Reverse Culture Shock: The Real Deal

I haven't found an article or post that sums up my adjustment back into the American lifestyle. So I'm making my own! I really didn't experience all that much culture shock when I first arrived in Spain, so I figured returning home wouldn't really be that big of a deal.

Boy, was I was wrong.

Here are a few of the things that I struggled the most with after my semester abroad:

1. American Currency
Considering how concerned I was about working foreign ATMs, it was quite simple to adjust to and live off of the euro. The first time I held American change in my hand again, I felt like a kindergartner. I legitimately did not know the difference between a nickel and a quarter, which seemed odd for a person who had practically been living off of coins for the last four months.

2. Cars
Although I traveled to many cities and countries throughout the European continent, most, if not all of that traveling occurred through plane, bus, or train. I had been in a car ONCE during the entire time I was abroad, and I was a passenger in that instance. To have to drive yourself somewhere to see somebody or get what you needed was, ironically, extremely foreign.

3. Bathrooms
Americans will walk into any restaurant or public setting simply to use the bathroom, and then go on their way. In Europe, you didn't use the restroom at a facility unless you had bought something or spent time there as well.

4. Common Phrases
We drilled some simple phrases into our rote memory upon arrival in Spain, simply to ensure that we didn't act like complete idiots or walk around with AMERICAN stamped on our forehead. However, I definitely said "gracias" and "por favor" at the registers in Panera and Chipotle several times back home.

5. Work/Life Balance
In Spain, people work to live. They do what they have to do in order to live comfortably and enjoyably. In America, people live to work. For many people, their job is their life. It is astounding to see the difference.

To be continued....

Mi Segunda Ciudad

Go Overseas!

Within a matter of days of writing reviews of my study abroad program, I was contacted by one of the websites for an interview. You can read more about my experience abroad and my advice to others here.

Always There

It's always there. In the back of my mind. Moreso, lately, as the semester picks up.

Of course it's there. Obviously, it is clouding my mind. Who could forget the best four months of their life?

Regardless of where I turn, I am reminded of my semester abroad. The pictures that hang in my room. The transcripts that have just now arrived at my home university. The friends I swear I see on campus everyday. Oh, and my sad attempts at cooking Spanish meals.

"Want to go for a walk?" Route One does not compare to the Mediterranean.
"Want to grab a snack?" What did I ever see in this after eating at Masa de Tomasa?
"Want to get away for the weekend?" Gaithersburg is nothing compared to Madrid, Rome, or Paris.

I left thinking that a semester would be too long. I came back realizing it was not enough.

I missed my friends and family, my classes, even my bed. I am glad to be back experiencing my old life. But I miss my "new" life. The life I created when I didn't even know myself.

I am thankful for the friends I met, the things I discovered, and the memories I made.

Perhaps one day, I'll return. It will always be there...

¿Quieres estudiar con USAC?

You won't regret it. Find more information at www.usac.unr.edu and check out my review of the program here.

The Time I Studied Abroad

Remember that time I studied abroad? Yea, me too.

What I'd give to be back in sunny Spain right now......

Closing Time

Never in a million years did I think I could survive 113 days, 19 hours, and 20 minutes away from family and friends, and oh yeah, in a different country, speaking a different language.

I never thought I would be the one to visit 5 different countries in 4 months, adding up to a grand total of 14 cities.

I definitely did not think I would willingly put myself on a plane to visit said cities after the initial transatlantic trek. Here's to the 8 flights, 14 trains, 1 ferry (still perplexed by that one), and countless trains that allowed me to travel Europe.

It didn't occur to me that I would enter this journey with 66 strangers and walk away with 66 new friends, some, best friends.

I can't say, "I can't believe another semester has come and gone." This was not just a semester. This was the experience of a lifetime.

And I never imagined I would miss it as much as I do.

But, as they say, "every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end..."