This is advice I was asked to write for WT volunteers who were ending their service:
When you return home from Ecuador, you may experience a common disease, Ecua-depravation. This disease is generally characterized by a mild depression regarding your current state and a nostalgia for everything Ecuador.
You are particularly susceptible to Ecua-depravation if you:
1. Have no concrete plans for your immediate future
2. Thought it would be a really good idea to use the last of your savings on a trip to Colombia and now have no money
3. Plan on moving back in with your parents
Common Symptoms of Ecua-depravation include:
1. Refusing to go out drinking with your friends because you can’t find a place that charges 75 cents for a beer
2. Turning on music in inappropriate places, like the library
3. Commenting to a friend how ugly the person standing next you is while forgetting that they, too, speak English.
4. Finding yourself making every sentence a question. (NOTE TO READER: Read #6 with the inflection going up on question.)
5. Throwing your toilet paper in the trash and, in severe cases, on the ground next to the toilet.
6. Salivating upon entering a pet store
Symptoms range from mild to severe, but most cases are curable within a matter of months. Extremely severe cases can never be treated and sufferers should apply to be the director of WorldTeach as soon as possible.
In all seriousness, coming home from Ecuador can be very difficult. Let’s face it. Life has gone on perfectly fine without you. The worst part is, honestly, no one cares about Ecuador. The only reason anyone you know ever cared about Ecuador is because you were there. Now that you are not there, they could care less. When you return home, you will inevitably find yourself wanting to talk about your adventures, the culture, or the food. But you just have to remember, no one really wants to hear about that stuff, so keep your yarns short and sweet. A lucky few of you will have a well-intentioned friend who will ask you the impossible question, “Tell me something funny that happened in Ecuador.” Your mind, of course, will immediately go blank, and you may even begin to question the value of your experience in Ecuador because you can’t think of a single story or joke that would make the other person laugh. Believe me, literally translating “siga no mas” into “continue no more” is NOT funny to your friends back home. My advice, avoid coffee shops like the plague. They set you up for too many awkward conversations and too few convenient escapes. If you do find yourself in an unavoidable one-on-one conversation, don’t panic. Start asking questions about the other person. Yeah, you might not want to hear what they have to say, but at least that way, they’re the annoying person, not you.
Don’t be surprised if you go home and don’t feel like hanging out with anybody. Family members will probably get concerned, but let them know that you will get better. You just need some time. You are going through a transition that most of them can’t and won’t understand. Be patient with them and be patient with yourself. Know that you’ve made it through difficult life changes before, and you’ll make it through this one, too. Take baby steps. Set a goal to at least once a week hang out with someone outside of your blood-line. I know it sounds silly, but you’ll be surprised how much of a homebody you might become.
The transition can be difficult, but I’ve come to believe that an important part of going abroad is going home. How do all your experiences and who you’ve become fit in with the person that you were when you left and with the person that you now want to be? Creating a cohesive story that ties together all of these different personas is a soul-searching task. But we as humans make sense of the world almost exclusively through storytelling, so if you are having difficulty finding yourself and finding your place when you go home, I would encourage you to tell your story. Since no one wants to listen, write it. Write your story. I can almost guarantee you this will help. And if it doesn’t, at least you’ll have something to say to interviewers who ask you how Ecuador fits into your long-term goals.
Take heart. Going home may be hard, but you’ll start remembering soon enough what makes home, home. In a few months, you may even be struggling to remember what was so great about Ecuador and how you were crazy enough to leave everything that was comfortable and sure back home for something uncomfortable and uncertain. You are about to leave the comfortable and certain once again, but all that really means is that another adventure awaits!
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