No Place Like Home

I've been home for a few weeks, and it has been nothing short of fantastic!

Relaxing by the pool, sleeping in my big comfy bed, sitting with my puppies, laughing with my brothers and sister, having a cold beer with dad... and of course eating mom's cooking.  Life is good.  Very good.  Even working is enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to my new classes, new group of U101 students, and everything about being back on campus... except actual schoolwork.




The catch, though, is that being home sort of feels like an alternate reality.  I once mentioned in another post that living in Australia felt like a separate life from my life at home and my life at USC.  When I first arrived back in the States this June, as thrilled as I was to be home, I also had a feeling I was supposed to be getting back on a plane a few days later and flying straight across the Pacific back to Brisbane.

Now, however, I'm getting close to coming to terms with the reality that I will be back in South Carolina very soon... I didn't say I was fully there yet, but I'm getting close.  This could be a very difficult transition, one where I would just stay in my bed all day and pretend I didn't have to leave one part of my life, yet again, to jump into another... BUT it's a good thing I like to plan ahead, or I wouldn't be nearly as excited about the prospect of being back in the City of Dreams (that's Columbia, SC, if you didn't know).



    

I love Keanu Reeves.  You can scroll past that now and just let the ridiculous conspiracies soak into your brain.

No, I did not recently return from a parallel universe.  My world at home, my world in SC, and my world in Australia are just three different parts of one wonderful life.  I don't know if I can choose what's better.  They're all great for various reasons, but I can't choose one over another.  They're just... different.  

A Few of My Favorite Things

In order to limit my babbling and to easily get my thoughts across to you, I'm going to list some of the absolute greatest things about each of my three "universes."

Of course, it would take too long (and bore you too much) if I listed everything I love about each of these places, each of these parts of my life, so I tried to really focus on my top favorite things about living in Australia, STL, and Columbia.

I do miss Australia, and I do want to go back some day, but there are countless things I LOVE about my home and my university, and the best of the best are on that list.


Hometown Pride

Broadly, there are also many things that make me proud to be an American.  Taco Bell, Panera, great universities, Reese's, roadtrips to different states, frozen custard, Budweiser, mac n cheese.  (Ok, most of them are food-related.)

On a more serious note, the Olympics are a huge point of pride for most countries, and America is far from an exception to that feeling of patriotism.  There are at least 3 competitors from St. Louis this year (there may be more, I'm not sure) and I'm so excited to watch how they perform in their various sporting events.

Click on the photos to see how phenomenal these athletes are.

Murphy Troy, Men's Volleyball

Becky Sauerbrunn, Women's Soccer

Colleen Quigley, Women's Steeplechase

GO TEAM USA!!!

Final Comments

This was a pretty good use of my time and a great way to appreciate what I have and limit the "reverse culture shock" struggle.  I do want to quickly talk about my experience with this cultural concept... ya know, I usually like to throw in something semi-educational or helpful for other people traveling like me.  Check out my other blog sometime if you want some study abroad tips, travel advice for Aus/NZ/Bali, or just want to read some of the weird things I like to write about.

In one of my classes this semester, I learned about intercultural communications (YES, I did go to class fairly often), and we watched a lot of videos and presentations on Culture Shock and Reverse Culture Shock.

This is the W Curve of Culture Shock.

The first U shape is what you experience when you travel to a new country.  The first two stages almost always happen to some degree, and the recovery and adjustment stages are most common for visitors who stay for a few months and start to live in the host environment.

The second U shape shows what happens when the traveler goes back home. Hence the W or roller coaster.  Don't be scared... it's a fun roller coaster!  This is just a theory about intercultural experiences, but I have found it to be pretty accurate.

The honeymoon stage of both U curves is great.  It's supposed to be great, isn't it?!  However, the crisis part is only as bad as you make it out to be.  I'm lucky I didn't have any traumatic experiences while studying abroad, and other than a few days where I was really missing home, I never felt like I was on too much of a downward slope. The recovery and adjustment part are pretty comfortable I guess... it's always a fantastic feeling to be living as a local in a new place, just like it was when I got through my first semester at USC.  I'm so glad I was able to add another place to my list of "homes away from home."

Going through the same stages at home has been so far so good.  You always miss the things you just left behind, but I'll keep on moving along and loving life as much as I did while I was abroad. I'll keep taking on the next task, the next exciting event, and the next milestone with a smile and positive attitude, because that's the only way I know how to do it.

thanks for reading,
and continue to
BE EXCELLENT.
xoxo
Jo Jo