A disaster. Five years of feeling utterly lost and unconnected. I was no longer "just an American," but I wasn't a "European" either. I was something in between, and it took me a LONG time to find my feet again.
I did. It took a lot of flailing around, heavy drinking, alienating several girlfriends in a row, buying a motorcycle and just riding around the country for a month or so, and finally finding a job I could really commit myself to. I also learned not to talk about anything other than America. The fastest way to stop a conversation with an American is to express the fact that there may be somewhere outside of our borders. Their eyes will glaze over... they will cock their head to one side... and then kinda wander off in a daze. I actually use this when I am annoyed by someone and want them to go away. I just start talking about living overseas, and what life was like there, and they promptly leave. "Right? I know! When I was living in Budapest I had a washing machine, but no dryer. So I had this wire clothes rack I'd hang my clothes out to dry on, and put it up in the living room, and... oh. Ok. Yeah. Good talking to you! See you later!"
Jeez. May it be the circle of people you find yourself into? Quite disenchanting would be to learn that most people in the US are like that. Quite a ride, that was. I hope you're doing fine now and nothing like that touches you again.I also learned not to talk about anything other than America. The fastest way to stop a conversation with an American is to express the fact that there may be somewhere outside of our borders. Their eyes will glaze over... they will cock their head to one side... and then kinda wander off in a daze.
It took a lot of flailing around, heavy drinking, alienating several girlfriends in a row, buying a motorcycle and just riding around the country for a month or so, and finally finding a job I could really commit myself to.