Reverse Culture Shock

I am temporarily back in the City of Angels and am having terrible reverse culture shock. Actually, it's no longer terrible. It's a lot better than the first day. When I woke up on July 5th, the day after I got in, I had to take a shuttle to the airport because I was flying home to grab the car and drive back down to Los Angeles. During the whole ride on the shuttle, I was bitterly looking out the window and wishing I was back in Spain. I couldn't help it. It was such a different reaction compared to the one I had the night before: one of wonder and joy as fireworks welcomed me back home. I had been so excited to see my family and had missed the USA so much...I was surprised by my own reactions.

Being home in Ashland helped a lot. The feelings of comfort...of just being in my house...seeing my cat...and catching up with friends and family really, really helped. Ashland is also a lot less overwhelming than Los Angeles. Denny picked me up from the airport and bought me lunch, Jolene baked me cookies, and I got to hangout with my friends Emma and Isobel before departing back to Los Angeles. While it might seem...odd, a fire popped up really near home, just south of the pass and it closed the I-5 down, threatening my journey down to Los Angeles -- and yet, I found a sense of comfort in that too. It was all normal to me. Something I was used to. And this fire was no laughing matter, it destroyed a lot of property and took a life...it was just the idea of normalcy helping me to readjust again. In Oregon, we always have fire in the summers, so to see the gray in the air, to smell the smoke, and to be checking for updates were things I was used to. Visiting good old Shop'n Kart for groceries (dad had me get them just incase, and 4 gallons of water for the ride down to LA), was also really nice. Everything was almost surreal in a way. It's amazing how fast a year can go by.

Brad flew up and drove down with me, which was really nice. We stopped at this amazing BBQ place right across the street from the hotel of our midway point. One thing that I do love about being back in the United States is customer service. People are so nice and helpful! Of course, we do have tipping here unlike in Spain, which makes the already expensive food more expensive, but it's so nice to have nice customer service interactions again. Speaking of which, just in general, I have had so many nice interactions with people from being back, just from walking around and such, not just customer service interactions. I embarrassed Amy (sister) the other day by excitedly saying "oh my god a cat!" really loudly -- but then the owner stroke up a nice conversation with us. One of my coworkers in Spain was from New York, and to her the people of Madrid were nice...but that was compared to New York, where they have a reputation for being...not mean, but a bit rude from my understanding. As my friend Luis told me, they have places to be and don't have time for pleasantries! But to my other coworkers and I, people could sometimes be rather rude on the street and inconsiderate. Which is why I really, really do appreciate the interactions I've had since being back.

Sister Amy also came to visit my first week back to Los Angeles, so I've been easing myself back into life here. It's a bit odd being here and not being in school. It's also weird for me because most of my friends have moved away. However, playing tour guide and chauffeur to Amy definitely helped me to get used to driving in Los Angeles traffic and reminded me of the things I do love about Los Angeles. Mainly, the beach and the food.

So for now, this is where I am: Los Angeles, California. I'm trying to figure out where I go from here. I'm considering graduate school for education, but also I'm looking into public health and study abroad opportunities (to work, not study), and child life. I would like to continue practicing my Spanish, but it is quite expensive here...so I'll keep practicing with the resources I have and hopefully will find an affordable option. I'm also prepping myself for the GRE and subsequent subject tests -- I'll need them for graduate school if that is the path I ultimately take. Finding a job is also an option...I do have a part time gig with College Year in Athens (CYA - the program I studied abroad with junior year in Athens), however it is not frequent, with no health insurance, and temporary, so I'll need something later. But it's great for now - it's giving me experience in the study abroad field and it also gives me time to explore other options. I have a lot of paths I could go down, and although I'm nervous about where the future will take me, I am excited to know where I'll end up. So, if anyone has any ideas for me or any connections, or if you're just in the LA area, let me know. I'd love to catch up!

P.S. My US number is back! :)