Christine Staton
Introduction
I was not prepared to return home. ISI Florence provided a great resource: a workshop on reverse culture shock. We talked about what to expect when we returned to our families and how to combat the effects of reverse culture shock. That combined with the support from my family and friends helped my transition back into life as a resident of New Jersey. My jet-lag slowly faded, my sleep schedule found a pattern again, and I fought off the blues from missing Florence. What has been harder to re-adjust to, however, are the things to which I became attached in Florence and the culture of my home university…