Comments on: The Culture Shock of Coming Home

By: rose.j

rose.j — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:54:00 +0000

hi, i just loved what you said, i have traveled around the world in 2011. my husband took 1 year off of work and we took off to the U.K, europe etc for 6 months, came home for 6 weeks and then went off to the U.S. for 2 months. since we have been back we have bought a house and have been in it for 3 weeks. we are finding it hard to adjust to the “stop” feeling…. no excitement of adventure everyday exploring new sights and things! its hard to explain how we feel to our freinds and family, they just dont get it and i understand that but its frustrating. i would dearly love to get up and go again…. but now we have the house… there is house repayments! i cherish the time we had away and miss it so much. cheers from a fellow traveller, rose

By: lozintransit

lozintransit — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:44:42 +0000

I think everyone’s eyes glaze over, travelers and sedentary people equally. As clumsy as it sounds, “people generally don’t care”. By that I mean, people are living their own lives in the way that drives them. Its not the stories that interest people necessarily, its how connected they feel as a result of them.

There is something to be said about great art though. We don’t watch Autobiographical movies and go “look at Johnny Cash, what a pompous show off”, we consume it differently somehow. There is an art in telling story so it relates to people. Frankly, I’m worried about alienating people when I return home.

Thinking a fellow traveler “just knows and understands”, Isn’t that something we project onto them? How would we ever truly know? Thinking a homebound person “doesn’t know and understand”, is that smug on my part? I wonder sometimes…

By: Tom Kinsolving

Tom Kinsolving — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:32:16 +0000

So glad I found your post, Matt, and all the thoughtful comments that followed. I just returned from a three month odyssey that included long, incredibly rich interludes in Morocco, Spain, followed by some amazing experiences in Italy, Corfu, and Albania. I just returned last Tuesday night and for these past five days have felt like something of a zombie. It’s just perfectly awful, all the angst and disorientation I’m feeling, and the reflections here have put this “reverse culture shock” syndrome into its right perspective.
Tonight I may still feel lower than pond scum but perhaps not as low as the looooong day following my return last week. At least I know what the prognosis is and can do something about it.
Thanks so much for letting me discover this wealth of insight here.

By: NomadicMatt

NomadicMatt — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:51:49 +0000

There’s a large community of us! Take solace with us and cheer up!

By: Frances

Frances — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 18:52:20 +0000

About two months ago I returned to the US after a year spent in Thailand. I cannot believe that I am still going through the culture shock of being home, and it only seems to get worse. The things – music, movies, socializing that used to make me happy, don’t and I am trying to find my old groove or at least a new one I can use for awhile. The feelings suck. It is easier to talk to other travelers, but unfortunately they aren’t as easy to come by as they are abroad. It was good to read your article, there are many things that I agree with and it is comforting.

By: barrington tops accommodation

barrington tops accommodation — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 01:00:27 +0000

I live in Australia and when I went back to my home country, I was shocked. I didn’t like anything there. Eventhough I spent my childhood there, but still felt that I should go back as soon as possible. I dont know whteher that was reverse cultural shock

By: David

David — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:01:11 +0000

When you tell your friends about your trip, they’re interested but the more details you give, the more their eyes glaze over. They just want an easy answer. Because the more you go on, the more you just make them a) a bit jealous, b) think they haven’t done as much, though they’ve done different and exciting things, and c) bored.

“I TOTALLY AGREE!!!”

By: rob balcer

rob balcer — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 12:40:55 +0000

I like your travel blog Matt, and ths article caught my eye as it reminded me of how I frequently felt after returning home (Ottawa, Canada) from living overseas. However, after being away for the past 26 years (I’ve been in various parts of Asia since 1984), I found myself a bit jealous of the people who had never left the ‘home turf’ as they enjoy the familiarity of their long term friends, family and general environment. Expat life forces one to accept things (constantly saying goodbye to friends, frequently shifting living / working environments, etc) that the “hometown” folks never have to think about, as they take their simple but profound pleasures for granted.
As for the “eyes glazing over’ syndrome, I gave up talking about my travels / experiences with “hometown’ folks decades ago, but recently it hit me that I was wrong to take that approach as it forces one to “devalue” ones true life experiences….
Ultimately, you can NEVER go home, for it can never match up to what you want it to be in the end.

By: David Webb

David Webb — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:28:42 +0000

Also… the only thing worse than telling tales to homebodies is telling them to other travellers… “You went to Thailand… must have been easy. Should have been with ME in Cambodia.” “Oh, Cambodia? A breeze! Should have been with me in Mongolia.” “Mongolia? Paradise! Should have been with me on the freakin’ moon!” Ha ha, I jest…

By: David Webb

David Webb — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:22:32 +0000

Of course, there is always the awesome stuff you find when you come home… besides your friends and family, Canadians like myself are happy to take a drink of Mott’s Clamato, some Canucks even miss Ketchup Chips (not me)! Decent NHL coverage is another thing . My advice is: when people ask you about your trip, stick to one or two AWESOME stories… or yeah… glazed eyes shall appear.