Being back in the U.S.

Okay, so I know that I probably should have posted this a while ago, but it turns out the second you get back home to the U.S., you are crazy busy! I have been back in the United States for about 2 weeks and it feels like I never left. Things are back to normal as they were before I left, and it feels like I have been here since January.

Since being back, I have not gone through a post-study abroad depression mode like most people tell you that you will go through. Since I have been back, I feel like I don't ever think about being in the Netherlands, but I will often speak Dutch in public places (instead of saying "thank you" I seem to say "dankjewel" way too much), I say "when I was in Europe" or "when I was in the Netherlands" not as much as I thought I would, and I talk to my abroad friends often!

I miss my friends. It took a few days to get used to not being with them every day. Another thing that is weird is how far everything is; not that I didn't know the distance between things already, but I feel like it was so much better where you can just walk to city center. I do miss walking around Breda city center with my friends. Now, I have to drive to Glendale or Scottsdale to go shopping.

For the past week or so I have been living with my boyfriend in Phoenix, and the heat here has really been getting to me! I am not used to this heat at all, that's for sure. I still have the temperatures on my phone to see what it's like in Breda, NL, Frankfurt, DE, and Lahti, FI.

You know, while I was away, I read a few different blogs with posts talking about things that people wished they did while they were away. A lot of things were talking about how they wished they spent more time in their host city, or how they traveled more, made more friends or even learned the language. Honestly, I feel like I did it all. Yeah, I wish I could have traveled to a few more countries and had a bit more money in my bank account to do awesome things, but at the end of the day, I cannot be more thankful for that experience.

I have talked to a few people about how I studied abroad in the Netherlands and they all say "oh my gosh that is so awesome, I am so jealous" or "how cool! I really wish I had that opportunity when I was in school". It really is something I am proud of.

Being back in the United States is better than I thought. Yes, I miss sitting outside at a terrace drinking a beer with my friends, or hopping on a train and spending the day in Brussels or Amsterdam, or even just walking to Albert Heijn for some groceries! But the U.S. is where I belong. In'n'Out has never tasted better, the Mexican food has never been more wonderful, and the shopping has never been more cheap. I may be a bit broke, but I am happy.

I don't know if I will post anything else on this blog, but I am more than happy to if anyone has any more questions or want to do a discussion with me about studying abroad or studying abroad in the Netherlands to be more specific. So for now, doei!