A bigger deal than I thought

Last week, we had our repatriation training. It was something generously provided by my company to help us adjust to moving back to the US after living overseas for more than two years. At first, I was inclined to pass it up. After all, it costs money and weren't we moving back to a country that we knew well and had lived in most of our lives.

The more I reflect on the training, the more valuable it becomes. We certainly don't see the US as a foreign land, but between missing our former surroundings and friends and being puzzled by why we are feeling the way we are about some things here, this was invaluable. We realized how much we've changed, some of it in very subtle ways. We also realize that our families and friends have different expectations of us than we have of ourselves.We lived a different lifestyle in London -- not better, just different. Two years was enough time to make some significant changes on how we view the world and some of that is at odds with the common wisdom here.

Nothing's changed and yet everything has changed. We are not living in our house because it's still rented. The government is about to change dramatically (something we welcome). And then there's the economy, which adds all kinds of additional tension. But there are other little things. We've been more reluctant to jump back into things with friends. We find ourselves craving time by ourselves. We miss the long walks and time together we had in London. Why? I think it had a lot to do with the two of us taking on a new experience in a foreign land two years ago. Now, we need some time to readjust. We didn't own a car for two years and rarely drove. Now, we have two cars. We've both been more tired. All part of the adjustment, we were told.

Just to be sure, we are moving on with our lives and we are adjusting. There are, of course, many, many things we love about living back in the US, but we now realize that our feelings are normal and that it'll take some time for us to re-enter. The training will help us cope with this and more than that perhaps help our friends and families understand that there is a re-entry process and it's normal and natural. As we were told and realize, we are changed forever.