Well, if you've been following this at all, you're well aware that I am now back and more or less completely adjusted. I'd like to keep this blog intact and dedicated solely to my amazing semester abroad.
I have a new blog, I write for my school.
If you'd like to continue following on my daily adventures, the web address is:
http://www.uwplatt.edu/admission/nathan/
Thank you all for your support!
-Nathan
09 January 2009
17 December 2008
Cultural Re-integration.
So, I'm not sure exactly what it's called, but I've had it explained to me a few times through the study abroad program, or my cultural class, or whatever. It's a chart what happens to almost everyone when they go to a different country. They teach you about it because if you know it's coming, you know why you're feeling that way, and it's much less frustrating.
It's a big capital W. (Yes, I did just spend about 5 minutes trying to make one out of dashes and slashes. You're going to have to use your imagination, I'm sure you're literate.)
The chart goes like this. You just arrive in a foreign country. That's the first peak. You're excited to be there, everything is new and awesome. You're so busy running around you don't have time to be bored or miss things from home. That's called the "honeymoon period". Most of the people that go on vacation just start to leave this period by the time they go home..it could take anywhere from a week to six...or longer, I suppose.
Then, things start to go wrong. You miss home. The coke tastes different. The grocery store is different. You can't make the food you're used to. Things are expensive.
You hit the bottom. Everything you're looking forward to is back home. You're sick of your surroundings. The girl you've been hanging out with says she doesn't want to date you anymore because you're leaving in two or three months. You're not there long enough for anything good, just long enough to really miss home.
Things start looking up. You appreciate minor details you missed before. Stuff like how awesome the money system is, or you find some food that you don't have back home and you can't get enough of it. You find some new hobby, like surfing, and some new friends, and you're busy again. The weather gets better :)
Then you hit the middle peak. Everything is great. You don't want to leave. Ever. Of course, you're scheduled to fly out sometime in the next three weeks. You take care of whatever needs taking care of and hop on a jet and say goodbye to everything.
Then, you go through the same thing all over again when you return home. People say it's much harder to come home than it is to go away, and I am beginning to see what they mean. My first week home was a whirlwind of awesome. I slept strange hours, I was busy whenever I was awake, I was unpacking, visiting friends, taking care of things that needed to be done, always busy.
Now, I'm definitely on the slope downward.
I really, really miss some of my Australian friends. I called Bronwyn, who told me how wonderfully warm it was and how the surf was. My board is gone, the beach is gone, the warm is gone, my friends are gone. My spicy chicken place is gone. Now that I don't have anything to do, I've pretty much just been sitting inside doing whatever because it's far too cold to go outside. It sucks.
Just about the only redeeming point at this point is knowing that I'll be out of it soon and back into the swing of things...I hope.
It's a big capital W. (Yes, I did just spend about 5 minutes trying to make one out of dashes and slashes. You're going to have to use your imagination, I'm sure you're literate.)
The chart goes like this. You just arrive in a foreign country. That's the first peak. You're excited to be there, everything is new and awesome. You're so busy running around you don't have time to be bored or miss things from home. That's called the "honeymoon period". Most of the people that go on vacation just start to leave this period by the time they go home..it could take anywhere from a week to six...or longer, I suppose.
Then, things start to go wrong. You miss home. The coke tastes different. The grocery store is different. You can't make the food you're used to. Things are expensive.
You hit the bottom. Everything you're looking forward to is back home. You're sick of your surroundings. The girl you've been hanging out with says she doesn't want to date you anymore because you're leaving in two or three months. You're not there long enough for anything good, just long enough to really miss home.
Things start looking up. You appreciate minor details you missed before. Stuff like how awesome the money system is, or you find some food that you don't have back home and you can't get enough of it. You find some new hobby, like surfing, and some new friends, and you're busy again. The weather gets better :)
Then you hit the middle peak. Everything is great. You don't want to leave. Ever. Of course, you're scheduled to fly out sometime in the next three weeks. You take care of whatever needs taking care of and hop on a jet and say goodbye to everything.
Then, you go through the same thing all over again when you return home. People say it's much harder to come home than it is to go away, and I am beginning to see what they mean. My first week home was a whirlwind of awesome. I slept strange hours, I was busy whenever I was awake, I was unpacking, visiting friends, taking care of things that needed to be done, always busy.
Now, I'm definitely on the slope downward.
I really, really miss some of my Australian friends. I called Bronwyn, who told me how wonderfully warm it was and how the surf was. My board is gone, the beach is gone, the warm is gone, my friends are gone. My spicy chicken place is gone. Now that I don't have anything to do, I've pretty much just been sitting inside doing whatever because it's far too cold to go outside. It sucks.
Just about the only redeeming point at this point is knowing that I'll be out of it soon and back into the swing of things...I hope.
03 December 2008
Three Days to Go!!
This week has really been awesome, I've had fun with my friends and really just relaxed, really exactly what I had in mind when I decided to stay an extra week! It's been rough saying goodbye, but that was expected!
Today, I met with a Promotions and Marketing dude from the study abroad department. He phoned me yesterday and asked if I was interested in helping them out with some future promotion stuff. Of course, I said I'd do whatever I could! I'm really thankful for the program they've set up and all the hard work they put in, so if I can give an hour or two of my time to make this experience for future students, I'm happy to!
He e-mailed me a questionnaire to fill out about my time in Newcastle and then we went to the beach and he took some pictures to use in future publications. I told him I'm usually on the other side of the camera...haha.
Here's a few of the shots you can expect to see in the Study Abroad 2009 catalog!
Today, I met with a Promotions and Marketing dude from the study abroad department. He phoned me yesterday and asked if I was interested in helping them out with some future promotion stuff. Of course, I said I'd do whatever I could! I'm really thankful for the program they've set up and all the hard work they put in, so if I can give an hour or two of my time to make this experience for future students, I'm happy to!
He e-mailed me a questionnaire to fill out about my time in Newcastle and then we went to the beach and he took some pictures to use in future publications. I told him I'm usually on the other side of the camera...haha.
Here's a few of the shots you can expect to see in the Study Abroad 2009 catalog!
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