Studying Abroad: Progressive or Regressive?

For those of you who haven't been following my blog, I got home on May fourth from studying in Aix-en-Provence, France for ten months.  It was the most wonderful experience of my life and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  However, being home has left me feeling slightly out of place socially.  Everyone talks about how studying abroad changes your life for the good and IT DOES. It also confuses the hell out of you when you return to your home country.

Exhibit A: The most obvious of changes for me was the language.  I spent 10 months hearing French, speaking French, reading French, writing French and thinking in French.  I did use English as well, but the mixing of the two languages seemed to turn my brain into mush for about a month and a half at home.  I started to forget English words and only know them in French.  Then I forgot words in English AND in French, leaving me as this stammering idiot who forgot simple words on a daily basis.  Thankfully my brain is adjusted back to English now although I hope that doesn't mean that I've lost all of my progress in French. *sigh*

Exhibit B: My biggest fear before I left for France was that everyone was going to forget about me.  Though this is not the case, I still feel behind in my own social life.  Life at home doesn't pause while you're away, unfortunately, and this has been made very clear to me!  I don't know half of my sorority now, my french professor had TWINS (I missed the entire pregnancy), my friends have new boyfriends, some friends had babies, and loads of people graduated.  I feel like I was in a coma for a year or something.

Exhibit C:  Last but not least, studying abroad is slightly regressive in the way that ALL I can think about is France.  I'm that annoying meme of the girl in the hipster glasses that starts every story with "When I lived in Europe."  I'm constantly comparing things to my year abroad like, "This is nothing like the goulash in Hungary!" or "Wine is so much better and cheaper in France, trust me."  I also find myself recommending my friends to restaurants they can't actually go to at the moment.  "If you like this, you need to try Pizza Capri." I feel like a whiner as well, because I miss cheap public transport and the café atmosphere.  I'm constantly thinking of where I can travel next weekend even though it is no longer plausible to take a flight to Italy for 40 euros.  I'm still flabbergasted by the amount of obese people in wheelchairs at Walmart.  Living in France for ten months progressed my cultural views and made me a more well-rounded person, but it also sort of ruined me in the USA.