Home

It's now been just over three weeks since I got home and, well, in lots of ways it's great. On Christmas morning, just over 12 hours after getting back from the airport, my mom, Broseph and myself set off for New Hampshire to celebrate the day at my sister Miranda's house where she lives with her boyfriend Abe. The plan was for me to sleep during the four-hour plus drive, but It just wouldn't come! By the time we arrived I was therefore fairly delirious, and by the time all Abe's family showed up for Christmas dinner I was positively unravelled! I managed to stay awake for the important bits though and was able to speak fairly lucidly as lots of people had questions for me about my journey. You know when you're quite drunk, and are aware of it, but can carry on a conversation and other people probably wouldn't know you were so hammered? That's what it felt like for me! I didn't touch a DROP that day, as it would have sent me into a coma, but the floaty, exhausted feeling I had can be most likened to intense tipsiness! Still, it was a fantastic day, and I'm glad I never gave any real thought (as all backpackers do) to extending my trip, as there's no way I would have wanted to miss it. We hung around there for the next couple days, as Miranda's birthday is Boxing Day, so there was more to celebrate!





We made it back to Connecticut in one piece, despite having to travel through the first big snowstorm of the season. It took me and Abe an hour to dig out the cars and driveway so that we could actually leave! Once home, more shenanigans were underway- a day out in NYC with my mom to check out her sweet new apartment there, unpacking, catching up with friends and my dad, visits from San Francisco friends for New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, drinks in NYC, a broadway show in NYC....I barely had time to catch a breath until the second week of January.

I have to say that it IS really nice to be in one spot for any length of time! All that packing up and moving on every three to six days or so was utterly exhausting, and I didn't really realize it at the time. It's also nice to have a bit more structure to my days- something I learned about myself (one of many things!) is that I do actually enjoy having some semblance of a routine. Although exciting in its own way, it can be hard to plan your days around...nothing. Then again it leaves you available for any sort of adventure that might pop up so, hey, pros and cons. These days I'm spending my time catching up with friends and my parents, working on my resume, babysitting and GOING TO THE GYM. Oh yes folks, it wasn't so much travel chubbiness as total travel overload! My skinny jeans (and other miniature clothes. Where did I shop? Baby Gap?) hang there forlornly in the closet, waiting to be worn. Not long now, jeansies, I'm working on it!

I'm also able to take time to really process everything I went through, saw, felt and learned. The whole thing feels like some crazy dream at the moment! I'll soon be going through all the photos and will start putting them up (I know I know!), so that will help, and I've been keeping in good touch with my travel buddies, and to be honest it's the people that make it more real than anything. It was great to hang out with Broseph over the holidays and laugh about all the crazy stuff that happened that one just had to BE there for!

Anyway, for now, I'm here in snowy Darien, Connecticut slowly floating back down to Earth and ruminating on all my options. I feel VERY lucky- I've seen so many places that I could consider as potential new homes, and my dual citizenship really does mean that the world is my oyster. It is overwhelming in its own way though- sort of like being in the 'salad dressing aisle of life'. Balsamic Vinaigrette? Low Fat? Low Sodium? Or should I just get Ranch? I DO always like Thousand Island...

I'll continue to document my musings as I figure this all out. In upcoming posts I'll also write about why India was my favorite place, awesome things I learned about Susie and totally rubbish things I learned about Susie, more travel by the numbers, how much the backpack actually screwed up my back and how much eyeliner I decided to take in the end. And if it was enough.