The Coming Home blues- from Travel Blog on SMH

Hi Peeps,
this blog has made me feel better already that there are others that feel exactly the same way i do after travelling... I havent even gone to Africa yet, but i'm anticipating some kinda rude shock when i get back to 'reality' and work for me in the western world!
Pray for me!! Its going to be pretty mind blowing...

23 Sleeps to go!

xo

http://blogs.smh.com.au/travel/archives/2007/09/the_coming_home_blues.html
Every person, dedicated traveller or not, has had a case of the coming home blues.

It could be only mild - like when you find yourself back at the desk after a weekend away - or it could be more extreme - after a few years on the road - but there's always the realisation that things at home aren't as fun as they are on holidays.

I've had the coming home blues a few times, and they seem to be getting worse. And, as far as I can tell, there doesn't seem to be any remedy, no quick fix for your travel-related downer, no sports panel show to rush home to and discuss the ills of your life.

Worst of all, it's pretty hard to get sympathy from people when you've just spent a few months/years having the time of your life ...

In my experience, the longer the trip away, the worse the coming home blues are. They're like Monday-itis times about 100 - you become a shadow of your former care-free, holidaying self.

For those who are yet to experience this affliction, here are the common steps leading to coming home blues:

Step 1
Make the decision to come home. This is usually accompanied by a feeling of excitement at seeing your family and old buddies again, coupled with a slight sense of foreboding.

Step 2
Arrive home. Experience the initial joy of seeing everyone and having them at least feign interest in your adventures. Eat whatever it is you've been craving for the last six months (a sausage roll for me).

Step 3
Realise you're broke, and, most probably, don't have a job. Start mournfully flipping through the employment sections trying to decide what best you can fake experience in. Discovery Travel and Living is now your favourite TV channel.

Step 4
Realise no one really cares about all the crazy/exciting things you got up to overseas. Worse still, realise you're no longer getting up to them.

Step 5
Begin to remember why you went overseas in the first place - everything at home was boring. Realise everything at home is still boring. Continue flipping through employment sections.

Step 6
Your friends, realising that every single one of your stories from now on will begin with the phrase, "This one time when I was in ..." have stopped calling. You've begun morosely checking your hotmail each morning, catching up on what your friends who are still overseas are doing. Frighteningly, you're craving a full English breakfast from the greasy spoon down on the high street. No one knows what you're talking about.

Step 7
Forced to take the first job you're offered, you pretend to work whilst actually flitting in between researching new destinations on the Lonely Planet website, and looking at your own travel photos on Facebook. You've taken to eating lunch at Spanish/Italian/Vietnamese/Thai/Mexican/Indian/Nepalese restaurants so you can try and persuade yourself you're still there. Once again, you realise you're not.

About this stage, the coming home blues have firmly set in. You're moping around all day, mumbling things like, "Cabs wouldn't cost this much in India", and wondering why the hell you decided to come home in the first place.

So what do you do to alleviate your symptoms?

First, stop looking at your damn photos - it's just going to make you more miserable. Countless times I've thought to myself, "I'm feeling a bit blue ... I know what will cheer me up: looking at pictures of myself when I was really happy!"

Doesn't work.

Second, surround yourself with fellow travellers. Nothing eases pain more than sharing it. This may involve becoming the seedy guy surreptitiously hanging out in the hostel bar, but, you know, desperate times ...

Even better is to come home when someone else you know who is coming home - that way you can share the whole experience, and that's one less person who'll be emailling you about their latest adventures from some far-off land.

However, those bitten by the travel bug will know that these are all band-aid treatments. The only way to truly beat the blues is to knuckle down, get saving, and bugger off overseas again at the first opportunity.

Sure, you're setting yourself up for another battle with the blues - but it's worth it, isn't it?