Returning home as IFYE

To start writing about returning back to the U.S., my mind is drawn a blank. I don‘t know where to start or how to perfectly recap the past three months. This past week there has been so many ‘normal‘ host family things. Things went on as usual but there was something new to it also. The new thought was that I would be leaving soon. At first I wasn’t sure how to feel about leaving and no longer staying with host families anymore. I had many thoughts of: Have I done everything I wanted to do? Did I take every opportunity that I could? and then of course the question - Did I get enough souvenirs and gifts? In the end the answer to all of these questions were definitely a yes. And knowing this made it a little bit easier to leave; knowing that I was content with how I spent my time. When I think about how I feel on the culture shock curve when it will be time for me to return home, I feel somewhat the same as what I did when I was half way through my trip. I feel somewhere in the middle of the points of ‘I miss home’ and ‘I could live here forever’. While there

are many things in the past three months that are completely different from life at home and have now become normal to me, I still miss certain things about home. But I also feel that there will be certain things that I will miss about Austria when I return home, making it difficult to leave. In thinking about leaving I also often think about what adjustments or different lifestyle I will have when I return home. I know that all of these experiences I have had in Austria and that I have had with IFYE I will carry with me wherever I go.

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Dance group members I spent time with

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One of my favorite last things I got to do was attend my host families’ regular dance class. I spent quite a bit of time with my last two host families and going to dance class every Sunday was something that they always did. I went regularly with them every week unless there was a conflict, but luckily there rarely was. I got to know the people that were apart of the dance group while practicing the dances with them. It also wasn’t uncommon for there to be drinks after a dance class, so we also got to know each other through conversation. My last class I got to attend was a start to a new season. They put on an beginners class before the regularly scheduled dance class, and when we arrived a few minutes before the normal scheduled time, there was so many people there! I was surprised at how many people showed up to learn how to dance, but also felt happy because they would get to learn something that I also enjoyed learning. Once the dance class was done, there was a time for a few announcements for the dance group. This was normally always done in German and never really effected me. However this time, I got to share with the group that it was going to be my last class. I was grateful to be able to share with them how much I enjoyed my time at dance class. I was very surprised when the leader of the group asked everyone to join in on a ”going away song”, to commemorate our time. Singing a short song was something that was normal for groups to do when someone in the group had a birthday, wedding, or other special event. When everyone took part in the song, it really made me feel part of the group. The song for me was definitely one of the best send offs that I have gotten here in Austria and it will always be a good memory of going on to the next place.

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