Most students who studied abroad over the summer or year have returned home and are starting to adjust back to life at home. While most believe you can easily pick up where you left off, it really isn’t that simple. This phase in the study abroad journey is called re-entry. You will be excited to be home and to see your family and friends, but a part of you will miss the new life you created in a city halfway across the world.

Below are five challenges that are common with re-entry - and some ways to help. 

I feel so lucky to live in Kalamazoo. This town is rife with creativity! Such is the case with our featured artist this month, Bridget Fox. She's just lovely in person, and her art? Well, it brings such joy. I especially love her paintings of water - they call to me, and soothe the soul. 

I love where I live!  

It was the lighthouse, of course, that caught my attention. Those important beacons of light work even through the internet, apparently. I saw one of Gregory Bozik's photos, and was drawn in immediately. A Michigan photographer, he's got an incredible eye for sharing the beauty of our state - and, of course, of our deep love of the Great Lakes. 

This past week, I was watching season 6 of Parks and Rec, where the department visits London. One of the characters ends up being offered a job and stays to work. The reason I bring this up is because when he comes back to visit, he points out that words mean different things whether you are in the US or UK. 

Charlevoix, Quebec, is about an hour east of Quebec City. Four hundred million years ago, an asteroid that was estimated to be 4.5 kilometers (2 miles and 1,401 yards) in diameter hit that region. The enormous impact created a crater measuring 55 kilometers (33 miles and 975 yards) with a mountain in the center. Over time, Mother Nature has continued to sculpt the landscape. Wind, rain, snow, glaciers, and changes in temperature, as well as other natural elements, have made an impact on what locals call Charlevoix Astroblem.

I grew up in New York. Fast paced, fast walking, and definitely fast-talking - I sped through the everyday with efficiency, speed, and haste. My travel itineraries were quick, and I regularly booked holidays to go directly from work to the airport and timed my return flight to get in an hour or so before the next week’s first bell. 

There is nothing more intriguing - and beautiful - than a handmade book. Created with care and skill, it invites endless possibilities...poems, stories, musings, sketches, watercolors - things that capture a moment. 

Imagine my pure delight at finding a bookbinding artist, Crystal Shaulis, here in Kalamazoo - through Instagram! I immediately fell in love with her work, vision, and dedication to her art.

Living the questions: that's a philosophical concept – or at least, suggestion – which shows up in many ways people have tried to understand life across the centuries. Music is, or can be, a part of living with and through questions, both as companion and as source of ideas.

Often, in this series of stories, the idea of questions has come up. As unexpected changes continue in the world's political and social spheres, here are four more songs which have good questions at their heart.

Nic Sagodic has been running his own landscaping business for about 5 years now. In his free time, Nic likes to skateboard, hike, hammock, and anything that has to do with the outdoors. Photography has given Nic many opportunities to meet new people, explore our beautiful country, and to make a living, too.