After I graduated from college, I was given the opportunity to live and teach abroad, and I jumped at the chance. Before I left, I collected insights about packing lists and culture shock from friends and acquaintances. Everybody around me — well-informed or not! — was excited to share advice about what to bring, who to be, and how to make sure I was as ready as possible. Braced for adventure, I launched out on my mission and committed to life, for a time, in the Middle East.... When the time came to move back to the States, those voices that had been present at my outset, telling me what to pack and how to process, weren't there.... This little volume is for the adventurers coming home. From the Preface