1) Being Mistaken For A Local by the Time You Leave
“Oh I’m sorry, you just look so Irish” becomes a daily thing you hear, usually after someone asks you for directions, interviews you for a news report or survey, or asks you to vote on something happening in your host country.
2) Being Able to Actually Give Proper Directions…
You are no longer able to use “sorry, I’m not from here” as a valid excuse from conversations.
3) Coming Home and Using the Slang You’ve Become so Accustomed to
“Cheers”, “thanks a million”, “grand” and “take away” are all okay enough, but if you walk into a room and ask “Where’s the craic?”, someone might get the wrong idea…
4) Having to Mingle With Foreign Boys…
Ugh, seriously, who wants to hear all those accents?
5) And their dancing? Oh my…
Unlike American boys, European boys actually know how to bust a move, and they aren’t afraid to do so.
6) You spend so much time eating and planning your future meals to try as many of the different cuisines available
Who wants to spend that much time on food- seriously, it’s exhausting!
7) Oh, and all the wine…
It pretty much ruins you for wine back home. Thanks, Europe.
8) Spamming every social media newsfeed with pictures from all your adventures
You’re pretty much set for every Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday for the rest of your life.
9) You spend all of your time at home talking about being abroad, reading (or writing) articles about it, as well as planning your next trip…
Sorry mommy, I promise I missed you and love being home…
10) Knowing that nothing in the world will ever/could ever compare to this experience…
Nobody will ever understand it the way you want them to, which will be the most frustrating thing in the whole world- but that just means it was truly one of a kind.