Returning Home

I have just completed an assignment for my Intercultural Awareness class about re- adjustment into American lifestyle. This assignment allowed me reflect on my time in Rome, as well as, my expected struggles into my adjustment back home. The academic article assigned to read was entitled “Top Ten Immediate Re-entry Challenges” and discussed re- entry challenges as well as tips for readjusting to life at home. One challenge discussed was boredom. With being placed on self- isolation, I have felt this challenge in full affect. I have spent most of my time catching up with family and watching copious amounts of Netflix. Another challenge discussed how relationships change after being abroad. Just as my life continued while I was abroad, everyone else’s’ lives kept moving without me in it. I have felt out of place at home and a burden in asking the details of my friend’s lives. How I have been viewed since I have been home has been a big struggle for me. Most of my conversations have been around the topic of the coronavirus. Do I have it? Will I spread it? How wide- spread is the virus going to get? This experience has completely changed my previous expectation on my re- entry into the United States. I wish that people wanted to see my pictures and hear my many stories about being abroad. Instead, I am constantly asked about the virus which sent me home. Many assume since I lived in an area in which the virus was present, I was an expert in it. If anything, I knew less about the outbreak upon arrival as I have been disconnected from American new’s outlets. The coronavirus flipped my life upside down and caused me more pain than one could imagine but who knows, the worst things in life teach you lessons, right?