By Becca Pilolla
As a student, I wrote a blog post about culture shock and how myself as well as other students deal with it. But I never wrote about the other side of the coin. What happens after you’ve gone through culture shock here in Europe, and have adapted to the way of this lifestyle? What happens when you return back to the United States?
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| Bet you house keys in the US don’t look like this! |
It’s called reverse culture shock. It’s okay to laugh at yourself when you go home and do the silly things such as reach behind the toilet to flush it, kiss everyone on both cheeks, etc. because let’s face it, everyone else will be laughing at you too.
But let them. That’s the best part. Reverse culture shock is what brings you back to your American self, but at the same point brings back the memories you had while you were abroad as well. Enjoy it.
Relish in the hours after you get home when it is perfectly acceptable to go to bed at 3pm, and not get up till 1pm the next day. Appreciate your mom and dad taking pity on you from a ‘long journey’ and not giving you any chores for the first week you’re back at home. It’s the best part about coming back after being abroad! Jet leg can be a bummer, culture shock can be funny, but it’s always good reaping in the benefits once you’re back home.
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| Bottles of vino for the family. |
Of course, don’t forget to bring the gifts, and all the recipes and I’m sure your family will be glad to let things slide for a little while longer. Use the “But mom, I’m really tired! It’s like 5:15 am in Florence” excuse as long as you can.
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| Swiss Alps. |
Not being able to just hop on that €74 flight to Budapest for the weekend will be hard to process as well as not being able to just get up and leave for another country every weekend. But not to worry, there’s always that road trip to Vegas you wanted to go to with all your friends, right? Or maybe skiing in Colorado this season will just have to do after your weekend in Interlaken.
I mean, life can be tough, but let’s face it, you’re one of the few who have been able to experience this and the memories are one for a lifetime!
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| Remember all the Beautiful things you’ve seen! 🙂 |
