It’s almost been a week since I have come home from my travels. After having one of the best experiences in Honduras working alongside the labor movement, I have arrived home with new goals and a new perspective. It crazy how fast two months went by and how Oregon is still the most beautiful place in the world to me. The thing that I will miss more about the Honduras is definitely is going to be the beautiful scenery. But I do appreciate about Oregon is my home, were my family is happy to see me.
Reflecting back to when I started this internship everything appeared to be so new, so foreign. I had no idea what to expect or what to do, but when I came home, in a strange way it was a similar experience. Upon arriving I went straight to Washington DC, coming from Honduras I could not believe how strange everything appeared. It was all new to me, I got used to the way of life in Honduras so seeing the city of Washington was something unimaginable. I thought that this experience would ware off soon but then I started to notice that the food also tasted different than I was used to. The culture shock is something that I did not expect but it’s been tough to adjust especially because I cannot get used to the food in the states. It’s been a hard adjustment.
Reverse culture shock often comes from things one isn’t expecting–simple things upon returning home like the food, a different pace of life, shopping in stores that have too many choices. Try to find ways to incorporate some of the things you love about Honduras into your life here. That might help to ease this challenging period a little. Michele
Thank you Michele, that’s good advice because I’ve been having trouble adjusting for the past two weeks. I hope the transition process speeds up.
-Joanna