Wait, we have to go home?

This is only my 23^rd day in Australia, but it seems like this week particularly, everybody started talking about leaving.

I did not like this. I do not like this. I do not want to leave yet, and I certainly don’t want to spend the limited amount of time that I have in Australia THINKING about the return trip to Knoxville.

Of course, it makes sense that we are all thinking about changes and goodbyes and new experiences right now: Dr. Miller will be leaving us in just over a week L, we won’t be in class with our new Australian friends anymore as of next Friday, and after a week-long break we will all head separate ways to our internships.

One portion of our trip is ending, and this feeling of “the end” has forced me to consider what it will feel like when the whole experience is over.

Cue Wednesday’s class discussion topic—reverse culture shock, otherwise known as reentry culture shock. We talked about how difficult it can be to return to your home culture after adapting to a new one. This included a long discussion about how our friends and family might not want to hear 5,000 stories about Australia (their loss, really) and how accepting this might be a little difficult.

So I started thinking, how will I incorporate all the stories, and lessons, and experiences into my life once nobody wants to hear them anymore?

I know there are details I am going to forget. I know there are relationships that will not last. So I think the solution is to make myself different upon my return. Here are the qualities and skills I’ve learned in the past 23 days that I’d like to adopt as my own.

1) I want to be aware of those who look like they are not at home.

Since we’ve arrived, we have met people from all over the world, and sometimes, they look a little lost. I can recognize it now, and empathize, because sometimes, I look intensely lost. From the man who stopped to help me when I fell and scraped my knee, to the girls who gave us restaurant recommendations when they heard American accents, I have experienced how nice it is to get some help from somebody who knows what they are doing. Now that I can pick out the unfamiliar, I hope I assume the role of the helper when I go home.  

2) I want to have a “no-worries” attitude.

If you think Australians don’t work hard, you’re wrong. They are some of the hardest working people I have met, but they are also keenly accepting of people taking life at their own pace. The students I’ve met here put in a TON of work, but they’re okay with taking a gap year to study dance or doing odd art jobs instead of pursuing the most prestigious internship. People are extremely high achieving here, but I think it helps them that they don’t map out their entire lives in that fatalistic way like I do.

3) I want to stop fearing people: they WANT to be your friend.

I want to live the rest of my life with that “freshman” spirit of seeking to make friends with everyone. I am often guilty of fearing people. I assume they would have no interest in me or my personality, and it has taken being a foreigner to realize that I have things to offer. People seek connection, and that feeling when a conversation shifts from “What’s it like to be an American, a Tennessean?” to “What’s it like to be you, Abby Bower?” is something I needed, and something I can give to other people.

Luckily, I've still got some time before I have to go through reentry culture shock. Hopefully I've got a REALLY long time before my stories start to bore my parents (in which case I will rely on the unconditional love of grandparents). The luckiest thing of all, however, is that I can start incorporating these goals into my life right now.