Over my winter break, I was lucky enough to spend two weeks taking a course called Australian ecosystems in the cities of Cairns and Melbourne. This was a dream come true. I have wanted to go down under since I was six years old.
So you must be thinking, “What was so bad you had to write an article about it?”
That’s just the problem. I had an amazing experience. I did not want to leave. I almost found myself crying the night before we left and again in the airport. I sucked back the tears, but they were right on the cusp of spilling out.
The absolute worst part of studying abroad, especially in your dream locale, is the return. Ever since I came back I have been hard-core suffering from reverse culture shock. The symptoms include frustration, boredom, anger and symptoms similar to depression.
It is a difficult transition when you fall in love with a place then are forced to come back to reality. I have been struggling to describe these emotions and thoughts to others. I have been tongue-tied about my experience. I get asked about the trip and there are so many thoughts that I can't put in to words. My time in Australia was like a dream that I was very suddenly awoken from. There is still this sense of shock that I am not there and I have been back for close to a month. That is only the start of the problems though.
I got back the day before spring semester started, so I was thrown right back in to the world of typical college life. Going to class was so hard and still is. The lack of motivation in me has never been so high. I find myself constantly thinking about Australia. I am doing homework one minute; the next I am looking at pictures from my trip. It is always in the back of my mind and it has made this semester way harder than usual.
I know my friends and family don't like to hear this, but I want to move to Australia. It was a place that felt like home to me. I know that two weeks are probably not enough to judge a place to move across the globe. Sometimes you get that gut feeling, though. I can not stop thinking about that place and in the end, that is the worst thing.
