After school ended, I said goodbye to my host family, my new friends, the teachers at my school, and the wonderful students... who, at the beginning, had me ripping my hair out in frustration. At the end, I was fighting back tears (unsuccessfully) because the thought of leaving them made me so sad. I had a few blissful days of relaxation, a quick trip to Tarragona while I waited for Zlati to arrive, and then our wild adventures through Barcelona, Vienna, Sofia, and Melnik began. I stayed behind after he left and traveled to Plovdiv and London. Then, I finally made the journey home.
When I first moved abroad, the transition was a challenge. I missed my family and friends back home, and I had to adjust my lifestyle, my way of communicating, my diet.... everything changed, and it was not easy. In January, there were nights when I came home from school exhausted, and I was ready to pack everything up and head back home.
But I gave it a chance, and things started becoming really amazing. I remember that moment around the end of March when I suddenly realized that I had started picking up some Spanish.... that time when I received terrible news about a friend back home and the teachers were hugging me and bringing me hot chocolate.... when I took my host brother to the park to play soccer and we had so much fun we almost didn't make it home on time for dinner.... when my host family took me to a BBQ in the mountains to try the famous Catalonian calcots.... when I went out with my amigas and we danced, sang, explored, stayed in strange hostels, took the demon train to exciting destinations, and ate tapas and bikinis... the moment I tasted paella, sangria, and tortilla.
Now I am back home, and although one of my TESOL classes covered "reverse culture shock," it wasn't enough to prepare me for how completely overwhelming it is. I am beyond happy to be near my family again. I also have some friends here who made such huge efforts to stay in touch while I was abroad, and when I came back our friendships had gotten even stronger. One other nice thing about coming home was the comfort I felt in being in a familiar environment.
Still, a huge piece of my heart is back in Barcelona. I grew accustomed to waking up every day at 9:00, making the quick walk to school, teaching, siesta-ing (but really I used that time to eat and get work done), teaching some more, walking to the plaza after school to meet my host family, taking a coffee with their friends, working on lesson plans/studying/playing with the kids, enjoying a relaxing dinner, and eventually climbing into bed to watch "Mentes Criminales" before drifting off to sleep. Then I would wake up and repeat, but each day was different because the kids at school kept things interesting. They all thought of me as the mystical American teacher from the strange town called Atlanta.... what they didn't know was that they were my teachers, too. Every day at school was a thrill, and weekends were blissful as well.
So readjusting to life in my hometown has certainly been a bigger challenge than I originally expected. One thing I do know, though, is that no matter what happens in the future, I am fortunate that I had this experience. It will benefit me in many ways down the road, and I certainly recommend living abroad to everyone who gets the chance. It will change you, and I mean that in a good way.
I do not know what the next step is, but I am working hard to find a job teaching or advising international students because I really enjoy making a contribution to students' education and being around different cultures. When I teach ESOL, I feel fulfilled and refreshed because I know that I have done my best to teach my students something new, and most days I end up learning something from them too! So, I know the right job is out there... perhaps in Atlanta, Barcelona, Santiago, or Tokyo. Only time will tell. At the moment, I am hard at work trying to find the right fit and enjoying my time with my family; they are the ones who encouraged me to follow my dreams, and they are the ones who welcomed me back with open arms and hearts. :)
