Reverse culture shock is a difficult experience, even for those who have grown up overseas. For this reason, I never wanted to return to the States before the close of my service. Nevertheless, when his sister chooses to marry just after graduating from college so that her friends can be there, a good brother goes back.
Thus, on May the second, two weeks short of two years from the time I left home, I returned for the first time to the United States.
I had prepared myself mentally for over a month for the particularities that I remembered from two years ago, the existence of cars, media, refrigerators, hot water, and huge houses, as well as the relative differences such as the dryness of the air in comparison to nearly 100 per cent humidity, the resulting lack of necessity to wash thee times a day, and the fast pace of activity compared to the relaxed timelessness.
Upon my arrival, I walked through the Miami airport, and I cannot express how tremendous that learning experience was. I observed conversations and mannerisms of my countrymen, inspected new gadgets for charging iphones and watching movies on planes, and bought a hamburger. I also noticed that American walk on the right rather than in a chaotic crowd like the rest of the world. After learning this, navigating the terminal became much easier. On my first day back, I went shopping, buying a suit for the wedding, a cell phone, a few new clothes, and my first new music in two years. American commercialism did not bother me in the least. I found elegance in everything, though it all seemed a little foreign, as it always has to me.
As I am used to spending most of my time outside, I needed to take a walk in the woods after two days of being home. The paths were so wide in the preserve, and the underbrush was nearly nonexistent. I sweated on the terrain, but with less than 100% humidity, sweat evaporates and cools people rather than simply drenching clothes. It was wonderful.
My parents and I then drove to Hillsdale College, my alma mater, for my sister’s graduation and wedding. Spending hours with old friends, talking with former professors about my adventures, and seeing my extended family after two years of absence was so very good. The wedding was beautiful.
We went back to Raleigh for two days before my next trip.
My father and I took a trip to Washington to visit Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where I will be going to school in the fall. I found some housing options, worked out financial aid, and made arrangements for testing on Georgetown’s language requirement, all in less than 24 hours. Then it was back to Raleigh again.
When I arrived back in Raleigh, I found that my visa to get back to Suriname had expired. Peace Corps Suriname, Peace Corps Washington, the Foreign Ministry of Suriname, the American Embassy in Suriname, and the Surinamese Embassy in Washington all helped me get approval for a visa in about a day. My last day in the Sates was spent driving to Washington and back again to get my visa in my passport.
My flights back to Suriname became an adventure as well. Our plane was re-routed to Arkansas because of weather, and I got standby tickets to Atlanta and then to Miami to catch my international flight. I was successful in getting on both planes, but just before we boarded in Atlanta, the flight to Miami was canceled. The airline paid for a hotel room, and I continued my journey the next day, arriving in Suriname just after midnight on Monday, the 26th.
I did not have a common experience in returning to America; it was very easy despite the flurry of activity. I did need to take two breaks in the midst of the chaos of the wedding, but my family was very understanding and really quite pleased with the ease of my transition.
