re-entry periodmay be dealing with multiple adjustments in manyaspects of their lives. For most, some transitions willbe positive and welcome changes Other changeswill represent a sometimes tremendous personal loss.In all this, however, the cultural transition is a

powerful influence behind the way the returnedstudents face the whole array of other adjustmentsthey have to make.

Some of the most profound changes thestudents have made in the course of their studies inthe United States concern their personal values. In

spite of the variety of experiences represented in thissample, a common issue that runs tlrough the re-entry experience of all three is a need to deal withtheir own values and expectations that are apparentlynot very "Indian" as they experience their individualfamily and work environments. Though thcy ac-knowledge these conflicts and contradictions, many ofthe returned students arc reluctant to attribute thesource of their values and expectations to the fact thatthey had lived in thc United States. Instead, they seethemselves as the type of person who would holdthese values in any case While it could he arguedthat this in itself is a U.S. cultural characteristic

1 0

An Investigation of the Re-entry Adjustment of Indians who Studied in the U.S.A. - 9

that is. Americans might also be unlikely to attributetheir values to the fact that they live in the U.S. it

is also true that as part of a large and very diversesociety, Indians hold a range of values and expecta-tions that are often at odds with other "Indian"conventions and norms. In broad terms, it is alsotrue that India and the U.S., despite their dramaticallydifferent cultures, do have some values in common.

No one has made greater efforts to measurecultural differences than Geert Hofstede, whose fourdimensions of culture are widely known and recog-nized in the intercultural field.' If we compare themeasurements of U.S. and Indian workplace valuesaccording to Hofstede's dimensions, we can see thatthe largest contradictions are in the areas Hofstedecalls "Power Distance" and "Individualism." (Seegraphs below. Highest and lowest scoring countriesfor each dimension are shown for contrast.)

2o.Ti

Power Distance Index

P.O1

Power Distance Index

"What is most important for me and my departmentis not what I do or achieve for the company, butwhether the Af aster's (i.e., an owner of the finn) favoris bestowed on me. . . This I have achieved by saying"yes" to everything the Master says or does . . . [Tlocontradict him is to look for another job. . . I leftmy freedom of thought in Boston."

a senior Indian executive with aPh D. from a U S university.

as quoted in Haste&

Individualism

70V

Masculinity

Uncertainty Avoidance

0UA

10 - An Investigation of the Re-entrY Adjustment of Indtais who Studied in the U.S.A.

Low Power Distance cultures(compare to USA)

High Power Distance cultures(compare to India)

parents put less value on children's obedience parents pUt high value on children's obedience

students put high value on independence students put high value on conformity

stronger perceived work ethic; strong disbelief thatpeople dislike work

weaker perceived work ethic; more frequent beliefthat people dislike work

employees less afraid of disagreeing with their boss employees fcar to disagree with their boss

employees show more cooperativeness employees reluctant to trust each other

students have positive associations with power andwealth

students have negative associations with power andwealth

inequality in society should be minimized there should be an order of inequality in this worldin which everyone has his rightful place; high andlow are protected by this order

subordinates/superiors are people like me subordinates/superiors are of a different kind thanme

powerful people should try to look less powerfulthan they are

powerful people should try to look as powerful aspossible

latent harmony between the powerful and the power-less

latent conflict between the powerful and the power-less

!2

An Investigation of the Re-enuy Adjustment of Indians who Studied in the U.S.A. - 11

Individualism Index

Low IDV cultures (collectivist, compare to India) High IDV cultures (individualist, compare to USA)

emotional dependence on company emotional independence on company

large company attractive small company attractive

more importance attached to training and use ofskills in jobs

more importance attached to freedom and challengein jobs

identity is based in the social system identity is based in the individual

managers rate having security in their position moreimportant

managers rate having autonomy more important

group dccisions considered better than individualdecisions

individual decisions are considered better than groupdecisions

duty in life appeals to students enjoyment in life appeals to students

individual initiative is socially frowned upon; fatal-ism

individual initiative is socially encouraged

more years of schooling needed to do a given job fewer years of schooling needed to do a given job

students consider it less socially a:ceptable to claimpursuing their own ends without minding others

students consider it socially acceptable to claimpursuing their own ends without minding others.

Differences along these dimensions may have madeit harder for the Indians to adjust to the U.S. in thefirst place, but some of these values appealed tothem, and they took them on as their own. Uponreturning to India, students found that these newvalues now clashed with their environment. Amit, forexample, wants to use a U.S. style of decision-mak-ing on thc job and Rupa wants to receive credit forher own work.

The returned students were all asked aboutthe changes they felt they had made in themselves asa result of their sojourn in the United States. In

terms of changed values, their responses are catego-rized in the table opposite on page 12. Many ofthese changes directly correspond to the predicteddifferences in culture along the Individualism andPower Distance dimensions identified by Hofstede.

Returned Indian students tend to show a change invalues toward the direction of greater Individualismand lower Power Distance, especially in those valuesrelated to work, which was the focus of Hofstede'sresearch. Not surprisingly, many of the returnedstudents reported feelings of frustration in thcir workin just these areas. These discrepancies in values alsoturn up in their family lives, a context which for theIndian students are very much part of their ownidentities. Situations at work or with anonymousbureaucracies may be frustrating, but the Indianstudent does not risk a loss of self in fighting tochange these situations At home and among family,the differences are more likely to lead to self-doubt.Returned students facing these values conflicts athome arc less likely to bc sure of their position.

3


Most Commonly Mentioned Changes in Values:

Personal development (25)more confidentmore maturegreater appreciation for lifemore self-awaremore independenttougher, less sensitivemore responsiblemore forthright, less secretivemore fair, equitable

Increased appreciation for tolerance among people (11)More tolerant of other ethnic groupsmore bothered by caste systemless parochialmore bothered by stereotypes

Changed patterns of work behavior and life style (10)less formalmore prompt, and time-consciousmore critical of Indian inefficiencymore disciplinedmore dedicated to worklearned ideal of voluntarismprompt decision makingmore materialistic

Changed political outlook (10)more conservativemore radicalmore feministmorc knowledgeablemore active

Intellectual development (6)Changed pattern of male/female relationships (4)More used to being alone, preference for living alone (3)Changc in interests (3)Changed attitude about family life (3)Increased, more realistic understanding of 11 S.A (3)Decline in religious participation (2)


The need to balance their new needs forindependence or privacy and perhaps a new sense offeminism, with their identity within the family can bechallenging.

Profile 4: AmritaWhen Amrita left for the U.S., her parents were goingthough a "bad patch." Being away from homeincreased her ties to her family, as well as her ties toIndia. She realized that she could not live with thevalues in the U.S. and could not be comfortable withher family so far away. "Americans don't have thesame urge to be with their parents," she notes.

However, she has changed. Seeing how socialsecurity and welfare operated in the U.S. has turnedher against the idea of giving any subsidies that havethe effect of making people not feel responsible fortheir actions. A case in point is the abortion issue,she says. People must assume responsibility for theiractions and not just have the government take care ofit for them. She's also more aware of the problemsin India, and more likely to take the initiative tochange things. Now, if the telephone isn't working,for example, she is likely to go to the office anddemand service. She's more likely to question herdoctor during a physical exam; right now she'spregnant. She wants information rather than instruc-tions and she wants to make up her own mind. Shefeels good about this change. She's finding that shedoes wield a bit of power when she complains abouther phone; and the doctor respects her need forinformation and is willing to take time to answer herquestions rather than just telling her what to do.

But Amrita isn't out to change everything about lifein India. As a married woman, she recognizes thatshe has to give more in marriage. For example, sheagreed to an arranged marriage and lives in a jointfamily with her husband's mother. She likes hermother-in-law, who is also a professional woman andrecognizes Amrita's professional aspirations, but stillshe is expected to dress appropriately, join in thenecessary socializing and hostessing that will advanceher husband's career, and in general put the familyfirst "It's tough," she says, and wonders why it is

1 5

she who always has to adjust so much. But sheknows if she doesn't go along with the expectednorm, she risks alienation. She was brought up neverto hurt or say "no" to her elders because they mightnot be there tomorrow. There is a tremendousemotional pressure to keep parents and elders happy.Amrita does this to a certain extent because of loveand to a certain extent because it is her duty.

She wants to maintain peace at home and avoidtension, but she will only go so far, she says. Shemust keep a balance; she must hold on to her basicvalues.

Discussion:Perhaps more than any other returned student,Amrita's story illustrates the attraction of contradicto-ry cultural values and the difficulty in finding acomfortable balance. Because she can feel goodabout some of the changes she has made and becauseof the prerogative she earned in some areas, she issomewhat more willing to tolerate the fact that she isthe one who needs to accede to her husband, to herin-laws, and to the society in so many other areas.While she is ready to demand her rights when re-questing telephone service or at the doctor's office, inthe context of the family she also has responsibilitiesas well as rights. Her needs are not the only needsand perhaps, she might agree, hers are not always themost important needs in the family. She is alsostrongly attracted to the values represented by theIndian family and does not want to risk this importantpart of her life by trying to make too many demandsor changes within the family context.

But she knows that the balance is not even, that moreoften than her husband it is she who must makeconcessions. She is even willing to accept thisinequality, but not at the loss of her integrity. Thereis some point where her own values are too importantto compromise, as she explained. But where thatbalance point lies is probably not always clear toAmrita. When are her basic values threatened by theneeds and demands of her family? And when are herown priorities "unreasonable" or not worth riskingfamily relationships to maintain? Amrita's time in

14 - n Investigation of the I?e-entry Adjustment of Indians who Studied in the U.S.A.

the United States may have prompted her to posethese questions more often, but these may also becommon issues for married Indian women who haveprofessional careers. Certainly they are commonconcerns for many American women.

Profile 5: ShantiAfter completing her Ph.D. in English at an IvyLeague school, Shanti took a lectureship at a Califor-nia university, hoping to advance her career. Califor-nia was like a dream place for her. The scenery wasincredible, the climate was wonderful, everyone wantsto be in California. But she was unhappy. She hadthe feeling that because everyone wants to be inCalifornia, if she couldn't be happy here, she shouldnot be happy anywhere else. She kept asking herselfwhy she was so unhappy in the midst of all thisbeauty. The answer became a little clearer after herparents visited her. "I felt that really what I was

ling was interacting with my car and my personalcomputer. These were malty the center of my exis-tence," she explained. "7: had just gotten unused tointeracting with people; and even though I'd gottenunused to it, I still missed it a lot." It was ai thispoint that she felt completely homesick, or as she putit, had a case of "value sickness." She noted that itwasn't so much that she missed her parents andfamily members as individuals, but she missed theIndian value system and the Indian way of life, whichis very people-oriented. "Just a simple example, wekeep a maid rather than a washing machine or avacuum cleaner. Of course, you could say that that'sexploitation, but then the thing is that we have a verysort of, not intimate hut very personalized relationshipwith our maid. . . . When my maid comes shechatters about her family and I help her with wool-ens, and she talks about her son's education and stufflike that. Even when you buy vegetables you talk tothc person. So even living alone you can have allthese levels of human interaction, which I wasn't

getting there. I felt like I was living in a sort ofvacuum, whcrc even if I wanted to meet with what Iwould call in those terms a close friend, I'd have tomake an appointment for lunch. You can't drop in atpeople's places, or at least I didn't feel comfortabledoing that. So it would be. Are you free for lunch

next Friday afternoon? and then they would say, wellyes, but only for 45 minutes. . . because I have allthese things to do in the afternoon. After a while itgot a little too much."

Now that she's returned to India, she no longer hasthe feeling that life is bleak. She felt that in Americashe "had to be satisfied with relatively superficialthings. Happiness depended on things like your bankbalance. Here I'm happy, I'm more relaxed. I justlike being an Indian in India." Though she foundherself isolated living as a single woman in Indiabefore her marriage, there were still things in whichshe found satisfaction. "Indians aren't always lookingout for number 1. There's no 'ivory tower' for aca-demics in India. You're constantly in touch with avery grim reality. You can't isolate yourself frompoverty, or from sickness or death, and I think that'sinvigorating in a way. You can't stay blind. InAmerica you can switch off the evening news. Hereyou can't do that."

Shanti wanted to have children, and wanted a lifemate. Since she did not find a "love marriage" shedecided to stop waiting for Mr. Right and go with anarranged marriage. When she met the man whobecame her husband, she saw in him the samementality that she had before she left for the States:that there are really certain things that matter and takepriority over oneself. "I associate it with the Indianpoint of view that living abroad I'd missed. It wassomething I'd seen in my parents and my grandpar-ents. That there were larger units than the self thatmatter."

16

Discussion:Thc extreme individualism of thc United Statesclearly does not appeal to someone like Shanti, whoplaces a heavy importance on human interaction andpersonal relationships. Yet shc is one of the fewwomen surveyed who had lived alone in India beforeher marriage, having deliberately chosen to live inanother city than her parents. It seems that Shanti'svalue for recognizing the importance of "units largerthan the self" is not based on her dependence onother people or a constant need for companionship


It is more a spiritual and philosophical need thatrejects the "me first" attitude she felt in the U.S.

Shanti was happy to be back in India even though hercareer options were disappointing and even thoughsome aspects of Indian society made it difficult forher to live alone as a woman. Shanti's sense of reliefand comfort at being home again, in the context ofher own deeply held values, is a common themeamong the returned students. Even among those whoparticipated fully in American life were many whowere critical of the attitudes and values they foundwithin the American family, where they note thatdivorce is widespread, children are left on their ownat a very early age, and old people are isolated fromtheir children and grandchildren. Preferring thecontext of Indian values makes the readjustmentsomewhat easier, but this is not a case of simplyreverting to a previous lifestyle. Shanti and otherslike her have learned through living in the UnitedStates how essential their own cultural values are tothem. Rather than passively accepting the culturalnorms, they have actively embraced them and madethem their own.

The two major arenas of re-entry adjustmentfound in this study were in the family and at work.To a lesser extent, the society as a whole and thelocal community also provided a context for re-entryconflict, perhaps most among those who felt alienatedbecause of living in a city where they did not belongto the main cultural or linguistic group." Thesevarious realms of adjustment arc explored in moredepth below. Along with these general contexts ofre-entry adjustment, the study also identified somevariables in the attitudes and skills of those returningthat seem to ease adjustment or make it more diffi-cult. These include: (I) thc extent to which studcntshave clear goals and the confidence to achieve them,(2) the extent to which students fecl a sense ofbelonging in India, and (3) the ability of students toassume certain attitudes and outlooks or use specificcoping skills and strategies to ease readjustmentproblems.

1 7

Returning to Mutual Dependence inthe Family

With ParentsOne of the principal differences that most

Indian students noted between the U.S. and India isin the role and structure of the family. While Ameri-can young adults typically move away from theirfamilies and emphasize their personal and economicindependence from their parents, the Indian youngadults interviewed in this study often missed theirparents terribly while gone, telephoning them on theaverage of every two or three weeks. As Amritaexplained it, "Americans just don't have the sameurge to be with their parents as Indians do." Theyoung adult in Indian society is drawn to be with hisor her parents and to think about them all the time.Those who had studied in America did not tend tolose this urge.

Not surprisingly, for many of these students,coming home to the family was largely a positiveexperience. Twenty of those interviewed emphasizedthe family ties that brought them back home. Livingin an Indian family involves a mutual dependencebetween members and assuming an identity as part ofa whole: a larger sense of "we" than of "me." Formany of the returning students, like Shanti, this wasexactly what they missed in the United States, andwhat they were so eager to have again. Though twoor three admitted that they returned home out of asense of duty toward their families, or even a com-mitment they made to their parents when they left forthe U.S., most of the students talked about their veryclose-knit family and how they wanted to be backwith them. One woman, who had missed her familyintensely, commented that she realized that shewanted to spend every available minute with herfamily.

It is interesting that three or four of theyounger students reported that they returned from theUnited States feeling exhausted, and found it espe-cially comforting to be able to give up their burdensto their family and simply relax for a while. With nopressure to contribute any income to the family, noneed to cook or clean for oneself, and never a senseof being alone, the Indian family provided them witha sense of comfort nd security that they wantedEleven returned students commented specifically that

16 - An Investigation of the Re-enoy Adjustment of Indians who Studied in the U.S.A.

they needed and appreciated the support of theirparents as they made the transition from the life of astudent in the U.S. to the working life of an adult inIndia, and that they still depend on the emotionalsupport from their parents.

What sort of support can Indians expect fromtheir parents? While some of the students needed thefinancial support when they returned, others werequick to point out that they would be able to managefinancially on their own. What seemed to be essen-tial for about 80% of the students who returned tolive with their parents was the total emotional supportthey get from their parents. They know that there isalways someone there, with time to look after them.In their family their needs will all be met, and theywill not carry alone the burden of making decisions.As one person said, "The family wipes out most ofthe malices in coming home." And another: "Theywill support you against the rest of the world." Moreconcretely, family support also means a steady supplyof company and conversation. It means not needingto face any problem even a minor one alone.If the family has money, a house, a car, servants, orwhatever, it means that everyone in the family hasaccess to these resources as they need them.

At least nine of those interviewed specifical-ly mentioned the importance of the support theyreceived from their parents as being a help in theirreadjustment process. This confirms the research ofJudith Martin, who found that relationships withparents improved after a sojourn abroad, and thatparents provided useful support for the readjustmentprocess." This does not mean that there were noconflicts between these students and their parents; insome cases the students discovered the strength oftheir parents love and support because of conflictsbetween them. One man found that his parentswould bc constantly supporting even when he broughthome a wife they had not chosen, or when he dis-agreed or even offended them. Recognizing theirunconditional support made him feel more stronglyattached to his parents. Uma found comfort intalking over her readjustment difficulties with herparents even though some of her adjustment problemsconcerned living with her parents again

Given the age of the students and theirparcnts, it may bc expected that several returningstudents faced some major family event shortly after

their return. Six students faced the death of one oftheir parents while they were abroad or within monthsafter their return. Another rushed home because hisfather had been seriously injured. For two of thereturning students, re-entry to India was clouded withissues that led to the break-up of their marriage. Twobecame mothers very soon after their return and onerejoined her very young son whom she had left withher parents during her time in the U.S.A., whichmeant that for them, adjustment to motherhood wasmore an issue than the re-entry to India.

Assuming greater family responsibilitiesadded to the readjustment pressure for these students,for others who had married while abroad or shortlyafter returning, and even for some of the singlestudents who felt a new need to look after agingparents. There was frequently the sense that theparents were growing older and the son especiallyshould be there to provide social and emotionalsecurity for his parents." But the family responsibili-ty was not seen as a unwelcome burden in manycases as much as it was seen as the fulfillment of adesirable commitment. Some of the students (typical-ly female) spoke of thcir personal desire and intentionto repay their parents for the support they had re-ceived throughout their lives. There were statementsfrom some students to the effect that their ownparents were more liberal than most Indian parents, orrespected their freedom more than most. Thesestudents returned to their families out of love andattraction for their parents rather than from anyparental pressure or scnse of duty. For some, though,the motivating factor would better be described as aduty one must assume. Fulfilling this family obliga-tion is important for the students, and seems on thewhole to outweigh any individual preference theymight have. Some returned home precisely becauseof the pressure of this duty. This was especially trueof those who were their parents' only son, but daugh-ters felt it as well. As one person explained, thcsense that she was not taking care of her parentswhen they needed her would have left her unfulfilledin the U.S., even though her own career goals wouldbe better met there. Those who returned homemostly because of parental pressure often seemed tohave a less positive outlook on their future in India,and while they readjusted out of necessity, they wereoften dissatisfied in some way or another.

8


Gama and Pedersen's 1977 report of theirstudy of 31 Brazilian returnees offered the hypothesesthat women who returned to Brazil from the UnitedStates would have more difficulty adjusting to therestrictions of living with family than did men."There is some support in the results of this researchfor the extensioi: of this hypothesis to the return toIndia, though it may also be that women are morewilling to talk about these problems than men,especially with a female interviewer. In lookingdirectly at adjustment problems within the family,three men mentioned some difficulties in their adjust-ment to the family compared with seven women.For students living with their parents, these difficul-ties centered on the loss of the freedom to come andgo out of the house without explaining every time,the restrictions against staying out late at night, andthe loss of privacy. For women there were also somecomplaints about restrictions in their dress, a factornot so much in their own homes but in their in-laws'homes or on the job. Women with children of theirown focussed on the adjustment issues of balancingfamily and career, or the difficulties of meeting theobligations to their parents while fulfilling their ownneeds.

In this sample, as one would expect, livingwith parents is the norm. Those who were not mar-ried generally were content with this arrangement.One young woman talked about treasuring these lastfew years living with her parents before she wouldleave them for marriage. Living at home again doesimply some restrictions on one's freedom, especiallywhen compared with the lifestyle they had known inthe United States. While in the U.S. they had beenable to come and go as they please, now they had toexplain where they would be going, with whom, andso on. Students who had maintained their ownapartments, driven with friends all over the U.S., andotherwise been fully capable of managing on theirown now found parents who worried about them ifthey were out late. A couple of female studcntsmentioned that their parents were worried aboutleaving them alone in the house. Students who felta greater need for freedom or privacy found suchrestrictions difficult, and sometimes fought with theirparents over these issues. Talking with parentsseemed to help, both in terms of their understandingthe need for restrictions ("They told me that they do

1 9

this because they care about me and worry about me.If they didn't care about me I could come and go asI please" or "I used to think they had no right toquestion my behavior, but now I see that they onlywanted an explanation'') as well as in easing up therestrictions on their freedom ("I tell them that I thinkI'm old enough to know how to spend and managemy money, and they're beginning to understand.")

Although about six or seven men either livedalone or had at rome point lived alone in India, agood majority of the men lived permanently withtheir parents as either single adult men or with theirwives as part of a joint family. However, three menwere living alone at the time of the interview. It ismuch more difficult for Indian women to live alone.Though three or four of the women, including Shanti,had lived alone in India before marriage, they alsocomplained of the problems they faced in trying to dothis. Others who might want to live alone relentedand lived at home with their parents because they hadno other options. Those who did not have stablecareers with a firm that provides housing could notexpect an easy time finding an apartment in a societythat is suspicious of a woman if she does not want tolive with her parents. Two women who had tried tolive alone found landlords unwilling to rent to them,or refusing to let them install a telephone. The sensethat their comings and goings would be watchedcarefully by the landlord and the neighbors also madethe idea of living at home more appealing. Thoseinterviewed also reported that a woman who mightwant to have her own apartment in the same town asher parents is also faced with the embarrassment thisbrings for her family, because everyone relatives,neighbors, friends, and strangers will assume thather choice to live alone reflects serious problemswithin the family.

A few of the single males surveyed livedalone, often because their job was in another cityfrom that of their parents. Others, both male andfemale, planned to get their own places as soon as itwould be economically feasible. Generally, thesepeople valued a sense of individualism that is typicalin the United States. This group also included somewho had been in boarding school, and some who hadlived in nuclear families rathcr than joint families aschildren, or whose fathers had jobs that causcd the


family to move around quite often. Yet none of thesefactors is predictive of the desire to live alone.

Marriage and FamilyLiving in a joint or extended family was

more common among the married returned studentsthan living in a nuclear family, but not among thefemales interviewed, where the nuclear family wassomewhat more typical. Five or six of the marriedwomen lived in nuclear families, while two or three,including Amrita, lived in a joint family. Twowomen were living with their children and their ownparents. Among the men, at least 10 lived in jointfamilies or in separate quarters in the same buildingas their parents. Only one of these mentioned anyconcerns about the loss of privacy in the joint familycompared to what he had known in the U.S. Forsome, the sense that the American family was introuble led them to be even more convinced of thevalue of the Indian joint family. For example, oneman has delayed getting married because his parentsare not in agreement s.vith his choice of a bride andhe does not want to split the family.

Three of the females interviewed talked atlength about being in a joint family (or wanting to bein one). One was very enthusiastic about running thehousehold with her mother-in-law and thought it wasgreat fun being in a joint family. Amrita's adjustmentwithin the joint family has been discussed, but shewas generally satisfied with her choice to live withher in-laws. The third woman enjoyed and dependedon the support provided from her in-laws and parentsliving in the same town, and noted that she wouldfind it more convenient to live in a joint family if herhusband would agree.

Young adults in India are expected to marry,though most of the single people interviewed werenot as yet under particular pressure from their parentsto get married. In a few cases, though the parentshad begun efforts to find an appropriate spousc.Even if the process had not really begun, parents areconcerned about marrying off their daughters, andthis has an impact on her day:to-day life. For exam-ple, one woman was dismayed to discover that herparents were afraid to let her stay alone in the housebecause they assumed she would have late nightparties in thcir absence, which would cause the

neighbors to talk, and in turn ruin her chances ofgetting a good marriage.

Just under half of those interviewed are nowor had been married. Most married after their returnto India, but a number of these students lived in theUnited States with their spouses. The traditionalarranged marriages are common for this group, but asignificant number chose their own spouses, andseveral single students objected strongly to the ideaof an arranged marriage. Conflicts between parentsand students about marriage plans emerged in acouple of instances, but this is not a general problemfor those interviewed, either because they are ingeneral agreement with the notion of an arrangedmarriage or their parents accept the student's ownchoice. An example of the first is a woman who wascomforted by the idea that her parents would help hcrfind a suitable husband, since she didn't feel sure shewould find someone on her own. The other situationis illustrated by a man who was delightfully surprisedwhen his parents were so open to his choice of abride. For him, the anticipated problems of bringingthis wife home to live with his parents did notmaterialize, and the "whole thing worked out muchbetter than I had even hoped."

Those who have made an arranged marriage,or who expect to, often noted how difficult it was fortheir American friends to understand this choice.Some argued strongly in favor of arranged marriages,believing that it is best to be neutral in on,.'s choiceof a spouse rather than influenced by physical attrac-tion or another bias that may not have much bearingon future happiness. The woman mentioned abovewho wanted her parents' help in finding a spouse isone case that illustrates a positive outlook on ar-ranged marriages. Shanti is another; even though shewas romantically drawn to the idea of a "love mar-riage," when this didn't come about she was ready to"try her luck" with an arranged marriage, since, asshe pointed out, all the happy marriages shc knew ofwere arranged marriages.

Since there is no conflict in these casesbetween the individual's choice and the norms ofsociety, those open to the arranged marriage may alsoreport having little difficulty in readapting generally.Ilaving lived in the U.S. for some time did not makeit more difficult for them to accept an arrangedmarriage. In fact, one woman noted that having been

2

An Investigation of the Re-entry Adjustment of Inaians who Studied in the U.S.A. - 19

on her own in the U.S., it was easier for her to adjustto marriage and leaving her parents' home. Neverthe-less, there can be special adjustment issues concernedwith the arranged marriage. One woman whoseparents had begun looking for a husband for her wasanxious about the process since, until she knew forsure where she and her so-far unidentified husbandwould live, it was difficult to plan her career. Anoth-er was annoyed by the "superstitions" of her parents,who were looking for a suitable boy with a compati-ble horoscope.

In Madras, the social environment seems tobe more orthodox than in the other cities, and the roleof caste is more prominent in the society. (In fact, nowhere else did anyone mention caste at all.) Theissue of caste certainly affects marriage, since parentswould tend to arrange for a marriage within the samecaste, though some returnees seemed proud to haveparents who were open to the idea of marryingsomeone outside their caste. Although caste is notmentioned in other cities, the communal feelings ofparents are often a source of conflict for the returnedstudents in all cities, especially when there is an issueof marriage involved. Many of the returned studentshad adopted an attitude of greater openness towardother religious groups and subcultures, causingconflict with their parents who held on to theirstereotypes of various groups within India.

Work and Career

The Job SearchThe ability to find satisfying work is an

important step in easing the re-entry adjustment.Among the educated upper and middle classes inIndia, family connections are often the key to a startin business or professional life. Six of the returningstudents took jobs through family connections or thcfamily business, and two joined a family professionalpractice. Three others began their own enterprisesfairly quickly upon their return, often with familymoney. Finding positions in large companies is alsofrequently done though family connections. Studentswho have these kinds of connections arc freed ofmuch of the worries about employment that occupy

other returning students. They are probably also themost likely to return to India.

In addition to the students who had theconnections to get into business and professionalpractice, four of the students returned to the same (ornearly the same) job they had before they left Indiato go to the United States. This may be a reflectionof the almost sacred quality of job security in Indiain that these people did not have to relinquish theirposts to take advantage of study abroad opportunities.For most of the returning students, however, findinga job upon their return was a top priority even amongthose who had no immediate need for an income.

At least twelve of those looking for workdescribed the experience as difficult, frustrating, ordisappointing. Some of those most discouraged bythe job hunt were those who felt that their academicwork in the U.S. was not especially valued in theIndian job market. Two students in communicationsfaced this problem, as did some in political science orpolicy studies whose studies had prepared them for ajob in government, which could then not be obtained.Some of those interviewed were still unemployed, ortemporarily employed but looking for work, evenafter a few years.

A number of those who found work weredissatisfied with their initial jobs; three of these hadalready switched to other, more satisfying jobs.When they compared their job with those they mighthave been able to get in the United States, several feltthat they had made a compromise in their career forthe sake of returning to India. Some were confusedabout what they wanted to do, and considered areturn to the United States for more studies.

Despite this, others seemed to have foundjobs without as much anxiety, though they may haveworked very hard and just as long to find work. 13yhaving a clear idea about their career goals, a system-atic plan for achieving them, and a sense of confi-dence in their ability to achieve these goals that wasnot shaken by initial set-backs, they minimized someof the stress in their job search and increased theirchances for success. Some launched a job huntingcampaign while thcy were in the United States.Others made job hunting trips during the summcrvacations before they finished their degree, and wereable to secure positions for themselves before thcyleft thc U.S Even those in this group who did not


start the job search before returning were typicallyconfident in their credentials. They also took asystematic approach to the job hunt, researched andtargeted the businesses to which they would apply,and called on the various business contacts they hadthrough family and friends.

A government program (the "Poole Pro-gram") funds temporary internships for returningstudents who are seeking permanent jobs. Thisprogram was a boon for about five of the students,giving them experience and an income while theysought permanent posts.

The few who almost immediately set up theirown enterprises were now operating them successful-ly. The risk was well worth taking, but the responsi-bility they assumed was also greater. One returningstudent would have preferred a steady salary in acomfortable job, but was instead entrusted with thefamily's life savings and urged by his father to takethe risk now to set up a business rather than iaterwhen he would have the additional responsibilities ofa wife and children. The sense of creativity and theability to be one's own boss and set the standards forthe work environment seemed to be the main attrac-tions to starting a business from scratch. Even morethan those who assumed positions in their familybusinesses, these men seemed confident and optimis-tic about India's economic future.

The Work Culture and EnvironmentMany of those interviewed had relatively

easy transitions to the work environment in India.Many felt that the fact that they had worked beforegoing to the U.S. for studies gave them a morerealistic picture of the work situation in India andmade it easier for them to adjust. Those who did nothave the experience of working in the U.S. also feltthat this helped them adjust to the Indian workplace,since they had not felt the greater financial rewards ofemployment in the U.S. nor had they become used tothe Western style of work. But these factors werc notnecessarily predictive of successful adjustment to thework environment. For a number of those inter-viewed, the strongest continuing readjustment issueswer; thcir frustrations in the work environment. Thiswas true for those in business, in academics, and inprofessions.

The frustrations usually start with the tele-phones that are not dependable, the bureaucracy inthe government that interferes with getting thingsdone, and the general inefficiency that they feel existsin the office. Though many people in India maycomplain about these things, the returned studentsseemed to feel the frustration more acutely. "Onceyou've seen the light, you know what darkness is,"was a typical comment. In Calcutta, these issueswere the most obvious, but in every city, statementslike these turned up:

"Much more supervision of employees isneeded here."

"So many of the things you take for grantedin the United States, like telephones that willalways work, are not found here. So it'sharder to get as much done."

"In the U.S., even for a volunteer activity,when you ask someone to do a job, you cancount on it's being done and done on time.Here you have to keep reminding people todo their work."

By the same token, some complained thattheir supervisors wanted to oversee every small thingthat they did, and that they did not receive theindividual credit for their work that they had in theUnited States. Office politics arc seen as extremelyimportant, and as interfering with getting the workdone. This seemed as true of business as academicenvironments.

Another frustrating aspect of the workculture in India was what one person called the "itwill do" attitude. Or, as another person explained,the concept of the job is more important than com-pleting it perfectly. So if a typed letter has someerrors in it, if a computer program does not workperfectly, if some wall paint is spilled on the floor,the general workplace culture, according to thoseinterviewed, does not bother correcting these flawsThose who described themselves as ambitious or w holoved doing their work seemed to be particularlyirritated or depressed by this attitude.

An Investigation of the Re-entty Adjustment of Indians who Studied in the U.S.A. - 21

To minimize some of these frustrations,some students chose to work for multinational corpo-rations where the environment might be more similarto that of a U.S. corporation. This group preferredwhat they saw as the relatively less hierarchic, moreefficient, and more exciting work environment of themultinational corporation. Others found the environ-ment of a research institute or a university postsomewhat better in that it allowed them some creativ-ity and freedom in their work. Those with their owncompany often tried to develop their own workculture within their firm, but at least one such personwas still frustrated: "I can't change the whole system.Even if my business operates efficiently our hands aretied when others don't."

Why Did you Come Back?Almost everyone agreed that they were often

asked the question, "Why did you come back?" sincethe general perception in India is that anyone luckyenough to go to America would be silly to come backto India. This question tended to annoy the returnedstudents, who saw both positive and negative aspectsof the United States. Some found it difficult toconvince their colleagues that things were not alwaysperfect in the U.S. For example, a few students whowere on campuses in rough inner-city neighborhoodswere faced with disbelief when they described someof thcir concerns for safety and the conditions theyfaced there. Related to this was the reaction thereturnees faced when they complained about some-thing they found in India, such as pollution or traffic.They would be asked again, "Well, why didn't youstay in America if you don't like it here?" Thoughthis type of reaction continued to bother some, mostreturnees began to care less and less how otherpeople reacted.

More problematic was the fact that any newideas the returnees might have would be viewed assomething alien that wouldn't work in India and thcywould bc reminded, "You're not in America any-more." Returnees found they needed to work twiceas hard in many cases to convince people that theirncw ideas deserved attention. Similarly, they neededto work hard to counter the general imprcssion heldby many their colleagues that they probably wouldsooner or later go back to thc U.S This made it

difficult in some cases for the returnee to get a job orto advance in his or her career.

National Identity and Alienation

A Sense of PurposeThose who came back with clear ideas about

why they wanted to be back in India were often thosewho felt some sense of mission about their work andits need in India. Many students had specificallychosen research topics that related to the developmentneeds of India and felt that they were making acontribution, however small, to the betterment ofIndia. Some recalled a sense of responsibility orservice toward India that had been instilled in themfrom thcir education and upbringing. Being able todo their part, whether on the job or through voluntarycommunity service (a concept that may well havebeen learned in the U.S.) was important in helpingthem fit back into Indian society. Yet sometimes itwas not so easy for them to find the outlet for theirskills and to make the contribution that they wantedto make, especially if they studied in fields that areless common and not well understood in Indiaeven when there may be a crying need for such acontribution. For these people, adjustment may seemharder while they are still trying to find a role forthemselves.

Belonging in IndiaSome returned students presumed that they

belonged in India regardless of anything elsc, and soimmediately felt themselves to be part of Indiansociety. As one person said, "I will never have toapologize to anyone for living here," whereas as animmigrant to another country, he might at times bemade to feel that he did not belong there. Somestudents decided to return home when they recog-nized that they belonged in India. "1 suddenlyrealized that I like India," was a typical statement.Many reported feeling a sense of comfort and belong-ing that they could only have in India. This contrast-ed with a sense of loneliness and alienation that manystudents felt in the United States. "I felt as if I wasonly interacting with my car and mv computer," washow Shanti put it when describing hcr idea of "value


sickness." Another student was deeply affected byIndira Gandhi's assassination, which made it suddenlyseem very important to her to be doing her work inIndia rather than in the United States.

Some people also thought that in India theywould have a better chance to make their mark in theworld. For example, one person spoke of the greaterconfidence she felt in India to walk into offices,introduce herself as so-and-so's daughter, and ask forwork. In the U.S., no one would know her familyand she would be more unsure of how to dress,whom to meet, and what to say. A similar sentimentwas expressed by the person who felt that his chancesin India to become a C.E.O. were much better than inthe U.S., where it would ultimately be difficult for anIndian to rise to the top. Another person commentedthat in the U.S. he would always be a second -.lasscitizen, while in India he is a first class citizen.

A few students did not have this sense ofbelonging in India. Sometimes this might be ex-plained by the fact that the city in which they werenow living was new to them, and not the hometownthey left. Language is sometimes a barrier as well;some of those interviewed admitted that they werenot fluent in the local language or were in any casemore at home in English.

FriendsThough several returned students continued

to be in close contact with friends from their child-hood, a more common pattern was found, evenamong those students who returned to the same citythey left, that their former circle of classmates was nolonger around. In some instances, the friends alsowent to the United States and were still there, butsome also moved to other cities in India. At the ageof most of the students, their friends have married,and the single student finds this to be a barrier to thefriendship. Generally, those friends are doing otherthings. In spite of this, only a few were concernedabout the loss of the friends they had had beforegoing to the United States. More often, they devel-oped new friends whose experience, situation, andinterests were better matchcd to their own

94

Attitudes and Coping Strategies

Clear Goals and ConfidenceQuite a number of students had very clear

goals about their reasons for pursuing higher educa-tion in the U.S., with specific ideas concerning whatthey wanted to do upon their return. These studentstypically were extremely bright, motivated, andconfident. They often worked very intensively whilethey were students, perhaps completing a two-yearprogram in a year and a summer, or pushing quicklythrough a combined Masters and Ph.D. program.Some of them talked about the importance of plan-ning for their career in India even before they left,and many had carefully researched their options inthe U.S. with these plans in mind. This, they feltwas important in easing their readjustment to India.Given the level of confidence and general ability ofthese students to succeed, it was not surprising to findthem returning home fully confident of their ability toact a job, and turning down offers until the right onecame along. The satisfaction of achieving their goalsdominated their outlook and their re-entry experience.

On the other hand, some students who alsohad clearly defined goals for themselves had a severeblow to their confidence when they were not able toachieve the goals set. For example, this was the casefor one student who did not get the position in thegovernment that she sought and another who hadbeen unable to convince potential employers of thevalue of her degree. These students had more diffi-culties in readjusting because of this and foundthemselves forced to explore other options for them-selves, which might include returning to the U.S. forfurther studies.

Attitudes and OutlooksMany people commented that Indians are

used to accepting whatever comes, an attitude thattcnds to minimize frustration and disappointment."You just acccpt it. It becomes normal." Most of thereturnees also noted that their expectations aboutIndia were realistic; they knew India was not like theU S. "I lived here for 23 years, and only two yearsin the U.S.," was typical of thc way some peoplediscussed their readjustment This seemed to reflecta way of putting their experience into the context of

An Investigation of the Re-entrv Adjustment of Indians who Studied in the U.S.A. - 23

their whole life so far, and seemed to serve as ameans of minimizing the adjustment issues, orsuggesting why it was not difficult at all for them toreadjust.

Other people commented that they just triedto forget about their U.S. experiences that had norelevance in India. "I don't question too much howthings ought to be." In this way, they adjusted theirexpectations to match what they have and simply geton with life. Some people talked about the timewhen they first returned as one spent trying to fightsituations they disliked, but gradually they see thefutility of their protests, and accept, ignore, or findsome small niche in which they can make changes.The pattern of re-entry these students followed wasmost like reverting to their old cultural norms.

While a few people openly admitted beingmaterialistic and missing the standard of livingavailable in the U.S., most of those interviewed sawthemselves as people for whom such material thingsare not especially important. "These are just smallthings that are easy to get used to." On the otherhand, all of these students have an adequately highstandard of living in their own homes, which may insome cases be as good or better than what they couldhope to attain in the United States. One personsuggested that I ask people if they would rather berich in India or the United States. She would bet thatit would always be preferable to be rich in India.

Some Strategies for Coping

Observing and ListeningNot surprisingly, the very same skills that

helped some of these students adjust to the U.S. alsocame into play in helping them readjust to India.They were able to observe the behavior of thosearound them and take their cues. One woman talkedabout making a conscious effort to fit in. For her,this meant among other things that she would wear avery modest sari to work rather than a salwar andkurta, since she noticed that this type of dress wasexpected of someone in her position, though no onewould have commented on her style of dress. For

another woman, making an effort to fit in mcant thatshe avoided boring her friends with stories about the

5

U.S., and paid attention to what they had to talkabout. Another person talked about the frustrationshe faced trying to cash a check at the bank. But helooked around him at the bank and discovered thatother people were calmly accepting the procedures,and not getting angry or discouraged at thc length oftime it took. This "rubbed off' as he put it, so thateventually he could also remain calm.

Adopting Desirable Aspects of U.S.Culture

For some students, many aspects of Ameri-can culture are worth bringing back to India. Theseincluded the level of trust given to employees, theability to make decisions quickly, a sense of pride indoing work well, a more forthright approach tohuman relationships, a sense that merit is rewarded,a more efficient work and political environment, andthe ability of the individual to take initiative. But itwas often smaller things that could be adopted, suchas trying to use one's time more efficiently. Oneperson talked about "optimizing" his time. When hefirst returned he used to be very frustrated when hewas kept waiting. Now he employs various strategiesto minimize his waiting time, such as being morespecific about an appointment time and then recon-firming it. Those with their own companies oftentried to bring the values of a more efficient workplaceinto their firms. Those in academic settings oftentalked about using a discussion-oriented approach toteaching, and trying to establish a different type ofrelationship with their students.

Though many of those questioned would liketo see many of the more positive U.S. values prac-ticed in Indian socicty, no one expected things tochange overnight, and many commented that in somerespects conditions arc now much worse in India thanthey were in the early 1980s. The question for manyreturnees was to find a balance.

Finding a BalanceThe theme of balancing the security one has,

whether in terms of job, family, or social relations,with the possibility of greater rewards if some risksare taken, emerged again and apain as a theme ofdiscussion Which baffles uo they choose to fight?This is an interesting questior for further research,one that was highlighted in the profile of Amrita.


Smooth relations within the family clearly take thefirst position in finding a balance not only for Amritabut for a good number of those interviewed, andoften keeps people conforming to the norms ofsociety. As Uma explained, it is important to staywithin the "nice girl" image, since if she steps out ofwhat is considered normal, not only would she sufferisolation from the rest of society but her parents alsowould suffer. "It's easier if you don't care about yourparents and elders." The risk of hurting parents isgenerally too great. On the other hand, the man whoat first worried that his parents would be upset thathe had chosen his own wife has discovered again andagain that his parents are on his side even when hedisagrees with them. This experience has in factstrengthened his attachment to his parents.

On another front is a person who hopeseventually to get into politics, but wonders if hc willbe able to take the risk of leaving his comfortablejob. To some extent, the experience in the U.S. maymake people more open to t, :ing certain types ofrisk, but job security is extremely important in Indiaand it is difficult to give up such a job. One persondid take an enormous risk and gave up his job shortlyafter his return to India even though he did not havemuch to fall back on. It may be that his experiencein the U.S. contributed to the sense of confidence hehad in his ability to get another more satisfactory job,which he was able to do. Another such risk wastaken by a returnee who insisted that his supervisorgive him more authority to do his work independent-ly. This risk was also rewarded.

Conclusion

One of the benefits of a naturalistic researchis its ability to bring to light various aspects ofindividual experiences that complicate, intensify, orcase the cross-cultural readjustment process. Particu-larly striking in this study was the prominence of newfamily responsibilities in the re-entry process, both inconjunction with the aging, poor health, or death ofthe parents of these students as well as their ownmarriages and child-bearing. The economic reality ofIndia and its poorly developed infrastructure were notsurprising sources of frustration for many of the

students; however, their own economic standing andposition in society often mitigated the worst frustra-tions. Many were very optimistic about India's (andtheir own) economic future.

From an intercultural perspective, the re-search found that the students' values changed alongpredictable lines, moving toward greater indepen-dence and less differentiation of power among socialgroups. Especially when they first returned, theIndian students were impatient with bureaucratic redtape and inefficiency and frustrated by the workattitudes they often found on the job. They also weremore bothered by communal differences and theintolerance shown by some Indians (especially intheir own families) toward others. They usuallyattributed their own larger tolerance for others to theirpositive exposure to different groups of people in theU.S.A., but also to their own experience of being aforeigner and, at times, the object of racial hatred.

The two most prominent arenas in which thecultural values conflict was played out were in thefamily and at work, but the larger society was also aplace where they found conflicts in values, and wherethey sometimes felt a sense of alienation. Theworkplace brought its share of frustrations andchallenges for these students, and many resignedthemselves to a lower level of job satisfaction thanthey believed they would have had if they remainedin the U.S.A. Finding meaningful employment wasan initial concern for most of these students, and thismay be the area in which programs like the Poolegrant in India or other programs geared to providinginformation about employment to returned studentscan be the most productive.

Returned students also faced conflictingvalues within the family, and womcn especiallyseemed to be torn by a need for more independenceand privacy than was permitted in their familysituations. Unlike the men, the women who went tothe U.S. for studies were more likely to live in anuclear family than in a joint family. The family wasat the same time a source of critical support in the re-entry process and an integral part of the students'identities. The strong ties of the family tended toforce the returned students to come to grips withcontradictory values and find a balance

Also important for reintegration was a senseof belonging in India Those who felt themselves to

26


be immersed in their home society were likely to beencouraged about the prospects for India's future, andwere frequently involved in voluntary or professionalactivities that they felt contributed to the developmentof their county and society. Students who do notreturn to their families and home towns may especial-ly feel alienated from the larger society, even if theydo find rewarding positions in their field. Many mayneed help developing social networks in a new citywhere they have no connections. Clubs of otherreturned students from the U.S. might be one way tohelp alleviate this sense of loss. Returning studentscan also be encourage to take the initiative to joinvoluntary efforts.

Notes

In addition to the support of the family, theability to find meaningful work, and a sense ofbelonging in India, returned students were able toadopt a number of helpful attitudes, strategies, andcoping skills that made it possible for them to findthis balance and create a satisfying life for themselvesin India. These included the ability to step back fromthemselves to observe the situation objectively, tomake changes in their lives that accommodated theirnew values, and to accept situations that are beyondtheir control. To the extent that these abilities can befostered in returning students, their adjustment andreintegration is likely to be more satisfying.

I. Hood, Mary Ann G. and Schieffer, Kevin J. (eds) Professional Integration: A Guide for Students from theDeveloping World. (Washington, DC: Education for International Development, NAFSA, 1983.)

2. Kevin J. Schieffer, "Mapping the Migration of Talent," International Educator, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Fall, 1991), pp.18-22.

3. Some of these programs are described in Frances E. Sullivan, "Completing the Cycle: Promoting ReturnMigration for Development," International Educator, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Fall 1991), pp 24-25.

4. This point of view is discussed in greater depth in Ong, Paul M., Cheng, Lucie, and Evans, Leslie, "TheMigration of Highly Educated Asians." International Educator, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Fall 1991), pp. 26-29.

5. Open Doors: 1987-1988. Report on International Educational Exchange. (New York: Institute of Interna-tional Education, 1987., p. 129.

6. This was the estimate reported by counselors at the USEFI offices in India, and was also the figure given byseveral interviewees in this study. Since Indians may study and work in the US for any number of years beforetheir return home, this figure should only be cousidered a rough estimate.

7. Reported in Ong, Paul M., Cheng, Lucie, and Evans, Leslie, "The Migration of Highly Educated AsiansInternational Educator, Vol. I, No. 2 (Fall 1991), p. 28

8 It should be kept in mind that some of those inter\ iewed may have been reluctant to reveal any problemsthey might have experienced to someone who is a foreigner and a stranger to them.

9. Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, "Final Report Data Base for Brain Drain Institution-I3ased Study,"1989, p 53.

CN

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10. Geert Hofstede, Culture's Consequences: International Differences ia Work Related Values. (Beverly Hills,CA: Sage, 1.980). More recently, Hofstede has developed a fifth dimension of culture, which he calls"Confusion Dynamism." Since this dimension relates more to Asian than Western values, it would probably beinteresting to explore it more. Unfortunately no data were yet available for India at the time of this report.

11. This is just one example of the impact of the diversity of language and cultures in India, which undoubted-ly has implications for students who return to other cities than their home communities. The limitations of thisstudy did not allow for a thorough investigation of the cultural subregional variations in the re-entry experience.

12. Judith Martin, "The Impact of a Homestay Abroad on Relationships at Home," Occasional Papers inIntercultural Learning, No. 8 (September 1985).

13. It should be noted that in most cases there was no real concern with financial security for the parents, sincethose who have the chance to study in the U.S. by and large come from families who are comfortably well-offin India.

14. Elizabeth Gama and Paul Pedersen, "Readjustment Problems of Brazilian Returnees from Graduate Studiesin the United States," International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Vol. I, No. 4 (1977), pp. 45-59.

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