I went to New Zealand the last few days of June.  I’ve been done with school since Halloween.  I just got back home in late November.  Speaking as someone who’s semi-recently come back, I thought I’d share a short list of differences I’ve noticed between the two cultures (so far).

People

I have now been home for just under two weeks and already want to go back to Freiburg and/or Germany as soon as possible. Reverse culture shock is a real thing, and although I love seeing my family again, I really like the European attitude a lot better than the American. The difference between the two is especially glaring around the holidays. In Germany things were busy and bustling, as you might expect, but it’s just a different kind of feeling.

The second to last weekend of my European adventure, my boyfriend and I went to Sweden. His grandparents live in Uppsala, the second biggest city in Sweden. We timed our trip perfectly (not) so it was in the middle of a blizzard over all of Scandinavia. This meant our train from Freiburg to Zürich was delayed, but other than that it actually didn’t have much of an impact.

As it’s half-way through the year and a new crop of IES students are soon to be arriving in Dublin, I figured now would be the opportune time to do a write-up of what (feminine – sorry, I really can’t speak for most guys here) clothing items a student might want to have. Some of these things are better purchased in Dublin, however, for the sake of your luggage weight if nothing else, so this is divided into three parts: What to Bring, What to Buy Here, Just Don’t Do It.

Leaving summertime in beautiful South Africa, and coming home to the dead of winter in Detroit was quite a shock in itself. The days are much shorter, and I still can’t accept how cold it is! I miss that South African summer sunshine more than anything, and I am holding on to my summer glow with everything I’ve got. It is very nice to come home to my wonderful family for the holiday season, but the consumer madness of the states during this time is quite different from the attitude in Cape Town.

After a couple of long plane rides and three different time zones I have finally arrived home.  It is great to finally be home with friends and family and to be able to sleep in my own bed again.  I know in a couple of weeks I will be ready to head back to Milan as I loved the city and miss the people, family, and friends I made while abroad.  It has been a crazy adjustment getting back into the swing of things here though as I had one day off before I went back to my job at small gift shop in my hometown of Sumner.  Working and