Reverse Culture Shock

 

                                                                       Last Blog Post;(

            I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM WRITING THIS BLOG POST BACK IN THE STATES!!!! :(


        Returning to the states has opened my eyes to just how differently the life I was living in Spain was compared to my reality in the US. Culture was a very prominent aspect of my everyday life during my time in Murcia, whereas I feel like at home the average daily living is not dependent on cultural values, traditions, or beliefs. Reverse culture shock is an extremely eye opening experience for me that I have actually found to be very challenging and troubling for me. I felt like I resonated much better with the lifestyle I had adapted to in Spain than I resonate with my usual lifestyle at home. I enjoyed the scheduling of meals, activities, and festivities in Spain. I got used to how cheap daily living was for me during my time abroad, the normality of walking everywhere, and how much the people value spending time together eating and drinking. For me, this was the ideal way of living! Coming back to the states; working, driving everywhere, paying ten times the price for everything, and the lack of beautiful architecture has put a huge damper on my everyday mood.

    The things that I miss the most about living in Spain is the scenery, weather, pricing, and the nightlife. The lifestyle took me a week or so to adapt to, however, once I did, I fell in love with the country! I also felt like the people in Spain were a lot more put together on a daily basis. The fashion was much more inspiring even on random weekdays. People were much friendlier and seemingly happier everyday because life is a lot more enjoyable in Europe! At home I am very grateful to have my family as the most amazing support system who understand me and care for me the entire time I was gone. I feel like coming home reminded me that I had so many people who care about me no matter where I go. 

    Over this past month, the overall experience of learning to communicate in a new culture and language has had the greatest impact on my character and development. It is a very vulnerable position to be in having to learn an entirely new way of living and language in order to interact with others and form any types of connections. I enjoyed having to put my pride to the side in order to try my hardest to successfully connect with the people around me. Being welcomed into a home with my host family and adapting to their traditions and language was very inspiring for me and I hope to incorporate more Spanish and cultural immersion into my life for now on.

Comments

  1. Nick AdamsJune 23, 2025 at 7:50 AM

    I definitely agree that I miss some aspects of living in Spain, like the scheduling of meals and the ability to walk everywhere. I will definitely miss these things and I'm grateful that we were all able to experience another culture so intently for almost a month like we were on this trip.

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