Hard to Be Happy?

Culture Shock. Let me start off by saying that I absolutely loved, and I repeat, loved my time abroad. There are however instances when I remember saying things like, "I can't wait to be home where I can eat "normal" things again, and where I can communicate effectively, and never again feel uncomfortable." You see there is something that my Travel Writing professor put so perfectly, "You're all here paying to be put out of your comfort zone. Paying to be made uncomfortable. So you better enjoy it. Write about it." And uncomfortable I did feel. I was nervous no matter where I went: Eating out, shopping, touring, or even just walking the streets. I was a tourist who didn't know the place and didn't know the language. By the end of it I was tired of being nervous, but by no means was I ready to leave. Upon getting back home I was excited to see family and friends again, as well as the ease in which I could order food at the local McDonalds. For awhile I loved the ease of everyday tasks, but now... now I miss the adventure and nervousness I had abroad. Something different about here and there is that the people here, myself included, are not as patient and kind with foreigners as they are in Spain. The people there were so helpful with my many slip-ups. They were always excited to be a teacher and were nothing but kind when conversing with me in the Spanish language even though I had a vocabulary of a four year old. Everyone I encountered was excited to hear about my life back in the US, and they absolutely loved that I thought there culture and language was worth knowing. As a side note on language, Spain, and those that may be visiting Spain in the future is to let you know a little something I was not anticipating prior to my arrival in Spain: hardly anyone spoke much, if any, English at all.