On July 14th I landed in Chicago’s
O’Hare airport in the early afternoon. As the plane touched down a terrifying
thought crossed my mind:
“I don’t know when I am leaving the country
next.” As I walked through the airport to my connecting flight, stopping for
the best margarita I’ve had in years at Chili’s, I heard the last calls for
several international flights and for a fleeting minute thought I just might
run to one of those gates and try to buy a last minute ticket. It’s not that I
am not excited to be home, or even that I was already missing Thailand, but
maybe just anticipating the upcoming challenge of returning home after many
years abroad and trading one lifestyle and identity for a very different one.
Truthfully culture shock hasn’t been too bad yet,
or maybe hasn’t set in, but rather than get into the more negative details of
this I wanted to share some of the good feelings and experiences that come with
returning home.
First, seeing the positive changes to the
community that have taken place in my absence. Spending time in DC this week I
have seen a significant increase per capita of both beards and bicycles, which
I wholeheartedly support. (However, the beards do all look a bit like disguises
because they are all the same style.) And for those of you who may be
wondering- they're not all hipsters (definition of a hipster pending). DC has
installed bike lanes all over the place so not only are there more bicyclists,
there is now actual bike traffic. Wow. And it must be said that Trader Joes is an
excellent addition to the U Street corridor. Finally, while this may reflect a
not so positive trend, I like that there is a very visible campaign to spread
awareness about human trafficking in the city.
Second, I appreciate feeling like an objective observer
during my readjustment period. When you live in one culture, while losing touch
with certain parts of your own culture (notably pop culture) there is a feeling
of not needing to conform to either culture because the influence not heavy
from either (for example in terms of fashion, social trends, etc.). This
feeling was much stronger when I returned from Ecuador, likely because I was
far more integrated there and social media was virtually non-existent (is that
a pun?). Access to information over Facebook has allowed me to keep up with
conversations and trends which I wasn't able to in Ecuador. Not being
completely integrated in either place yet also creates kind of a 'free space'
to be more objective about both cultures. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long.
Finally, some things don't change. Most
friendships don't skip a beat, 3 minutes have passed instead of 3 years. Roots
don't change. Even though the role that your family has you pegged for might be
a little outdated (for me its that I break computers- from the one that died on me in college, and that I am a timid driver despite the fact that I drove the entire rim of the country after college) there is comfort in knowing where you stand with the people who have
known you the longest. City culture evolves but doesn’t drastically change. I
knew the moment I arrived in DC that I was here. By the conversations, the
personalities, the advertisements, the businesses. Oh and the acronyms of
course! DCisms abound freely in only DC.
Reverse culture shock happens slowly, and I'm a
little concerned to not know when I'll be leaving the US again, but overall I
am glad to be back for a little while longer than usual:)
