Back in the States

               So it's been about six weeks since I returned home to College Station, and now it's time to write a final blog on my thoughts about the trip. Honestly I thought I would get home and my time in Germany would just be another memory, but I was wrong. I had such a good time that I find myself talking about the trip to anyone who will listen, and I sit around some days and reflect on what I have seen. Still, it took some time to get used to being home.

                We took a test before leaving which showed the four stages of culture shock that take place when students go abroad. It had a typical anticipation, home sickness, adjustment pattern which finished with readjusting to the U.S. when we return to the United States. Frankly, I didn't experience the first three stages: I never really got nervous or home sick, and I felt adjusted pretty quickly in Germany.

                As a result, I was very surprised to feel the strong effects of the readjustment period once I returned. It was kind of like I was having Germany withdrawals, and I couldn't get used to everyday life back in the states. It may have been because school started so soon after the trip, but it felt very much like I was stuck in a rut instantly after I returned. I was surprised at how content I was with the Monday through Friday routine before the trip, because after the trip I found it extremely monotonous. Furthermore, I couldn't believe that I used to think that College Station had everything I could ever want in life. Honestly, before the trip, my knowledge of what was out there was so limited that I just couldn't comprehend that there was anything else out there for me. It was kind of a strange emotional time period that passed over the last month or so as I started to settle in again.

                To write this next paragraph of the blog I took a brief look at my pre-departure blog and tried to see what has changed. Something I noticed which wasn't intentional but definitely shows the way my thoughts have changed is through the use of the word "imagine." I noticed that now when I write about my experience in Germany, I intentionally use the word comprehend instead of imagine to describe my Germany experience.

 

                Before the trip I kept saying that I couldn't imagine how great it would be to be in Germany, but now I realize that imagining was exactly what I was doing. I was imagining the difference in culture, I was guessing at the difference in architecture, and I was using my own bias to create the world of Germany in my mind.

                After going to Germany, I realize that what I was doing was flawed and that the goal shouldn't be to simply "imagine" a society but go experience and understand that society. I mean, the Hollywood induced biases I had about Europe in general were so wrong that I am starting to wonder if I truly understand anything about all the cultures of the world I claim to know so much about.

                Really, this was the greatest experience of my life: turning something theoretical, my biases on cultures and travel into something practical. This has completely changed the way I think about things. I find that this has made me more open to new ideas and concepts that I used to have a predisposed bias toward, and I think this has made me more open around my peers. Now, I am much more likely to ask people questions about their thoughts and beliefs and share my own with them in return.

                I think this trip has been one of the more significant events of my college experience. I feel a lot more calm, because getting out of my little box in College Station helped me put grades and medical school and all that other jazz into perspective. Before I left, I felt like this trip would be just what I needed and it didn't disappoint. It was odd, because I didn't need to go for school credit or to bolster my medical school resume, but something inside told me that I need to broaden my horizons if I was to survive the next few years of school, and be a successful doctor. This "calling" to travel came seemingly out of nowhere because prior to this winter semester I had nothing but bad experiences traveling. But I knew that I should go and I feel that this trip fueled that intangible void that I had been feeling. It was truly a blast and I wish I had a chance to go again.