I was wondering if anyone out there who has travelled around
and then came back home only to realize away was better? I
am having after trip depression.Is this common? I just can't
be satisfied with my old life , you know? It 's hard when
you have been away and seen all the beautiful things and
then come back and try and pretend that all the things that
were beautiful to you before are beautiful still. That
probably made no sense but if you have been where I have
been and then left the place that you consider ultimat
beauty and peace- aw shit it is really hard.
Talk to me please.
T.
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I too was very depressed after being in Europe for two years
backpacking and hitchin' without a care in the world except
where to get water and where to pitch my tent. I can truly
sympathize and had wished there was a therapist waiting at
the airport to receive me when I returned. It took me
several weeks before I could enter a retail store and still
have many fears of being here...my own country...I have
every intention to immigrate in the near future. I hope
this helps..if you would like to talk, feel free to email.
I also have a website at
See ya T...
I think lots of people feel a bit lost when they get back after a trip. I've grown up as a bit of a traveller, born uk, then Tanzania, then Kenya, then back to UK, Ireland and now Australia. I'm settled in Oz, but have been on trips to the US and UK over the past couple of years and always find it hard to settle after a trip.
One thing that makes it more bearable, I find, is to have a couple of "mini trips" back home. I regularly go & stay for just a weekend at hostels/backpackers quite close to home.....I think a lot of what I miss is the people that you meet.....this helps take care of that.
Also, without wanting to sound like "Pollyanna", I find it useful to spend time around things I do find great at home. There must be somethings that you still find beautiful if you really think about it.
Finally, if you REALLY want to go "back", then just start working towards that goal. There is always a way to do it if you want to. One thing a lot of travelling has taught me is that 'home" is where you feel yourself, not a geographic location.
In reference to that last comment 'Home' is where you feel
yourself not a geographical location.
I returned from Oz 4 months ago, had the time of my life, I
wanted to come home, but I found it so difficult to deal
with life back here, Oz seemed like heaven on earth, nothing
here could live up to it!
I really felt myself in Oz, I really 'clicked' with the
place, It did'nt confuse me as much as England does.
After working hard and saving (again), nothing can keep me
from what I want really deep inside!
I'm off back to Oz in a few days, I feel as though I'm going
home! will I return? who knows, I'm following my instincts!
Is there anything as terrible as returning home from your
travels? I don't think that anyone can adequately describe
the feelings people experience upon return. I have never
talked to anyone who says they adjusted easily to old habits
and patterns. Suddenly things that seemed so familiar feel
foreign and strange. It's a whole new kind of culture shock
but it is real and, unfortunately, the only cure for it is
time. Eventually, you will settle in and get back into the
groove of things. Just accept that it will be a bit painful
and difficult for awhile. I have also found that the best
cure for this ailment for myself is to immediately begin
planning my next trip! It offers some light at the end of
the tunnel.
see message in 'your choice' site, entitled; 'culture
shock', 40+ replies from folks regarding returning home
syndrome! a good read!!!
Yes!
i understand what do you mean...
get back in a shop and say "sorry" or "please" instead of
scusi e grazie, give fiftythousand bath instead of liras,
feel a bit shy when asking, or ...
the worst...
burp loudly in a restaurant after long time in India!
The medicine for your disease?
just think that's is your real life, your reality, when you
travel is...
is a better life, but is not the real life!
In wich place have you been right now?
I was in Lao during january, and -beleive it!- i start to
feel sad as i cross the Mae-Kong going back to bangkok!
for people going to Lao:
please, be very respectfull of their culture, they are much
more nice and honest of the neighbours ( thailand-vietnam)
don't take advantage of their friendliness and hospitality,
if someone is offering a beer or a coffe, don't give money,
is not polite, just buy them sigarettes or something.
MAURO
I left "home" two years ago, saying "Be back in a year...if
I last that long!".
Ha.
I haven't come to the most beautiful place in the world. And
sometimes I miss my home. But I like missing it.
So I'm staying "out here". And my "here" is changeable, my
life is pretty messy most of the time. Friends "back there"
have homes and stuff that, I guess, is very meaningful for
them.
But I have something. Big, big life.
And so do you.
You have to find the courage to love it, and do it well.
I know what you mean I have been home this time for 6
months and I always have the post trip depression! I am now
35 and it seens to be getting worse the older I get. I run
to the libary to get the vidio tapes on India or Indonessia
and watch them trying to get my self back there again. I
find this Westernized world very empty and lonely and the
focus of the people is just all wrong and self centered.
The thing I miss the most is meeting new people every day
and forming intaimate relationships straight away It's
approiprate to sit down with someone when your alone and
just settle in! Not really exceptable to do that here.
Also since none of my friends here travel they don't
understand how your feeling! they ask How's the trip? and
give you about 10 minutes to share one year and that is all
they want to hear, it's just another world And i have to
agree wisth the guy on Loas It was brillant! the most
interesting and friendly people I have met so far I pray it
dosen't get spoiled the people are so genuine anyway
thanks for letting me babble and if anyone comes up with a
way that I can stay over there let me know... short of
marriage! by .
I got this post trip depression too. I came back from my
4-month Europe trip last October and I felt good to be back
home for the first couple days. Though words like "oui",
"merci", "excuse moi" etc came out of my tongue just a
reflex and my mind was captured by all those memories of the
trip. I returned home coz I was kinda homesick but it's rare
that when I finally got home I started to miss Europe. I
felt the same way as if I woke up from a fabulous dream,
back to reality was not a good feeling.
Well, I exchanged letters and e-mails with the people I met
in Europe to share after-trip feelings and future travel
plans. It helps. As of one of the reponses said, think of
your future trip will help. Or, you can think this way: with
the dullness of your ordinary life back home, you can
compare, appreciate and cherish the travelling experience
much more. Just think that you're at home preparing for your
next trip!
puilin
Coming home craziness....i think if your trip taught you
anything, it has to happen. Last summer, I left India after
4 mths there to fly to London, and I completely freaked out.
It wasn't home (i'm canadian) but it was still the
western world. It was so completely different. No one was
staring at me anymore. I was completely anonymous for the
first time in ages. I could wear shorts and a tank top
again, and i felt so exposed. Everyone had such nice
clothes and shoes and i felt like such a total bum. People
stood in queues instead of shoving. I could get a cold
glass of milk again. I could go on...but it was like
another planet. I don't know where you are coming home
from, but to live amongst another culture makes you see your
own home with eyes you've never had before. It can be
depressing to see things that are negative about your home,
like materialism, or the alienation of people from nature
and each other. But it also opens your eyes to see what you
might have that the rest of the world doesn't. Like, I
found I was in awe of the fact that if i had been born
female in India, or most of the world for that matter, I
would probably never have learned to read, i'd be married at
14 and had 6 kids by now, and generally not have anything
close to the freedom a woman has in the West. I'd never
really realized that before. So, like everything else in
this wild world, you get good things and bad things out of
coming home. And before you know it you'll be settled back
into a daily routine and maybe you'll even miss those days
when you first came home and found everything so different
than it was before you left. Hang in there.
I think the worst part about coming back home is that others
lack a frame or reference to really understand what it is
that you experienced, not that everything in which you
partook was so exotic and unearthly, but you did experience
it, and you felt the need to leave home to do so when most
others feel no such urge to wander.
You may so badly wanted to have told some amazing stories,
from the humourous to the heart-breaking, but others may in
the long run consider them to be just that--stories, and
they don't understand why you are different. Your stories
have had an impact on you, however small, and you may not
see things, for better or worse, the same way anymore.
For example, in NYCity where I'm from, a caustic, biting,
sarcastic point of view is entirely acceptable, even
indispensable for handling yourself around others if you
want their respect. The verbal equivalent of a wrestling
match. However outside those urban centers, such humor
doesn't translate too well, even if you only hop across the
river to New Jersey! In South Korea, where it took me a
year and a half after my equally long stay there to learn
and accept this, the people laugh at you, mostly, if you did
something that pleased them--trying the language, choking on
their food, singing badly in the Karaoke bar. I was present
once when a South Korean baby said it's very first words, in
English, to it's mother. "Bye-Bye!", he sang. The whole
family froze, looked and pointed rather bluntly at him and
started cracking up, followed by a chorus of what I
interpreted as mocking imitations. "Bye-bye! Bye-Bye" they
chanted, but smiling big. That was their way of showing
approval, I realized far too late, because I scowled. I
encountered that again and again, not only in S. Korea, but
backpacking around South East Asia. Here I am, I'm
thinking, trying out their language and eating their food
like a respectful tourist and they think I'm the village
idiot? No, they were actually encouraging me, and I was
too self-concious to realize it. It sort of hit me recently
what they were attempting to communicate, and now, a year
after I've returned from Asia, I've finally internalized
it. The unfortunate result is that my family is
now disgusted with me because I won't join the
insult-hurling which is supposed to pass for affection
around the dinner table. They think I'm secretive, no fun,
and unhappy, when in reality, I'm merely sick of being
goaded, sick of having my private life exposed before the
company for the sake of getting a laugh, and sick of how
tense I feel going there for holiday dinners. And if I
tried to explain all this to my well-educated,
cosmipoltan, and politically-involved family, they would nod
their heads, tell me what a wonderful experience I had, and
then cut me down some more for being pretentious. I've
stopped aruguing and I've given up. Take it from me,
sometimes communication is not a means to an end.
Another example: I've witnessed the downside of the economic
miracle in Asia, and consequently not too impressed anymore
with materialism. I saw a lot of greedy people who simply
created a lot of garbage dumps, not to mention radically
unfair work conditions, because they wanted to show off
their latest status symbols. We all like to be comfortable,
and we all like a good salary, but I have no inclination now
to go get a better stereo, or any stereo, when I don't
really need one. The same thing goes for TV. I'm happy for
the multi-nationals that they've figured out how to access
100 channels for my viewing pleasure, but when most of it is
enterntainment and destroys my attention span, well, I hope
I can stop compulsivley watching the few channels I have
already long enough to pick up a book once in a while. I
now believe that television, and acquistivness in general,
is an addiction like any other, and if you don't keep the
necessary hoarding to a minimum, it just creates more
trouble than it is worth. This is an attitude a lot of
people don't understand, and they act strangely around me,
like they'll catch something. My mattress was on the floor
for a long time because I just didn't feel the need for some
simple structure that didn't do anything beyond lift my body
a foot or two off the ground. Ya get it? I'm not the child
of hippies, nor do I pretend to be one myself, though I can
admire them for sticking to principles. I'm just another
29-year old who has recieved a bit wider and a bit more
intimate introduction to my planet than what I can see or
read about in the news. Hey, even I feel pretentious for
saying it, but that's my mindframe right now. And looking
back, I've done a lot with my life and didn't need to insult
anybody, nor spend a lot of money to reach my present goals.
Hope that helps. I don't have an e-mail so please don't try
to respond. That would get me in trouble at my company.
Yours,
Jesse.
SEEMS TO ME ALL OF US WRITING ON THIS BRANCH OF THE TREE
SHOULD GET A CECK IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL....
IF WE GET IT TOGHETER WE MAY GET A GOOD DISCOUNT
AND HAVE MEALS ON ORDER...
I WANT:
-MUSHROOM SOUP(ANY KIND OF MUSHROOM IS A MAGIE!)
-VEGETARIAN SPRING ROLL
-RASMALAI
-PIZZA CON LA MOZZARELLA DI BUFALA
THEN, WE CAN GET A COMPUTER COURSE TOGHETER, SO WE CAN LEARN
TO SEND NOTES ONLY ONE AT TIME (AFTER A LOMNG WORK I
REALISED MY MESSAGE DIDN'T WENT THROUGH, YESTERDAY...)
P.S.
EATHER, IS THAT E.MAIL RIGHT???
When I came home the worst thing was that everybody
reproached me of not being grateful for what I have in my
country. I'd better not told them that it's a shock to come
back. I can still hear those long sermons, all ending with
the same conclusion: "You couldn't travel if you were born
in that third world that you enjoyed so much. You can only
travel because WE fulfill our duties for our society."
I am presently "suffering" the same syndrome after returning
from a trip last month that jolted me out of experiential
inertia! While at a fist glance it seemed as though
travelling was the "real life" and being home was the
exception, it really isn't so bipolar. I prefer to translate
the experience as one of profound orientation. My world just
expanded from my contracted concept of "place" to a much
broader horizon of experience. I was a suffocating person
without a clue until I drew in the life giving breath of
movement. Now I only hope to retain my new perspective and
remain vigilant about this and, rather than struggle with
being back "home" along with its own new brand of culture
shock, I am reviving myself...my new self that is!...in
planning my next trip now...and what better place to do that
from than home? In other words, the inherent struggles of
post travel shock can be kung-fu-ed to create a new and
better order to one's life... Or maybe I am saying all this
to make myself feel better! But its working for me.
Dear Tec,
After reading your letter I felt like I know who you
are. I have felt how you are feeling and it is hard.
There is a solution for your problems that I have cooked up
for you. You must find a guy who has had similar problems.
Ideally this guy would be a rather tall bloke and hopefully
he doesn't live too far from you (within a few city blocks
is choice). He should also share your passion for travel,
experiencing new things, and Otis Redding (she rules).
After you find such a guy, if you should ever be so
fortunate, you should date him. Sounds weird huh? Trust
me, all of your worries will dissapear as fast as a Welfare
Cheque cashed at a bank directly across the street from an
L.B.S.
Good luck!
It's been 10 months since I came back from my 2.5 year journey in Asia.
I wouldn't say I'm "depressed", but I feel like I'm falling
back into my old ways; ways I didn't like.
My best friend and I just had a falling out because I've
become so different. I can't figure out America. There's nothing
I wish to do here.
So I'm thinking of leaving again. To live and work overseas.
I like the challenge of communicating in a foreign country. I
find that it's much easier to express myself to non-native speakers
of English than to my own kind. It's strange. No one listens here.
No one cares. People are so absorbed in meaningless things.
We should organize a group: Post Travelers Blues Network or
simply just go off on a trip again.
I spent six years travelling around the world. The day I returned (to London), I got caught up in the rush hour travel on the underground (subway). I thought "What the hell am I doing in this fucking jungle? Let me out, back to the green jungle." That was many years ago.Since then, I studied, got married, had a family, went to work, made friends, developed many interests. Travelling was wonderful, but being fixed can be wonderfu, too. People who travel or have travelled are no better or worse than the people who stay behind. And people who are fixed can develop just as much as people who travel. It all depends on the individual. So, if you can't go travelling again, get into something you enjoy, and do it with passion. The post-travel blues will soon clear.
Well that really helped me. I had given up on explaining what I was feeling to my family and friends. They have no clue of what I'm talking about. I was in Europe for one year and have been back for four months now. I've decided I am going back. Hopefully to live if I can find work. I'm afraid the longer I stay here the more I fall back into the old. I have changed so much I really don't have very much in common with my friends or family. All the things that were important to me before I left, mean nothing to me now. So I'm going to keep going. Thanks again everyone, it's nice to know I'm not alone.
Anyone who has experienced travel has also had to deal with the changes that take come from that travel experience .Celebrate your growth. What you are feeling is a sure sign that you were bon to travel ...use your energy to work,save, and plan your next adventure.
. Twenty years ago I made my first trip to Europe. It was a dream come true. My husband stayed with the children and I had a month that changed my life forever. Like everyone else out there, upon my return, I found that everyone wants to hear all the details of your trip..as long as it only takes 10 minutes..unless they too were travelers. Even my husband seemed never to have any questions or engage me in the tales of my journey. Over the years I on occassion would tell him something that happened on that trip long ago, and he would say you never told me that before! He is right...but he never seemed interested either.But get this...over the last 4 years we have taken 3 trips to Europe together and NOW he is interested in where I went and what I did.
I was always so hurt that he was so disinterested in my dream come true..it never occured to me that he had no point of reference, so formulating the questions was out of his realm. Now he is experiencing the same reactions from co workers and friends....and so we put money we use to use for special occasions into a travel fund..and share our next dream adventure with each other
. We suround ourselves with friends that like to travel...and tell them of that wild drive down the Amalfi coast, of the hours we spent practicing the art of doing nothing in Italy, of the old lady that ran that little hotel in Austria..or the breakfast we had along the Mosel...you know the hotel with the shower that you had to turn sidways and suck in to get thru the door...yeah that one..the one with the three watt light bulb...best food I ever had!!! Lets go back there someday.
You are I think experiencing a perfectly normal feeling. You have left something you loved and no one understands. But you will go back and you know what...it will be just as you left it.
I can totally relate to the post-travel blues. I've been
bit hard by the travel bug. I started travelling when I was
18 (now I'm 33) and it seems like I've fallen into a natural
rhythm... travel, post travel blues when I return, save for
the next adventure, travel. It has turned into a two year
cycle for me, but the smile never leaves my face because I
just keep going in this pattern. As long as the world
exists, I plan to keep on travelling. The best way to get
over the blues is to start dreaming (and saving) for the
next adventure. Right now, I'm planning my next adventure
(known as "Julie's World Domination Tour" to the shock and
dismay of my friends, family and coworkers). In 1999, I
plan on leaving Portland Oregon once again and hitting
Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, teach in Thailand for a
year then continue on to Laos, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar)
China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria,
Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Eritria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania,
Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The happiest moments in life
are making my dreams realities. Enjoy life while you can!
Cheers, Julie
i just got back today to calgary, canada, fucking cowboy
redneck town after 7 months backpacking in japan, china,
laos and hanging and smoking all the time. hard to imagine i
was on an island in thailand just 4 weeks ago and partying
in roppongi, tokyo about 48 hours ago. but guess what guys,
i have the perfect solution to the blues. treeplant, yes,
trepllanting in canada, it's fucking hard work but it's my
fourth year and 3 months and ten grand in the bank later i'm
off again to wherever i desire, so if you want to make some
cashish real quick and you're really determined to do so by
working really, really hard i.e. waking up at 7 am in
northern saskatchewan and it's -5 degrees celsius and
working your fingers to the bones for 12 hours a day,
mosquitoes and horseflies eating away at you, waiting in the
rain for the helicopter to take you back to camp, else you
walk 20km in the mud. drop me a line and i'll try to help
you out. sorry canadians and people with work permits in
canada only.
At last some people that understand. It's true friends ask you how your trip was and 30 seconds later get that glazed look in their eyes. They don't understand they never will. I have been back 4 weeks from a 6 month trip round Asia. I started backpacking when I was 21 and am now 32. Had a seven year blip where I brought my house and spent all my money on it. I still have the house but have decided not to spend any more money on it and just save up and go travelling. My big dilema now is the biological clock ticking away like Big Ben in the back of my head. Do I have children and backpack with a kid (is it possible really) or do I just backpack for the rest of my life. To make things worse there is a bloody great cruise liner parked outside my office window on the Thames - I bet it's going somewhere nice. In the meantime I will do this boring meaningless job earm my money and get the hell out of here by Xmas hopefully and one thing is for sure when I put that pack on again I will appreciate the freedom it give me. Another thing I have noticed about the west nobody had time to do anything not even to talk.
I think the worst of it for me was not just the blues, which
are still going, even though I've been back for over 3
months, and still wanting to go traveling again, but people
telling me that I had my fun and now it's time to get
serious and get a job, career, family - oh my god!
I refuse to believe that all my fun loving travel days are
over!
That's why, even though you have the blues, it's important
to have travel goals and work towards them so that you know
that soon you will be out there again.
The thing about the travel bug is that it never goes away...it only gets worse! I was away for about 15 months and have been "home" for 8. It was a bit of a shock coming home but I had sort of prepared myself for the feelings I knew might come so that helped a little... although I wish I had practically prepared myself too (had some savings etc.). Coming home to no money, no job, having to live again with my parents for a while and in the dead of winter ( -30 degrees from the tropics!!!!!) was hard and it got me down a little. But live and learn...next time I will be more prepared. Another thing - I agree with "home is where you can be yourself and not a geographical location". It is really easy to blame a place when things are not going well for you there. It is important to get involvd with the community, meet people, work, play or whatever while you are in a place and try to make the most of your experience there. When I first got home I was so "high" from travelling that I wanted to keep that feeling - that feeling that you are living life to the full, you can pick up and go any where you want at any time, and generally that things seem so much easier and you feel so much more fearless than you do when you are "home" . I try to imagine that I am still "travelling" and in a sense I am - that where I am is only temporary and things can and do change so I might as well try to get the most out of where I am. Still - nothing beats travelling and I did not see my trip as a once in a lifetime trip but as just the begiining. I plan to travel more and throughout my life and I know I will. The worst thing someone said to me travelling was : "Travelling is great but sooner or later you have to go home and start your life" I thought: This IS my life.
i came closer to my potential traveling cause i went alone
and had an opportunity to meet myself. i developed a
tolerance for every person and every person's opinions,
well you know, you have to. and i fucking liked myself.
when i went home i was sucked into being the same old
person again, which would've been fine if i'd never learned
how good a person i could be. and it's true, no one has any
clue what you've just done. they're just stories and
they're just pictures...but you were THERE and no one
around you can relate. of course that sucks.
Pfew! Makes me feel better already to know I'm not alone,
which I thought for a long, long time. I posted a similar
question on the Indian subcontinent section, called "Is
there life after backpacking?". Had some fantastic respons
too, might help you all? If only by knowing there's plenty
more people like us out there. It helps me, that's for
sure.. Also, there's an interesting thread "Back to the
basics of life" which seems to be part of our problem.
back to the basics is in your Choice
What is it exactly? I have no idea, but as soon as i read the original posting i had to stop and read every single one. I spent last summer hitchiking across Canada. Not over sea's or anywhere to exotic, but i have the bug. I quit college and moved to the mountains to ski.
unfortunatly i'm now back in the real world with a job. Yet all I ever do is dream of packing up my bag and heading off with nothing but me, my gear, and my thoughts. Hopefully one day i'll quit my job and make it out there. Thanks for keeping the dream alive............
Actually living in another country is not the same as just
travelling through it, and forming complex relationships
with others that last years. There is this great sense of
freedom that comes with travel, but all good things come to
an end. Real life in a foreign country is probably every
bit as sticky as the life that depresses you here.
My advice to you is not to travel again for about a year.
Give home a chance.
I am american and spent last summer traveling Europe, the UK and Ireland. I fell in love (with that part of the world) and have not recovered since. I watch the Travel Channel like it is a religion and every time I see a show on a place i have been I get really upset. Not a day goes by that doesn't remind me of a particular day during my travels. Coming home is reacclimating yourself to the status quo...and its not fun. No one understands and no one wants to hear your stories because they either can't identify or are jealous. It is incredibly difficult to adjust to not being on the move, not hearing other languages, not meeting new people, not seeing incredible sights. Travel is a drug, and coming home is detox.
I can relate to everything that everyone is saying in this
branch. I just got back from travelling around Scandinavia
and some of Russia and have travelled lots before. Over the
last few years I have always had something to dream about
and some trip to plan. Now I am back again and everyone is
saying that it is time to settle down. All I want to do is
start planning for the next trip. Why should we settle down
if our dream is to travel. All I have is work at the
moment, so if anyone would like to drop me a line, we could
swap all those fantastic travel stories together
I agree with #29's posting. Perhaps this post-travel depression syndrome is also a result of having to get back to the "normal", where life becomes static again; it's not just a matter of readjusting to home, but rather of readjusting to no longer having to readjust. One of the great things about travelling is not just experiencing a completely new culture, but that everything is constantly changing - there is always a new stimulus in life, new things to see, new people to meet. But when you are travelling, there is often not time enough to stay in one place long enough for life to assume its real complexity. I spent a long summer travelling Europe for the first time a couple years ago, and was so enamoured of the place that I decided to go back and try living there. It was a pretty different experience. Life even there assumed its own sense of normality after a few months, and relationships had time to get complex and sometimes "sticky". But of course now that I'm back "home", I'm once again nostalgic about that other life. It'll probably just continue as an endless cycle. The grass is always greener on the other side. . .
I think one of the hardest parts of returning home is the
way that other people are just not interested in where
you've been and what you've done ... I've been away several
times, for extended periods of time, and each time I return
family and friends have about a 5 minute limit on their
attention to what I've been doing. I'm not saying that
they should listen to me go on and on about me experiences,
but a little interest would really help. Because of this,
I find it really isolating when I come back. But, it
usually doesn't last, so hope you are feeling better and
more connected. And, hope you are planning your next big
trip!
I just got back from 6 months in Africa. Coming home has
been the hardest part of all. I have come home to my
boyfriend that I was longing for the whole time I was away
but now everytime we have the slightest problem..and trust
me there have been quite a few..i just want to take the next
plane back. It's really hard to jump back into your own life
when noone is listening and giving you the chance to work
out the last 6 months of your life. If anyone out there
wants to chat, I would love to hear from you.
kat
I went to Europe for a year when I was 17 and came home for my 19 birthday. It was so depressing. I'd grown so different from my best friend that I felt I hardly knew her. My mom had lost weight, my little sister grew up-- and I didn't even recognize her standing beside my mom! I wished I'd never come home.
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By my next large trip, I'd forgotten how depressed I was when I returned and it took me a real long time to get over it.
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Suggestion: When you return,
DON'T put your life on hold (can't go to university, can't learn a new carreer, can't commit to a large purchase, can't commit to a relationship) because you MAY go away soon. You'll just get more depressed as you see others growing and you're stagnating on hold.
DO DECIDE: do I take some short term term work and go travel within the year-or- do I commit to growing at home and going on lots of shorter travel trips.
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I think if I had made a committment to do one or the other right at the beginning, it would have made my life much happier and richer (emotionally) much sooner.
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I've finally got my shit together and am out of my slump now. I'd love to go on more long term trips, but now I finally have a job that I love. So, instead I'm going to go on lots of shorter (2 and 3 week trips).
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Another hint: Keep in contact with all your travel buddies. Several friends I met travelling have come over to visit and it sure made my month!! And I love hearing from them by phone or mail.
I'm turning 34 this week and have been travelling since I
was 18, but only for 2-5 week trips. Am I too old now to
chuck in my career and blow my savings to travel for a year
or two???
i'm 33 and i'm going to "chuck" my fairly comfortable
university librarian job to go teach english in japan for a
year or two. i figure, either i'll love teaching english so
much that i'll want to completely change my career and keep
going in that direction, or, i'll just find another job in my
field. there's always another job out there. and who knows
what wonderful thing might come out of chucking it?!?!?! the
last time i chucked it, i came home & a MUCH better job than
i had left came looking for me.
If you can afford to travel enough to get this sickness,
you probably live in a country that lots of people in the
world risk their life and give up everything to reach. If
you like the third world so much, its probably because you
were treated with the importance you couldn't get at home
and everyone expect you to be superior than they are in the
way of the "west."
In that case, go ahead and move to a place where you get
servants and where you can afford to tip the waiters extra
(hehe, massaged a Hemingway phrase thru, read his work to
relate) The last thing any society needs is a horde of
neurotics who are too busy being prissy princesses to do
anything productive or permanent.
Unfortunatly, I have heard that this is a problem. Not only is away better, but people cannot relate as easily to someone who has seen things that they have only dreamt about. I am planning to take an extensive trip and I am concerned about this. I am going out there to find out about myself and the world, but then what!?? Plan another trip, or maybe Peace Corps or a job that allows you to travel would help...write a book?? Anyway, I hope you find happiness and feel free to write back.
One chooses to travel on a trip by themself. You are by yourself, you do things by yourself, and you are very much ALONE. You might have people around you, people that listen, and people that care, but you are still by yourself. Returning to home you are still by yourself. Learn to be HAPPY with YOURSELF. HAPPINESS comes from within. Faulting your friends and/or family for "not understanding the thrills of your travels" isn't solving anything. If you want so much for them to understand then take them on your next trip. Did you go on your trip for YOURSELF or to add another feather in your hat? My travels have all been unforgettable and every experience has made my life what it is today. Yes, sometimes I would like to share all of the travel tails to a listening ear but my saddness comes and goes and I am with myself once again. The best part of ALL of my travels is coming HOME. I love my trips but my HOME cannot be any BETTER. My travels make my HOME a better place to be. Every moment is a new experience. It is how it is recieved within that makes it good or not so good. Smiling is a fun thing to do when you are in an area that does not have many smiling faces. Try it sometime. One returned smile drowns the frawns. Good words from #29 and #32. HAPPY TRAILS TO ALL!!
From what I've seen, everyone seems to have their personal
preferences... some like "home" better while others prefer
"away". (Personally,I have a hard time defining "home"
myself, having grown up in three different countries.) Just
do what suits you best!!
After living in the UK for 3 years and travelling around New
Zealand, OZ and Thailand I was actually looking forward to
go back home (Berlin that is). I loved the first two weeks,
it was great to spent more than only a couple of hours with
my friends etc. Anyway, after these couple of weeks I grew
impatient and was only thinking of leaving again.
Unfortunately this was and still is (9 months later) not
possible, first of all I need to save money again. Anyway, I
try to do the odd weekend trip (in the past 4 months I've
been to Bonn, London and Prague). I don't think I will never
completely get rid of the post travel syndrome. I try to
make the best out of it, try to meet new people, go to new
places (there still so many areas in Berlin I don't know
yet, even though I grew up here), have the odd weekend away
and plan my next trip (even though it will only be for a
month). It's working, I feel o.k. here, the only thing which
gets on my nerves is that you're restricted so much, but I
will have this everywhere - except when I'm off travelling.
I know that moving to another country to work wont cure this
itch, maybe for a little while, but then it will be the same
again. So, I try to save my money for another trip and enjoy
myself while I'm stuck here.
I think number 35 suggests the best therapy - keep in touch
with those you met, because with them you can keep your
memories alive. Don't let go and don't get despondent, just
use this time to apply what you learned abroad - about
yourself and about the world - and know that it all happens
for some sort of reason and the circle continues, so you'll
be happy again soon. It sucks sometimes, of course, but
that's when you can visit the TT to share! ;^)
Hello everybody and I will shake hands to all.
Every time I came back from a trip I got this depressing
feelings and indeed they become worse all the time.
But..I try to see my country (Holland) as another culture
I'm visiting on my trip.
The thing is, I only want to leave when I feel at home
again ( in my country), because only then you can return
with positive feelings.
Probably this summer I can start as a guide in Asia. Maybe
some advise. Get some goals while travelling. By guiding
tours you can travel and make some money as well.
Anyway, when you come back, take time.......
I never knew that there were so many people in the world
that felt like I do! I worked for 6 months last summer at a
resort just 4 hrs from my home in the states and completely
understand and am suffering from post trip syndrome! I'm
planning a 3-4 month trip backpacking through Europe next
the summer of 2000. I'm super excited about it, but I know
when I returnn to the states I'm going to be very depressed.
Any suggestions on where to visit?
I last a whole 2 days before I have to plan where I will go
next.
After a long flight (12hours) I am keen to get back on a
plane just 24 hours later and find myself staring skyward
for just the sight of one.
This is terminal and I will pursue this cycle for the rest
of my life.
Plan the next departure :)
I have just returned to Canada after 6 years living in
Kathmandu ... in total shock to find myself back here! But
I realize that many of the issues being talked about here
are about being able to make changes in your lives. That
wonderful feeling of being able to pickup and go somewhere
else! Travelling means change ... constantly moving (even
if you are sitting still and watching a new culture) and
seeing/exploring news things in other cultures. Constantly
learning new things about yourself. Today, I am 5 weeks
back in Canada and realizing that I am just as depressed
about sitting around today as I would be if I was sitting
in my flat in Kathmandu. Kathmandu is a lot more "exotic"
but I experienced the same "self" when settled there.I am
34 and for those of you talking about "chucking" careers
and travelling ... find a way to combine it! I have worked
and travelled for the last 10 years and my job has always
paid for me to be somewhere interesting! and then after the
work was done I would take off on my own to explore! It is
possible to combine both ... every job I take has to
include overseas travel ... even when I was living in
Kathmandu ... if I didn't get the chance to work in China,
Lao or Myanmar ... I didn't take the contract! Explore and
be creative about your work!
Like everything in life, when you have no more new things or surprises you get bored - just the human nature.
But it is only up to you to remain in the same direction or board on this boat of life!!
And I thought I was the only one!! I have been back home for
just over 8 years now and have been yearning for what was
ever since. I have filled in the time getting a number of
degrees, the goal being that the next time I leave, it will
be for good. I wont have to return for anything, including a
guilty sense of needing to do 'something useful' instead of
being blissfully happy travelling about the globe. I am
about to take off for a short trip to the South Pacific as a
reward for being half way to finishing my PhD. After that,
the world will be mine again, guilt free :) I look forward
to meeting you all in my future travels. I'll know who you
are by that self satisfied aura that surrounds those who
have discovered the treasure that fulfills every dream and
desire, travel.
leaving on my next trip in a week. thanks for the company,
the good spirits, the help and advice! i couldn't have made
it through this past year without you all!
~
happy trails, and hope to see some of you out there, in the
world!
~~~~~