#w-curve

[renskevskiwis-blog]

For reference, the w-curve I talked about in my first posts (and will talk about in all my other posts as well)

[insightsabroad]

Prompt #2: Culture Shock

Culture shock happens in varying degrees, so be prepared to experience the W-curve of study abroad:

London doesn’t seem to have a large cultural difference from Richmond, Virginia. Both cities contain a diverse population, both are booming with creativity and art, and both are hubs for inspiration. Like any larger capital city, there are thousands and thousands of people hurrying about and busy with their own lives, so diversity seems more accepted here than in Richmond. Although overall a liberal city, Richmond still certainly can be conservative in certain views. Up until this point, I’ve really only felt homesickness once. It seems like studying abroad is somewhat of an emotional ride. The first initial weeks feel like one big vacation: you’re constantly meeting new people, your flatmates (roommates) go out and party constantly, you want to see and do almost everything you can in your new environment. On the second part, things slowly start to ease down.

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[insightsabroad]

The W Curve

The W Curve describes the ups and downs of the study abroad experience. Have you gone through these phases too?:

We all have our highs, and our lows, and the times where we just can’t seem to get out of the “Oh my gosh I’m here for how many more months!?” phase. I guess you could say I’m there right now.

The W curve starts before you leave, and it peaks as you’re all ready to go. You go down the W to hit rock bottom where you just want to go home, and when you finally do, you head back up to the center part of the W, where it’s all exciting to see everyone again. But then you miss studying abroad, and everything you become so used to being around, and Heyyy there, you hit rock bottom… again. But, like in life, there are highs and lows, and eventually you head back up and feel comfortable back at home.

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[h0meiswhere-blog-blog]

Exciting things are exciting!

Lots of awesome stuff on the near horizon!

Going to Santiago tonight with Yvonne to visit our friend Allie who graduated from Kalamazoo and moved back here :) Suuuper excited to see her, meet her Chilean friends, and somehow figure out how to navigate Santiago!

Tomorrow happens to be the Marcha Diversidad Sexual in Santiago.  Translation: Chilean gay pride parade.  Should be quite the adventure :)

Next weekend is Mil Tambores, an annual festival in Valparaíso that promotes arts and creative expression and community and all those wonderful things I love.  Fran and Dan, pretty sure this is the Chilean equivalent of medieval-style Carnival.  Needless to say, super pumped.

Okay the catchy title and exciting things may have just been a cover for this which, while exciting, is also somewhat annoying.  I think the W curve may be sort of real.  I know! I'm sorry! Let me qualify: I've seeing a lot of posts from other friends of nostalgia and Michigan love, and I relate to them so strongly.  I have a deep deep connection to Kalamazoo as my home (one of them), and my people there are some of my favorite people on earth.  The fact that it's going on without all of us was somewhat inconceivable at first, and there have been moments where all I've wanted is to curl up in a library chair with a Biggby chai.  But I feel as though I've come over some sort of hump.  And it's true that I did not have a honeymoon phase as the W-curve predicted, nor did I end up having a 2-month low point where I thought host nationals were idiots, but I do think there is some validity that we have to adjust to new places, and after that happens, it's easier to be in those places.  I have routines now.  I have a family now.  I only feel like an idiot when I open my mouth about half the time.  There are things here that would seem totally weird to you guys that are now just a part of my daily life, and that I know I'll miss when I go.  And the first few weeks of being here were soooo much to take in that it was hard to have any sort of bearing at all about how I was feeling versus how I was supposed to be feeling versus how I should go about making the most of this experience.  There may have been existential crises involved (hint:yes).  But now, I feel comfortable.  Living here is less of a struggle and more of a habit, and because of that, I can start feeling more at home.  Take home message for friends: if you're having trouble, it gets better.  You're not "doing it wrong" if you feel down sometimes or if you miss the people who make you feel at home.  Building a home takes time.  I think another thing that did it for me was realizing how quickly time is passing.  I'm over halfway.  Holy crap.  That, while terrifying, makes it easier to believe that I will be back in the US too soon, which in turn makes it easier to aprovechar every day that I have here.