Coming home from studying abroad is one of the hardest things you will ever do. It's so difficult to make the transition from living on your own in a city with new things to experience every day to being back at home. There's nothing that really makes it any easier; however, it's nice to know that there are other people who are experiencing exactly the same thing. Here are six things that most people who have studied abroad know to be true about coming home:
1. Jet Lag, Jet Lag, JET LAAAAG.
You like sleeping? Well, that's just too bad. Jet lag coming home is nothing compared to what it is going there. Why is the sun up already? Why does it get dark so early? Why does it feel like it's 4 AM when the sun is up? Oh, wait. That's because it is 4 AM where you have been living for the last three months. It takes forever to get back to a regular sleeping schedule and in the meantime, nice is not a word I would use to describe how you are feeling.
2. You cry. A lot.
Tears just seem to become a regular part of life now. They probably started the minute you got on the plane to come home and haven't really stopped since. The tears will range from one or two drops to a full-on waterfall. Sometimes you'll think of a memory, or see something that reminds you of all of your adventures. Sometimes you make the horrible decision to go back and look through all of your pictures. Sometimes it happens at really inconvenient times, like when someone is just trying to be nice and ask how your day is going and you respond with sobs. What I'm trying to get at here is that we cry a whole lot.
3. Culture Shock. (Walmart, anyone?)
My first day back in the states we went to a Walmart. THERE IS SO MUCH STUFF. You can live in the most crowded of cities and still be overwhelmed by Walmart. Who needs a 10 lb. bag of cheese and camo lawn chairs? America does, that's who. And it's not just Walmart. EVERYTHING is bigger. The portions seem especially huge. Are we really supposed to eat all of that in one sitting? Sure. There's not hot tea offered at every meal? It's just plain uncivilized. The chocolate here tastes like brown paper next to European chocolate and don't even get me started on all of the NASCAR shirts and Confederate flags that aren't being worn ironically.
4. You have to try REALLY hard not to talk about ALL. THE. TIME.
It is a daily struggle to not talk about your study abroad trip every second of every day. I constantly find myself saying, "Well, in London..." and I'm fully aware of how obnoxious I'm being. But hey, cut us some slack. Sometimes there is no other way for us to process all of the amazing things that happened besides talking about it. Tune out if you must, just smile and nod every once in a while. And maybe throw in a courtesy laugh when we're telling you one of the thousands of stories that are probably only funny if you were there.
5. Driving is like, really hard.
We haven't driven in three months or more. We were most likely living in a country that drives on the opposite side of the road. We have no idea what we're doing. I wasn't even that great of a driver before I left, but now I'm just lucky if I'm on the right side of the road. Which way do we look first when crossing the street? We don't know. And once we get used to driving again, we get frustrated that everything is SO FAR AWAY. And just for the record, taking a train or a bus into the center of town is way more fun than driving.
6. Bored doesn't even begin to explain how you feel.
You can't just walk everywhere anymore. Class is no longer out and about in the city. You actually have to sit in a classroom. Where are all of the markets? Where are all of the cute European boys passing you on your walk to the cafe down the street? Where are the concerts and skyscrapers and mountains to climb and streets to wander? How are we supposed to go from always having something to do and see and go back to life at home? I'm still figuring this one out. It's not that you aren't excited to be home with friends and family, it's just hard to handle such a drastic change.
You experience so many emotions in the time spent transitioning from a study abroad trip to being back at home. You will never forget the friends that became family and the memories that you will cling to on rainy days. You're also so glad to be back surrounded by friends and family that make coming home worth it. After this small taste of travel and adventure, you know that it is an experience worth more than you can imagine. You learned and grew as a person and you got to have the time of your life. You got to gain new perspectives and understandings that worked together to make you a better, kinder person in the end. And all of that makes this difficult transition time so, so worth it.
