Stranger In A Familiar Land

Perhaps the most well-sourced reverse culture shock page.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StrangerInAFamiliarLand

Main chorus:

How ya gonna keep ’em down on the farm
After they’ve seen Paree’
How ya gonna keep ’em away from Broadway
Jazzin around and paintin’ the town
How ya gonna keep ’em away from harm, that’s a mystery

– How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down On The Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree)? – 1918

It has been a few years since I’ve been to Europe, but I can still feel, smell, hear, and see it. The reminiscence happens with little things, not the big ones. I should’ve stayed over there and returned when I had no money (guesstimate: half year to full year).

Related articles

• Dealing With Reverse Culture Shock (travelrelapse.com)
• Somewhere between Louisiana and Istanbul (bobmannblog.com)

Reverse Culture Shock

This happened to me once I returned home and it hasn’t left. I had never really left the US or truly experienced a foreign culture. My journey around Europe lasted about 2 months. Returning home shocked me.

“You can’t go home again.” – Thomas Wolfe