There is almost nothing more immersive than living abroad. My experience wasn’t only my first time living abroad, but my first semester in university and with this came a variety of struggles overseas. However, it was the adjustment of coming back home that truly sent me in a loop. Like we have to in many times during our lives, I found myself having to rediscover how to continue life in a way I was proud of and only hope with this you all can do the same.
After spending over 24 hours traveling back to America from Scotland, oddly I expected some type of comfort or sigh of relief when I arrived. Instead, I was a fish out of water. Everything seemed different, unfamiliar, and most prominently, mundane. Coming back from a constantly stimulating environment to something that now seemed all too bland left me in a rut. I quickly fell out of my habits and routine, beginning to feel the effects of letting yourself and your work slip. I realized in order to continue my life back at home I had to make changes to my routine and find new ways to stimulate my mind and motivation, keeping me on the straight and narrow.
This is a common experience after coming back from abroad, and here I will address the struggles and solutions that come with the return home. Everyone has a different experience when returning and the difficulties they will face, for me it was reconnecting with friends and family, staying on routine, and losing a past sense of self. Each presents its own set of problems and therefore solutions, but I found that the following were best to combat the thread that tied them together: finding new adventures, reconnecting with the things you love, and finding ways to stay in touch with your home abroad.
Struggles
- Reconnecting with Loved Ones
While you were away you probably felt beyond homesick for your loved ones – I know I was. You expect the return home to be an epic reunion, melting into your families' arms and while that may happen, the connection you had before has shifted. You often don’t realize it while its happening but the person you left home as is a completely different version than the person you return home with now and with that change comes with effects in all of your relationships. This is not to say that these relationships are for nothing and it's time to move on but instead that you may need to find new ways to connect.
- Keeping a Routine
One of the most important parts of creating the life you want is routine, getting in a daily groove to optimize and accomplish everything you need. When you move from place to place however, sticking to this can be hard. When you originally moved abroad there were changes that I’m sure you had to make to your daily life, this is no different than when returning home. Coming back may be a hard adjustment, things that felt right before simply don’t excite you, and it’s easy to fall off the routine you had previously established. I felt this heavily going from Scotland back to the United States as I had worked hard in establishing a daily life that worked well for me abroad and losing this was all too discouraging. After a couple months, a handful of discipline, and a pinch of hard work later I figured it out, of which I will share briefly for you to accomplish as well.
- Finding Your Sense of Self
Similarly to the previous, coming back home and realizing you have changed can be quite daunting. You feel out of place somewhere you once called home and not quite remembering who you are or why you’re doing what you are doing. This lost sense of self only worsens you falling out with loved ones or of your routine and the cycle begins to snow ball. Experiences like these change you fundamentally and when you go from an overstimulating environment where everything is new and exciting to something that is all too familiar can set anyone into a path of questioning. When it seems as though your environment isn’t growing with you, it can be easy to wonder where your sense of self lies, but this only means you have to find ways to continue with where you are going instead of thinking back to where you’ve been.
Solutions
- Find New Adventures
One of the most invigorating parts of living abroad is that everything is a new adventure. You are immersed in a totally different culture and are constantly challenged with learning and adapting to the new world around you. When you return home, nothing is new and the constant stimulation is now gone. The belief that there is nothing new in your world causes everything to seem grey, mundane, but this is not the case. Even somewhere that you think you know the ins and outs of, that there is nothing new to be discovered can surprise you. And even if your home disappoints there is an array of new hobbies you can give a shot at.
When I returned home, I immediately started searching for something new. I found new restaurants to try and old trails I had never taken. I also began scanning the web for new festivities and events in my area, leading me to find a lantern festival which was absolutely gorgeous. Beyond just this, I also started new hobbies of my own, including this very blog. Now the events you find or activities that interest you may vary from place to place but they all serve the same purpose – exciting the mind.
- Rediscover What You Love
Just as you should find new things in your old world, you should also reconnect with what you’ve always loved about your home. Balance new restaurants with your favorite food places, new hobbies with old ones, and unfound scenic trails with your traditional thinking spot. Rekindling an old love and remembering what it was that made you homesick is just another fool proof way to fall in love with your environment and remind yourself why you’re here. Even though you have changed, it can be comforting to see that not everything around you has and feel support in knowing there is a familiarity you can always fall back on.
- Stay in Touch with Your Home Abroad
You were homesick when you were abroad, but chances are wherever you were turned into a second home for you. It can be easy to miss the life you had built overseas, especially when you feel as though you’re constantly comparing the two. Just as you love your home here, you loved it there as well and it’s important to hang on to that and remind yourself of the parts of you and your community that you loved overseas.
It’s just as important to stay connected to your life abroad as it is to reconnect with your life here. Carve out time for the people you met abroad and keep those friendships, even if it is just a few minutes during the day or an hour call once a week. Also make sure to remember the experiences you had there – print out photos, make a memory box, or frame all of your postcards – whichever you choose just make sure it is something that makes you smile.
These three steps are not guarantee, but what is, is that it will get better if you put in the effort. This is just as start to the long list of things to help dig yourself out and while it may be normal to find yourself in this rut as you return home, it is not an excuse to slip away and fall off your game.
Add comment
Comments