Coming Back Home

After living overseas for a period of time, most people return home. For the expat going home, there may be some normal things that happen that may or may not be expected. Here are a few.

1. You will miss the friends you left behind more than you may have thought you would.
2. Not much will have changed in the place you left but you will have changed a lot.
3. You will want to talk more about your experiences than people will want to hear. They are more interested in their own lives. They will tune you out, change the subject or avoid you if you talk too much.
4. The people at home will not be able to relate to your experiences and insights very well. They just can't understand at times. This can be frustrating.
5. People at home will bring you up to date on what has gone on while you were away so you can take your place again. But you can't. In most cases, the spot you left behind has been filled. You are not quite the same so it will never be the same.

6. It will be easiest to relate to others who have lived overseas than it will be to relate to most people who have never left their homeland.
7. Some people will envy you, openly or silently.
8. Some people will seek you out specifically because you have lived overseas and it is also their dream. It will probably be people you didn't have much to do with before leaving.
9. Your circle of friends may change because you no longer share the same interests.
10. Your tastes in food, clothing, music and more will most likely be more of a reflection of the places you lived overseas than in your hometown.

11. When you come across people from the country where you lived who are now in your home, you will usually connect more easily with that person. You understand each other in ways people in your hometown who have never been to their country do not.
12. Reentering the work force in America may be jarring. You got used to doing things other ways and it can take some readjusting.
13. In some countries, you may have been treated like a novelty or a celebrity because you were different. In your homeland, you are just another person, like anybody else, nothing special. If you had lots of friends and knew everyone before you left, this will not be a pronounced as if you did not.
14. You may have adopted some of the customs of the foreign country where you lived. This could cause some difficulty, depending on the behavior, and it may take some work to unlearn them to fit in.
15. You have gained a broader perspective on the world and can see that there are other ways of doing things and other ways of living. Homebodies will not understand. If you love a good debate, here's your chance.

16. You will most likely want to travel again. People who live overseas either love it and want to do it more or they hate it and come home as quickly as possible. Most love it.
17. You will usually gain a better understanding of your own country if you live overseas very long. We tend to take a lot for granted about our home and our lives until we see them from another perspective.
18. You will have picked up some of the language of the country where you lived even if you did not study it. If you did learn the language, your brain and understanding of the culture will be all the better for it. Learning another language is good for your brain health according to science. In addition, cultures have personalities and perspectives which are expressed through their language. Understanding another language means thinking the way they do when you are using it. You will have something like two personalities.
19. You will have irreplaceable memories that will last a lifetime.
20. You will usually have made friends with people from many countries who are doing what you are doing, working as an expat.