Quote Originally Posted by jessica129 View Post
I can't even explain how odd it is to return to your home country after being away from it for months. It's super easy to get comfortable and used to the American-ness, but when you return after being in a completely different culture, it is a mind-fuck. Little things I never noticed became glaringly obvious to me...like all the flags and how sort of odd the patriotism was. The accents. The fat people. The sheer size and wide open spaces, the cheapness and gluttony...I mean when you go to a place like Germany and see nothing but German flags everywhere, you feel a little uncomfortable. It's probably like that with foreigners when they come to the states only it's a million times worse.
This, this, this.

Also, the "openness" @Starfall mentioned. I noticed this in myself for the first time when living abroad and communicating in my, "Hi, guys! How are you?" way didn't mesh (and I'm Southern, lol, so it's even more pronounced). I adjusted, of course, and now I am very conscious of how I and a lot of United Statesians (I learned the hard way not to say "American" in certain countries) are more open than a lot of ppl from other countries, who are more often reserved.