“Wanderlust can be a great detriment to our personal purpose and contentment if it is not managed well”

Good read about wanderlust-- check it out :) 

-Dani

Studying abroad is both magnificent and brutal. My four months in Australia gave me fresh perspective on American culture and enabled me to see my worldview through a new lens. By the time I recognized this and integrated myself into their culture, it was time to leave and I found myself longing to stay in a place that was not my own. 

Among the countless challenges I faced throughout my journey, returning home was by far the hardest. This article addresses the feeling of coming home and suggests methods to apply during the reentry process.

-Katie

I miss everything about Costa Rica. I miss the vibrancy of life, the colors, the flavors, the people, and the lifestyle. I've been back about a year and a half, and I was blessed this past summer to go back and visit my family. We, in the HH, have talked a lot this semester about the idea of "nothingness". Not wanting to go back to where you were, but not wanting to stay here. Having been back longer than anyone in the house, I thought it would go away, but in some ways it intensifies. I love my friends here and what I have to look forward to, but at the same time, the longer I am here, the harder it is to keep alive who I became in Costa Rica. I'm neither here nor there, and yet both. Nothingness. 

Going abroad is great. Sometimes. We have talked about the "highlight reel" effect, only reliving the good moments since being back. But in truth, there are excruciating parts to being abroad. And the challenges that every person faces are different. But to be entirely truthful, coming back is worse than anything abroad, and it's something that no ones prepares for, or is told before leaving. This semester is a journey is learning how to come back, and not leave behind your newfound second home. 

-Rachel