Before leaving Nicaragua I talked about returning to the
U.S. with other volunteers and referred to it as “the other side”. Although I had returned home twice
during my 2 years of service, my return trip back was completely different. In the last year of my service I think
I finally grasped just how special Nicaragua is and how much I loved my life
lifestyle during service.
Reverse culture shock is something Peace Corps tries to
prepare you for as you close your service, but honestly it hasn’t been an
issue. Of course I’ve done silly
things like address people in Spanish when they clearly don’t speak the
language. I’ve gone through a
drive through and passed the order window with out even realizing it and wound up at the pay window with nothing
ordered in my name. Little
American conveniences that are new or I haven’t used in quite some time tend to
surprise me.
The transition from Nica to AZ and then on to South Carolina
for grad school was quick, but honestly I don’t know if I would have had it any
other way, now that I’m here. I
like having a new focus and meeting new people immediately. I’ve never been
good at sitting in limbo and twiddling my thumbs for very long. I arrived in SC a week ago now with hopes
of moving in to a place right away, but with nothing available, my roommate
Chalin and I are renting a house from some undergrads who are gone for the
summer. Low and behold our third
night in the house we didn’t have electricity because they forgot to pay the
electric bill. Another week went by and the water went out. I swear it was like
Nica all over again, but honestly I didn’t mind it. I found it quite comical actually that here I am in the U.S.
and this doesn’t even phase me anymore.
What I don’t find comical is how much everything costs! I can’t even remember what things cost
before I left for Nica for a comparison, but I sure as heck don’t remember
toothpaste costing $5 or a dinner out being so darn expensive. Granted everything was so cheap in Nica
and I was used to dealing in cordobas that I’m flabbergasted every time I take dollar bills out to pay for something.
Spending $20 in Nica was a huge purchase. I find myself comparing prices of things on craigslist as I
buy things for my new life in Columbia, SC to have a better understanding of
what things cost.
Now that I’ve crossed over to the other side I am starting
to realize the impact that living two years abroad had on me. The number one thing that drives me
crazy in the U.S. is the amount of time people spend on their smart phones
instead of interacting with the people around them. I look around me at a bar and realize that there is more
virtual communication going on than face-to-face. A new application I just learned about called Tendr lets
people search for a girl/guy by distance from them, their picture on their
profile, and friends in common.
It’s basically replacing organic chemistry that exists between two
people. I am clearly not a
supporter and grossed out by the amount of young men and women utilizing the
app. I am clearly behind on several
trends including Dub Step and smashbox burgers.
What I do find comfort in is my spanish class. My Peace Corps friend and fellow
classmate, Chalin, and I have a high-level Spanish class all to ourselves. The first day of class we just had an
hour and a half conversation about our Peace Corps experience, which felt
awesome! I hadn’t spoken more than
a few words since landing from Nica and it was such a release! It was also very comforting that I
could understand absolutely everything my teacher was saying in perfect Spanish
because I had a hard time understanding many Nicaraguans at some points. I also had lunch with a graduate of my
program from Chile and we spoke the entire time in Spanish with complete
understanding of each others' idioms!
What a great feeling to know my Spanish training will translate across
countries even though I spoke quite a bit of slang over the last 2 years.
Our first night out in Columbia with the gang!
It’s also amazing to have my buddy Chalin as we go through
this transition together. We speak
in Spanish and understand what’s going through the other one’s mind. We both get overly excited about silly
first world conveniences and the variety of food available. We can even share the cost of books!
Besides my stomach being upset from all the rich foods and feeling
freezing wherever I go due to my lack of exposure to AC, I’m doing pretty
well. I really enjoy the people in
my program so far and we have bonded already. It’s the end of week one and I can’t even count on my hands
the number of times we’ve all hung out.
I was stoaked when a few class mates, Will and Kristen, wanted to go
trail running with me through a state park this past weekend. It also sounds
like there are a few surfers in the group so I won’t be alone in hunting down
waves. This weekend a large group of us are heading to Adam's lake house for three nights for some water skiing, booze cruisin and bonding time! Almost feels like Peace Corps group all over again!
