Reverse culture shock - the kind of culture shock you get when you return to your home country - is worse than just regular culture shock, I think. If you head to a country with a significantly different culture from your own, then you’re expecting to be shocked. But if you’ve been travelling or living abroad for a while and you return home, you don’t expect to be the victim of culture shock - or in this case, reverse culture shock. In Episode 81 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I speak with three guests who’ve all had varying experiences with culture shock when they return to their home country. Having been through it myself, quite strongly, when I returned to live in Australia after five and a half years away in Asia and Europe, I always find it so reassuring to hear that others have had similar experiences - though I wish I’d known more back when I was first experiencing reverse culture shock so I could have had some resources to help me get past it more quickly. In this episode I start by speaking with Kati Craythorn. Born and raised in Germany, she now calls Queensland, Australia home, and experiences some interesting symptoms of reverse culture shock when she goes to visit family and friends in Germany these days. She also had her own experience of culture shock when returning to Australia after a stay in South Africa. Next, I chat with Abby Lewtas who is also no stranger to reverse culture shock. Abby spent years travelling for various pursuits including a stint training for the Olympic bobsled team - obviously something that needs a colder climate than Australia can provide - and then struggled with the expectations of returning home to set up a life back in Australia. She’s now helping other people who go through the same shock and has a lot of great suggestions on how to deal with it. Finally, I had a great talk with James Thomas who lives an interesting ex-pat life in Taiwan, after studying in China. When he returns to the United States to visit family, he finds even many of the conversations are tricky, and we chat in some depth about the feelings you experience when suffering from reverse culture shock. Links:
Thanks to sponsor Glamping Hub - https://glampinghub.com
Kati at Queensland and Beyond - http://www.queenslandandbeyond.com
Abby Lewtas’ website - life coach for travellers returning home - http://www.abbylewtas.com
James at Four Seas, One Family - http://www.fourseasonefamily.com/
Episode 51 on Reverse Culture Shock - https://www.notaballerina.com/2017/04/reverse-culture-shock-episode-51-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellersShow notes: http://notaballerina.com/81

<div>Reverse culture shock - the kind of culture shock you get when you return to your home country - is worse than just regular culture shock, I think. If you head to a country with a significantly different culture from your own, then you&rsquo;re expecting to be shocked. But if you&rsquo;ve been travelling or living abroad for a while and you return home, you don&rsquo;t expect to be the victim of culture shock - or in this case, reverse culture shock.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>In Episode 81 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I speak with three guests who&rsquo;ve all had varying experiences with culture shock when they return to their home country. Having been through it myself, quite strongly, when I returned to live in Australia after five and a half years away in Asia and Europe, I always find it so reassuring to hear that others have had similar experiences - though I wish I&rsquo;d known more back when I was first experiencing reverse culture shock so I could have had some resources to help me get past it more quickly.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>In this episode I start by speaking with Kati Craythorn. Born and raised in Germany, she now calls Queensland, Australia home, and experiences some interesting symptoms of reverse culture shock when she goes to visit family and friends in Germany these days. She also had her own experience of culture shock when returning to Australia after a stay in South Africa.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Next, I chat with Abby Lewtas who is also no stranger to reverse culture shock. Abby spent years travelling for various pursuits including a stint training for the Olympic bobsled team - obviously something that needs a colder climate than Australia can provide - and then struggled with the expectations of returning home to set up a life back in Australia. She&rsquo;s now helping other people who go through the same shock and has a lot of great suggestions on how to deal with it.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Finally, I had a great talk with James Thomas who lives an interesting ex-pat life in Taiwan, after studying in China. When he returns to the United States to visit family, he finds even many of the conversations are tricky, and we chat in some depth about the feelings you experience when suffering from reverse culture shock.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><strong>Links:</strong></div>
<ul>
<li>Thanks to sponsor Glamping Hub - <a href="https://glampinghub.com">https://glampinghub.com</a></li>
<li>Kati at Queensland and Beyond - <a href="http://www.queenslandandbeyond.com">http://www.queenslandandbeyond.com</a></li>
<li>Abby Lewtas&rsquo; website - life coach for travellers returning home - <a href="http://www.abbylewtas.com/">http://www.abbylewtas.com</a></li>
<li>James at Four Seas, One Family - <a href="http://www.fourseasonefamily.com/">http://www.fourseasonefamily.com/</a></li>
<li>Episode 51 on Reverse Culture Shock - <a href="https://www.notaballerina.com/2017/04/reverse-culture-shock-episode-51-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html">https://www.notaballerina.com/2017/04/reverse-culture-shock-episode-51-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html</a></li>
</ul>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Join our Facebook group&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></div>
<div>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/81">http://notaballerina.com/81</a></div>

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle is a show for travel lovers. Each episode is packed with travel stories from fellow travel addicts on topics like using foreign languages, meeting the locals, getting lost and what we learn from our travels.

Tales from travel-lovers about why we travel and what we learn from it.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - is a weekly show which helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

<p>The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - is a weekly show which helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.</p>