We’ve all heard of culture shock – the emotional
difficulties that come hand in hand with immersing oneself into another
culture. But over the past few weeks I’ve been experiencing something
known as reverse culture shock – the emotional difficulties of returning home
from abroad, and in my case - returning home from the greatest city in the
world, Florence, Italy.
Just as studying abroad demanded many lifestyle changes, so
has returning home. Without even realizing it, I had developed new
habits, new values and a new way of thinking during my four months
abroad. And just as I had gotten used to the slow, peaceful Italian
lifestyle, I was thrown into this whole new-to-me culture of New York City. I finally have cell phone service 24/7, everyone
speaks English, I can use the dollar again as opposed to the euro, grocery
stores are five times the size of those in
Florence and Starbucks - oh how I’ve missed you!
Everything, I mean everything, overwhelmed me upon arriving
in NYC. There are people everywhere and they are always in a
rush. I’m seeing cars, taxis, subways and buses instead of mopeds. Honestly, I hated the city at first. The lifestyle here is a complete 180 degree
flip from being in Florence. I could not
walk to all of my destinations within 20 minutes, Gusta Pizza isn’t readily
available, my Instagram game has severely suffered and the luxury of extremely
cheap and delicious wine is not right outside my doorstep. Naturally I
slumped into a post-abroad depression.
But just recently I began to notice this city’s beauty and exquisiteness
and suddenly I began to fall in love with a new city all over again.
The local cafés and restaurants, the high-energy nightlife,
the talented street performers, the amazing views from rooftops, the many parks
and the mere spectacle of being in one of the largest cities in the world has
unexpectedly and completely intrigued me.
There’s something new and amazing around every corner and I plan to take
it all in during the 12 weeks I have in this city. With a list
of things to do, restaurants to hit, bars to explore and shopping that needs to be done – I’m ready for all you
have to offer - New York City.
