Tag: Culture Shock

9 Signs You Studied Abroad in Spain

Published on by DU AbroadLeave a comment

Today at work, I got the chance to reminisce. This, by far, is the best part of my job: once a week or so, I get to give a presentation to students about to go abroad detailing my experience studying abroad. So for our blog this week, I chose 9 extremely superficial things that have still stuck with me over a year since I returned from Salamanca that I tell other students about ALL the time:

  1. Anytime dinner is before 8 o’clock, you get very flustered.

    Dinner at 6? Why?
    Dinner at 6? Why?
  2. Bedtime and wake-up time seem eerily similar…

    early-sunrise-in-long-island-city-alton-brothers
    It’s 6:30am. Are you getting home or waking up?
  3. You try using vosotros in class, to find your classmates utterly confused/disgusted.

    dsgstd
    Did you just say tenéis? Nope.
  4. Don Simón has utterly ruined your taste for sangria.

    Only the best carton sangria for you!
    Only the best carton sangria for you!
  5. Only walks over 30 minutes are considered a “trek”.

    25 minute walk home? Let's do it!
    25 minute walk home? Let’s do it!
  6. You have AGGRESSIVELY chosen a side in the Real Madrid, Barcelona feud.

    Does this paint come in tattoo form? Barca Para Siempre
    Does this paint come in tattoo form? Forca Barca!!!
  7. Any “small” coffee in the US looks insanely large.

    This is a medium. WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!?!?!
    This is a medium. WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!?!?!
  8. Whole legs of pig no longer phase you.

    Yes, that's a whole pig's leg. What of it?
    Yes, that’s a whole pig’s leg. What of it?
  9. Nap time errday. Enough said.
    Preach. Truer words never spoken.
    Preach. Truer words never spoken.

    Believe me, study abroad left a much larger impression than 9 little idiosyncrasies. Sometimes, though, it’s funny that the little things are easier to remember than the personal growth, the increase in confidence, and the maturation that inevitably occurs when you survive and thrive a new environment. However, despite all that, it doesn’t make getting used to an early dinner any easier.

    -Max Spiro, Study Abroad Assistant

Coping with Returning Home

Published on by DU AbroadLeave a comment

After three months of living in Alexandria, Egypt, I remember the flood of emotions that overcame me when I returned home. I was filled with an overwhelming mixture of relief, excitement, and nostalgia. The expectation of reverse culture shock was looming over me and I remember prepping myself for the readjustment of my old daily routines.

Eric Blog 1

The symptoms of retuning home were subtler then I expected. I was more critical of the way people dressed in the United States than back in Egypt. I craved certain foods due to a lack of nutrients from my diet abroad, and felt sick sometimes. I noticed that I had moments of severe nostalgia and longed to be back with people that I had met while I was abroad. However as time progressed, there were a few steps that helped me cope with the symptoms of returning home:

  1. Stay in contact with the people in your host country. Adding my old program guides and host country friends to my social media helped me feel more connected to Egypt and the events that were happening there after I had left. I was able to keeps those bonds and feel connected to the people that I had met abroad.
  1. Reconnect with your friends from your study abroad program. Going out with friends who went on my program helped me cope with adjusting socially back home. We would go out to middle eastern restaurants and enjoy hookah and Arabic coffee on late nights and recollect stories from our experiences in Egypt and discuss how we felt similar experiences coming back home.
  1. Enjoy your surroundings and live in the moment. Going out with friends and enjoying activities helps you get reacquainted with your hometown and life after studying abroad. This can present the silver linings of being home and new adventures that await you in you own backyard.
  1. Keep traveling, and satisfy the feeling of wanderlust by going on small trips with friends.
  1. Seek advice from your study abroad advisor or professor. Talk about the experience of being back home and ask how you can use this experience in your academics and career opportunities.

Eric Blog 2

Studying abroad was an amazing experience, but coming back home was a challenge. If you ever feel that reverse culture shock is getting the best of you, just take a moment, take a deep breath and know that others have been in your shoes before.

-Eric Boscan, Study Abroad Assistant