I unequivocally recommend studying or volunteering abroad, whether through well-known programs or on your own.
Sometimes you can nab a grant to do research or non-profit work, especially in a distressed region; that's another tack well worth exploring.
You'll hear a lot of people talk about the hardships of travel, especially if you're traveling for long periods of time - one or two semesters or even years at a time, as so many of us are doing now that the world's been split wide open by globalization (not to mention internet travel booking).
But for those of us who have lived in other countries, for weeks or years at a time, there's one thing you rarely ever hear about: the culture shock you experience when you return. I lived in other countries, and while the “shock” upon arrival is intense, it's also gratifying: so new, so exciting.
The shock coming home is a little different.
So listen up, college grads and 20-somethings about to embark on one of the most amazing experiences of your lives: I salute you! What's more, I promise that you won't regret this life-changing decision.
But you can take a few preliminary steps to prevent the feelings of alienation and homesickness that can hit you on the long plane ride home.
- Join an online expatriate community. This way you can stay plugged in to expat-specific issues; you can also stay in touch with the actual people you met abroad. This helps - a lot!
- Get back into your "old" life slowly. Don't overwhelm yourself, especially if you were living in a remote or rural area during your time abroad. (Or, in the opposite case, if you were living in a city and are returning to a rural community.)
- Refrain from alienating everyone around you. Yes, everyone wants to see your photo-journal of your time in the French countryside. No, they do not want to hear about it, ad infinitum, every time they see you. Really. Stop.
- Find reasonable, healthy ways to relive your experience when you start to miss your adopted home. For me, the best way to do this was by cooking regional food. Being bound up in taste, smell and visual memory, food is a great way to recapture a foreign place - not to mention the friendliest way to share it with your friends back home.
- Plan a return trip. It sounds obvious, but a reunion with your adopted second homeland in the future can make you feel a lot better about returning to your native country.
- Keep your papers in order. This is advice that applies to the before and after portion of time spent abroad: don't let bureaucracy overwhelm the transition, in either direction. Renew your driver's license before you leave. Have your bills payable online, so you don't come home to collections letters. Nor do you want to have issues with your legal domicile or your tax payments - that can get serious, fast. And make sure you stay in touch with everyone from doctors to relatives.
- Stay in touch. You'll need serious emotional support when you return from a long period away from home. Stay in touch with everyone - at home, and the people you meet abroad. You'll need a good mix of both to get you through the adjustments. I know travel sometimes means separation, but don't sever any ties completely if it's not necessary.
- Read the news. Going back to Chicago after a year in South America? Read the local paper online or find a shop in the nearest city that carries a good US paper or two. You'll be glad you did. It will help you feel grounded and informed.
- Stuff matters. By stuff I literally mean stuff. When I first went abroad I brought pictures of my closest friends, and my boyfriend, and tacked them to a wall. That helped there. When I returned, I brought buckets of photos, postcards, and other cheap "reminders" of where I'd been, and tacked those to my wall at home. I did the same thing going back and forth from my second home in Mexico.
It helped remind me that home is a much more fluid concept than I once thought, and looking at all those things, trivial as they were, encouraged me to remember my experiences fondly in the present moment.
Have you traveled abroad? Tell us about your experiences. What advice would you give to someone spending significant periods of time abroad?
Contribute
Want to contribute by becoming an iGrad author yourself? Let us know!