You got your luggage off the carousel, made it through customs, and you're 20 seconds away from greeting your family at the airport exit. You did it. After your several weeks abroad, you have finally returned home. You've already planned a jam-packed week to reunite with friends and do some fun things back in the good old US of A.

But wait! Here are a few things you'll experience in your adjustment back to life in America, and what you actually do your first week back.

1. You sleep a lot.

Depending on where you studied abroad, you're likely to experience jet lag when you return. All of those nights when you got less than 5 hours of sleep combined with the exhaustion of traveling will hit you all at once when you finally return to your bed. You may have heard the old saying "Traveling west is best, east is a beast."

My body took about 3 days to adjust to Eastern European time and it was relatively easy after the first night. Flying west, back to New York, was a different story. I rode the struggle bus back from Greece as my body slowly dragged itself through each time zone.

Me waking up after 12 hours of sleep

I felt so helpless one afternoon that I started googling jet lag remedies in the hopes that it would tell me how to stay awake or be less tired. All it gave me was tips on how to fall asleep.

Finally after 7 days of pure exhaustion I adjusted.

2. You do approximately 4 loads of laundry.

We went 5 weeks with no laundry access and just washed stuff in our hotel bath tubs which really wasn't that bad. However, once I saw 700 bugs crawling all over my clothes while they were drying outside in Crete, I was dreaming of the day I could use a washing machine and dryer again.

I washed every single item of clothing in my bag once I came home. Watching the washing machine do its thing was a magical experience. I'm sure you'll be doing the same when you get back.

When you take your stuff out of the dryer.

3. You consume American food with great appreciation.

The food in Greece was great, but I definitely started to miss American food. You'll probably be making a list of meals you want to eat once you get home.

When you take a bite of you first burger in weeks.

My first breakfast back in America was scrambled eggs, bacon, and half of a bagel. It felt like the best scrambled eggs, bacon, and half a bagel I had ever eaten when in reality it was the same breakfast my dad always makes on the weekends. Being away from your favorite foods makes you appreciate them so much more.

Can't get that in Greece.

4. You will attempt to order an alcoholic beverage and fail

After weeks of ordering wine with no questions asked (the drinking age abroad ranges from 16-18), we're finally back to reality. You are not legally able to consume alcoholic beverages at your leisure. You will probably encounter a situation like this when you go out to eat for the first time back home:

"Can I see your ID please?"

5. Language Confusion will become inevitable.

It will be hard to break the habit of speaking a different language, especially the common phrases such as hello, how are you, please, and thank you. It's going to slip out a few times without you even realizing. I got so used to saying "parakalo" and "efkharisto" (please and thank you in Greek) that coming back here I felt confused and awkward when I hesitated to say these things in English.

"Here's your taylor ham, egg, and cheese on a bagel, miss"

"...... Efkha........... Kthanksbye"