Fixing Reverse Culture Shock One Expat at a Time

So this is pretty much a shout-out post.   Recently, I was contacted by Amanda, the author of a travel blog I'm Not a Ballerina.   This blog contains the many and varied travel experiences had by Amanda (and others!), along with her thoughts on the importance of travel.  It is a great site for those in the midst of travel, about to travel, or still dreaming of the days when you will travel.

In addition to her own travel blog, she has a fantastic new site called Fix Reverse Culture Shock dedicated to being a resource for those of us who have traveled abroad and have found ourselves at a bit of a loss upon reentry into our country.  I can only say that I wish I had a resource like this one when I came back to the States. I am not sure there is any way you can fully prepare yourself for reverse culture shock before you come home, but it is darn sure wonderful to hear that you are not the only person struggling to re-acclimate to your homeland. I would recommend anyone thinking about coming back home to spend some time on this website...and then revisit it at different points in your re-acculturation process.

This brings me to how exactly I came across Amanda's websites. She left a wonderfully complimentary comment on one of my previous posts, How to Talk to the Repatriated, and followed up said comment with an email.  In this email she asked if I would be willing to do a post/interview for her new website-all about reverse culture shock.  After the the thoughts "omg, omg, omg" zipped through my head and I danced around my room a few dozen times, I managed to contain my excitement long enough to send a reply email, which basically went like this: "OMG I WOULD LOVE TO! THANKYOUSOMUCH!!"  Or something to that effect.  (I think I managed to be slightly more professional in my email)

That interview can be found here!  Thank you again, Amanda, for making my week and for inviting me to contribute to a wonderful  (and vital) cause.