Ulysses Syndrome

I have my mid-service medical exams this week. Where has the time gone? I have been in Ecuador for almost an entire year?!? Wow, hard to believe. I don’t know when exactly it happened, but it did happen just like past volunteers told me it would. I feel like a member of the community now, instead of a ridiculously tall gringa walking spectacle who is trying to fit in.

Ulysses Syndrome: Only those who have gone through it realize how painful that first stage is in the process of integration to a new country. (The syndrome is usually applied to immigrants, but I feel it also applies to foreigners/volunteers living abroad for an extended period of time.)

"Immigrants themselves can't understand why they so often feel tired, irritable and depressed. This is part of the Ulysses Syndrome, which was described for the first time by psychiatrist Joseba Achotegui from the Universidad de Barcelona. It comprises loneliness, as family and friends were left behind; fear, because of the uncertain future, and survival, struggle that takes over all other priorities.

Immigrants have to cope with different kinds of psychological conflicts when they realize that they need to learn a new language, understand the culture, create a new support system and make adjustments to their identity."

These symptoms were definitely applicable for the beginning stages of my service but as of now, I feel like I have surpassed most of those hurtles.

I am loving Ecuador more and more these days.