Follow along with my friends and me as we travel to Porto, Portugal! With our flight departing at 7 a.m., we started our morning around 4:30 a.m. prepared for a long day. Once we landed, we bought metro/bus passes at the airport and headed to breakfast because we were so hungry. After dropping off our bags at the hostel, we used the rest of our day to explore the city.

A week ago, after a 10-hour flight, a 6-hour layover, and another 2-hour flight, my plane finally touched down at the Minneapolis airport. To be honest, it seems like it was ages ago. 

During study abroad orientation, they talk about reverse culture shock. They say that returning to your home country could elicit a similar psychological/emotional response to arriving in your host country. I nodded along during this presentation, but I didn’t truly believe the words on the screen.