Reentry

Laholm

So you lived abroad for a while, returned to your home country and it's all peaches, right? Riiight. I just returned from the US to Sweden and it’s more like a roller coaster. It's okay  - that is my favorite ride. This is however not my first rodeo. It’s in fact my 8^th time changing continents (as in moving the majority of my stuff etc, I don’t count visits during breaks) and my 3^rd time “moving back home." Last time I tried this I lasted about 4 months until the vagabond side of me took over and I jumped on a plane headed for Australia. But that is alright in my book. I no longer view myself as only a citizen of Sweden, but the world. Although landing at Copenhagen’s Airport and merely waving my burgundy European Union passport in order to successfully pass the passport controller was rather uplifting. I have endured many stares from various immigration officers around the world despite always having the correct papers. However, I am more of a global citizen now than just Swedish. My old university, Webster University, even has that in it’s mission statement, “…transform students for global citizenship.” I know I am very adaptable and I need to bring that to the table now.

Reentry and reversed culture shock are not topics you frequently hear about when you learn about studying/living abroad. It’s hard to know when it’s a good time to bring it up. I can understand people recruiting students to go abroad do not want to talk about it as it’s rather sensitive matters. They want to bring up the good things about studying abroad. And studying/living abroad is amazing and gives you an edge in many areas of life. But in order to keep going and be successful, here are some practical advice and thoughts on reentry:

If you have traveled far and experience jetlag, try to get into the life pattern at your current destination as soon as possible. Change the time on your watch straightaway when you land. Or in modern lingo, make sure your Iphone changed it correctly. Sleep when others sleep and try to get up in the morning. I am NOT good at this. I am pretty good with jetlag overall, but I am not a morning person so don’t expect me to jump out of bed singing “It’s a Beautiful Morning.” It’s not happening even on the best of days.

Try to unpack your things fairly soon after you arrive. Yes we travelers are used to living out of suitcases, but to have things in order may give you a better overview of what you actually own in life. And it would probably not be a blog post of mine unless I mentioned my lack of attachment to things. I now have all my belongings in one place and okay, it’s not a great deal, but I still sort and throw out stuff. Try to be tidy. And if you are staying at your parent’s house make your bed every day! I have no excuse as I am a medalist in hotel Olympics in bed making, but regardless, you should make your bed out of respect.

You most likely have family and friends to visit if you have been away for a while. It’s good to keep busy because it will minimize the time you have to start missing your old place of residence. But if you need a break, allow yourself to take one. Or two. If you feel a bit overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings, go for a run/walk/take a nap/listen to music. Tell your family you just need some space.

For friends who never went abroad it may be difficult to relate to what you are going through. They have of coursed matured, changed and had multiple experiences in life since you left, but in a different way. They may even think you are bragging when you are talking about your college/work experience abroad. But for you, it may be all the college/work experience you have had and honestly I think it’s okay to share. Just make sure you ask them about their experiences too.

Your parents need time to adjust to the fact that you are used to living alone and that you are quite capable of taking care of yourself. They may want to make sure you are okay at all times, that you are comfortable etc. You may feel a bit smothered, but they are doing it out of love. Your reentry can be hard for your family because for them its most likely 100 percent a good thing you are returning. For you, your heart is now belonging to more than one country. You are talking about people and places your family may not know. I am very, very lucky. My family has been in the US many times and has met a lot of my friends there. They even went to Australia while I was living there.

Try to find some foods that you are used to eating. I am very excited to eat Swedish food again, but I also like to keep to some routines. And if you find yourself having a small (okay mine was a medium size) meltdown in the grocery store due to the high price of sweet potatoes, spend the money. If it makes you feel good.

For us global citizens, the world is literally our oyster. We can go anywhere and everywhere and be fine. We have obtained survival skills. Not skills to find various edible roots, how to make fire and survive in a jungle, but to survive in a strange city. How to set up a bank account, do our taxes and make new friends in a foreign land. Now it’s the time to utilize those skills once again. Things have evolved in your hometown, so go explore there just like you did when you first went abroad. And if you can’t figure out how some things work, do like I do, act like you are an English speaking tourist :) It does not work that great in a small town like Laholm as chances are you may use your tactics on a friend of your parents. But you can count on I have used it in larger cities when I have been hopelessly lost.

For me, Laholm is not the end destination and probably never will be. However, I am always going to return here as it’s my place of birth, where my parents and grandfather live, and where I experienced the most idyllic childhood. But I am a vagabond to the core and we all know I function best on the move.