Dealing with culture shock: the 4 D's

Since I've arrived back on U.S. soil after 3+ months traveling in some of the most spectacular places on Earth, there has certainly been some moments of culture shock/adjustment. Luckily, being without a job and living back in my family home has helped me not sync back into old routines, but I can't say it hasn't been a difficult time. As I've loaded pictures on my computer and responded to friends and family via email and phone it has given me opportunities to reflect on the amazing adventure I just came from and how lucky I am to experienced it all. The past week has also provided some excellent opportunities to deal with said "culture shock" mainly by putting my mind and energy into other activities, thus I present my 4 D's of dealing:

Detox: When I arrived back from my trip and realized how simple life could be living out of a backpack, and how so many people in the world live with so little, I was pretty disgusted at the amount of stuff I had collected in my life for the past decade. Years of working in retail with massive discounts as well as a life of sample sales and perks in New York had led to boxes of unnecessary clothing, shoes, bags…you name it. It was pretty overwhelming and made me feel quite bad about myself. With the help of my mom and sister, we cleaned out boxes from New York as well as my closet and room from Chicago and had ourselves a busy weekend of an insane garage sale. That, on top of selling some of my finer designer pieces to a local consignment store in town, provided not only a nice supplemental income for the next month, but an overwhelming feeling of detoxification and relief.

Selling items at Crossroads

the massive garage sale

Decompress: I knew after coming back from a whirlwind trip, I would need to take some time to just chill out both by myself and with family and friends. So, in the midst of the garage sale/cleaning out madness, I found some time for yoga at a local studio that my mom has started practicing at. It felt so nice to experience more vinyasa-style yoga (in English) and practice with new teachers who I very much enjoyed. Taking some time alone on the mat also provided some great introspective reflection on the trip and some ideas and thoughts I have about the future moving forward.  As I've mentioned before, one of my favorite parts of my travels has been the people I've met and the new friendships I've formed, but I have to say I feel like a very lucky girl for the close friendships I've kept over my entire childhood and adolescence and how lucky I am that so many of my close friends live in Chicago and were eager to catch up with me and hear about the trip. A night out with some of my closest girlfriends proved to be just what I needed to feel grounded back at home.

catching up with great friends

Dyeing my hair: ok, this is really just for fun since it's summer in the states and I don't have a professional job to report into, but I decided to do something fun with my hair, just for a bit of a change….

Departing once again: and although South America was a large portion of my 6-month adventure, it's not the only part. My sister and I are currently in the midst of packing up for our 3-week trip to Thailand and Vietnam. I know I am in for a HUGE culture shock on the other side of the world, but I couldn't be more excited and open to the next great adventure….More to come from travels in Southeast Asia! xo