Invisiblity Dreaded and Desired: Phenomenological Inquiry of Sojourners' Cross-Cultural Adaptation

Taking a phenomenological perspective this longitudinal study examines the intercultural communication and adaptation experience of a small group of U. S. undergraduate science students participating in a short-term overseas research program in France. An analysis of extensive interviews with students prior to their departure, during their sojourn in France, and upon their return to the United States revealed the nature of the embodied experience of these sojourners, including the influence of cultural identity on their lived sojourn experience. The findings confirm and complement previous scholarship investigating cultural adaptation.