{"id":2874,"date":"2017-06-15T09:04:54","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T13:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/?p=2874"},"modified":"2017-06-15T09:04:54","modified_gmt":"2017-06-15T13:04:54","slug":"returning-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.caes.uga.edu\/studyabroad\/2017\/06\/returning-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Returning home"},"content":{"rendered":"

From what I’ve said in my previous posts, I fully expected to be the most homesick on this trip and I was really worried about how much I would be able to enjoy it. As we spent our final days in Hacienda Baru, I started reflecting on how I wasn’t ready to go home. In \u00a0fact, I think I might of been the only person on the trip who wasn’t ready to go back home and face the realities of my actual life. This blew my mind. I reflected on how much I have grown and changed since I started college. I wasn’t homesick at all this whole trip. I fully enjoyed everything Costa Rica had to offer and I wish the trip was longer.<\/p>\n

With that being said, it did hit me when we finally landed back home and I saw my family again for the first time. I cried like a baby. But coming back was a weird feeling. Everything we had to read for the trip talked about culture shock and how it would be coming back and honestly I thought it was funny. I thought I would have no problem coming back. This was not the case. The day we got back and the whole week I had before my summer classes I just felt like I was in a dream or a daze. It was very hard for me to adjust waking up at home alone instead of with my 14 friends I made on this trip. I felt disconnected from my friends and family and like I missed so many life events. Because I had a week of relaxing before my classes, I went from having days packed full of hikes and new experiences to nothing. I felt like I needed to do something and to go on hikes. In fact I went on a couple hikes. I also had a new appreciation for birds that I didn’t have before and I would notice them and try to identify them. I had a hard time expressing to my family and friends what I was feeling. I felt somewhat lost for some reason. I also felt lost for words. So many people asked me about my trip and expected these elaborate responses but I couldn’t find the right words to say besides, ” It was great ;I loved it.” I just couldn’t express or show them everything I’ve experienced and learned. It took me a week or two to finally settle in and now that I’m swamped with school and Vet school applications I feel like I’m back to my old life. Its starting to feel like everything I experienced was just a dream and I keep looking back through my pictures to remind myself of the experience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Its been a couple weeks now and I still think about my trip and the people a lot. I keep in touch with my good friends and I actually have classes with them in the Fall! My roommate for most of the trip and who I bonded to the most actually is taking two classes with me in Fall. It’s crazy to think that if we didn’t go on this trip we probably wouldn’t of even talked. One major thing I forgot to mention in my other posts is the COFFEE! I don’t know how I forgot this but coffee was a big part of the trip and I drank multiple cups everyday. I brought so much back and I get to enjoy this amazing coffee now and reflect on my time in Costa Rica.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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