A Triumphant Return to Campus
By Grace Carballo ‘17
My friends keep asking me if it’s weird to return to USC after two semesters and a summer program abroad and the answer is a resounding “Yes!”
A lot of other folks who were abroad have had similar experiences of reverse culture shock. I saw a line down the bookstore steps and decided to order my textbooks online only to discover later that my peers were in fact waiting for $6 cupcakes to be dispensed from an ATM.
One of my pals asked me to meet him on the fourth floor of “New Annenberg” and I had to ask someone at the Annenberg building I was familiar with how to find the new one, which is insanely nice by the way and may very well become my local haunt.
This fine Saturday morning I went to grab a coffee at Smiles Cafe to fuel me to wit and greatness and an underclassman had to inform me that it had closed while I was away (RIP). Some folks don’t know a good thing when they see one!
It hasn’t all been confusion and disappointment, of course. As much as I struggle to buy into this, they say change is not only good, but necessary. (I read something along those lines in a Self Help book before going to Nicaragua).
I’ve come back from these challenging yet formative experiences in Nicaragua and Argentina a noticeably different person. I explained to a friend back home that now I feel like I’m a “caricature of myself”, which I consider a good thing but if you aren’t as in love with me as I am I could definitely see it being a little irksome. I’m more outspoken than ever, I care very little what other people think about me, but a whole lot more about what they think, and I have developed an amusing tendency to do and say things solely for shock and humor value.
Another amazing change on campus is the presence of my little brother, Nick, who I’ve described to several as a taller, swoller, and more profound version of myself. With his persuasion, I am proud to relate the most obvious manifestation of my enhanced confidence - I lifted on the first floor gym in the Lyon’s Center!
The intimidatingly strong folks who frequent this gym might not understand my qualms but for years I felt far too underqualified and protein-deficient to cross that threshold. Yet after some time away and a year’s worth of anecdotal obstacle-overcoming examples, I finally felt badass enough to be amongst them.
I have the highest of hopes for these last two semesters at USC and I’m happy to be back with the knowledge and experiences I’ve gained, however “weird” I may feel initially. There’s some new construction, some new buildings, and a sea of new faces but there’s also familiar folks with a year’s worth of catching up ahead of us and favorite places (looking at you, Cinema School) that are still just as beautiful.
Like the initial culture shock you may have experienced at the start of your abroad experience, the best way to deal with this reverse culture shock is to face it head on.
1) Talk about your study abroad experiences. They happened and had an impact on you and being back home doesn’t change that. This Monday from 5:00-7:00 is the Study Abroad Welcome Back dinner (with FREE Brazilian food!)
2) Stay in touch with the people you met abroad (especially host families!) We live in a high-tech world where thousands of miles of distance do not at all imply a broken connection. My host mom sends me the funniest GIFs and updates on my little siblings and I have her and Mark Zucks to thank for the joy they bring me.
3) Encourage your friends to go! As a new study abroad ambassador, I’m definitely into this because as amazing as USC is and as hard as it was to leave, I would do it again in a heartbeat and I think everyone should. It’s almost always less expensive than a semester at USC and scholarships often still apply to your abroad tuition. The Study Abroad fair is coming up and you should work a table or recruit friends to go! (September 8 10:00-2:00)
4) Get re-involved and apply what you’ve learned- Dive back in to the organizations you were part of or try new ones; the different perspectives you may have now can definitely add enough. Utilize the new language skills you have acquired to give back or reach out to international students here at USC to welcome them the way your host university’s students may have welcomed you.
5) Lend an ear- Just as important as talking about your own experiences, if not more-so, is listening to those of others. A semester is a long time, a year even longer, and a lot is bound to have happened that you’ll want to be caught up on.
For those of you experiencing reverse culture shock, if you want to talk about it or swap embarrassing incidents, feel free to hit me up.
Remember to be patient with yourself and others. Reverse culture shock is so common and normal that is has been studied and diagrammed (see above), so you are not alone in it, whatsoever.
Welcome back and fight on!
And don’t forget the STUDY ABROAD WELCOME BACK DINNER Monday, August 29th from 5-7PM in Doheny Library 233.
~Grace Carballo ‘17
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