21 Awkward AF Things That Happen When You Get Back from Traveling Long-Term

Traveling long-term makes you awkward AF. Surprised? Okay, to be fair, it also makes you confident and adventurous. But there are also a lot of awkward experiences along the way. 😉

The other night I had a conversation with my friend about coming back home from traveling long-term. We had both been at home for the holidays for a few weeks and both were in a weird funk. We reminisced a bit about some of the crazy things that have happened to us. And it got me thinking about all of the awkward things that have happened to me after coming back to the USA. While traveling long-term you really get into a travelers groove and you have your mind opened every single day. After coming back, you remember all of the things you once thought were normal that now feel like the foreign parts of your life. It’s weird…and awkward.

I got back from traveling the world about 2 months ago and have had an interesting time adjusting back to normal life. I feel out of place a lot of times. But it’s definitely part of the process to have these awkward AF moments!

21 Awkward AF Things That Happen When You Get Back from Traveling Long-Term

1. You’ll go to a party and realize that everyone around you isn’t from a different country, but all from the same small hometown and will remember EVERYTHING you did the next day.
2. You’ll run out of things to take photos of cause you aren’t traveling and doing something cool every day.
3. You’ll get really sad because your travelers tan will go away within a week of coming back.
4. You’ll get a lot of eye-rolls when you say, “oh yeah that reminds me of the time I was backpacking through SE Asia.”
5. You’ll find it weird to actually have your entire own room and privacy! Like, where are your 7 other hostel roommates?
6. You’ll get weirdly emotional for no reason and have a few sob sessions because you don’t know what you’re doing with your life.
7. You walk around your room naked a lot because you CAN!
8. You’ll start texting a new guy and realize you’re not into him anymore, but you can’t end it by blaming it on the fact you’re leaving the country soon.  You actually have to break it off like an adult.
   
9. You’ll relax for a bit and then book another trip even though you don’t have money.
10. You’ll get a job, but hate your life cause your ambition to go to work and climb the corporate ladder is sorta dead.
11. It’ll be weird to start conversations without saying “So how long have you been traveling for?”.
12. You thought you’d get rid of all of the nasty clothes you wore for a year traveling, but you’ll find yourself still wearing them EVERY DAY.
13. You’ll get annoyed when waitresses come by your table every 2 mins. to check on you. Can’t you eat your food with your friends in peace!?
14. You’ll binge eat on all of the foods you missed while traveling.
15. You’ll get asked “so, where did you go on your travels” all the time. Instead of having someone sit there for 5 hours while you tell them where you went for a year, you widdle it down to the continents you went to and the conversation ends.
16. You’ll find yourself scrolling through instagram a bit too much, looking at new places you want to travel.
17. You feel weird drinking from a glass once you’re home like a normal human. Instead, you carry around a water bottle everywhere you go.
18. You’ll really miss those $5 massages in SE Asia cause everything just seems so expensive right now.
19. You’ll get really tripped out every time someone tells you something in miles and Fahrenheit cause you actually will understand!
20. You legit cannot find anything. While backpacking you had a spot for each item you owned in a small bag and now you find yourself losing things every second of the day.
21. You’ll figure out the exact day you want to quit your brand new job/jobs so you can go travel again…..whooopsie?!

Okay, so how many of you agree with my list and what else have you found awkward after coming back from traveling long-term?! 🙂

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