Reverse Culture Shock

I'm sure most of you have heard of this phenomenon, and those of you who have lived outside the United States have certainly experienced it. I am still coming out of reverse culture shock this week after recovering from jet lag. Things seem really different in the United States, the culture, the pace of life, entertainment, and even the food. And I feel perhaps even more isolated than before, isolated, not only in the physical sense of separation, but also in my interactions with my friends. It's going to be a difficult recovery, but I'm sure I'll be able to get out of it soon enough. What makes it even harder is the fact that currently I am in a waiting stage between two life experiences, France and Brown. In ways, this is the summer of purgatory, but maybe it doesn't have to be.

Fortunately, I have been making a reading list, continue to read daily devotions in my walk through the Bible in a year, and am starting to get into contact with the friends I haven't talked to in a long time. I also have some travel plans to see friends and people I have missed. These things don't make it any less difficult for me to get out of my current state of confusion, between France and the United States. The language transition was a little rough at the Paris airport, but I'm feeling a bit better about it now.

I guess it's the price that you pay for being away from the United States for several months. That doesn't mean that it's not been worth it. It's just that there are challenges that I'll have to continue to go through. Necessary challenges all the same. Coming back to the United States, I feel like a different person, someone who has grown up living on my own abroad. No price tag can be placed on that kind of experience. It's like the Mastercard commercials.

As I finally close the blog, I leave my experience in France behind with details archived in the blog text, only to retain the memories that will always stay with me, wherever I go. It's been easily one of the most formative years of my life. But I'm ready to take it with me to the next stage of my life. So here goes.