Back in the Motherland

Being back on US soil now for a little over two weeks, I have had a little time to readjust, de-jetlag and gain my bearings a bit more. I have been able to hug those I love and missed the most and look forward to a few more weeks of reunions. All in all, I am satisfied with where I am in life right- grateful for the places I have been and very excited for where I am headed next.

To back up a little (since I totally failed on keeping my blog updated): I traveled to northeast Cambodia for about five days to explore the more 'wild' side of Cambodia and then headed to Siem Reap for a few days of exploring the old capitol and the ancient temples of Angkor Wat- absolutely stunning and mind blowing (and peaceful when you are not surrounded by tourists). I then jumped on a plane home. To be more specific, I jumped on four plans and took about two full days to come home (Siem Reap-Kuala Lumpur-Singapore-Tokyo-Seattle with 9, 10 and 2.5 hour layovers respectively). Fourty-three hours later, I showed up on Andy's door step with mimosa-making-supplies in hand on Valentine's day morning (big, fat THANK YOU to my former girl scout and lovely friend Sara for picking my jet-lagged booty up from the airport).

Getting to spend the week there in Seattle was so much what I wanted and needed upon my return: I had plenty of time to be lazy and semi-brain dead when my jetlag hit full force but also some time to get out and play in the mountains and watch the boys go surfing at the coast- we watched the crap outta the Olympic games and ate plenty of Mexican food and sushi and I spent hours and hours inside the library and Elliot Bay Bookstore- my favorite- and had a great interview with a nonprofit startup that I am just absolutely psyched about! Best of all, though, I got 9 days straight with Andy.

Flew into snowy Austin from sunny Seattle (thank you el nino) and have been welcomed home with so much love and good food and family-members-galore that it has just blown me away. I was planning on packing up my car today and leaving tomorrow but I just cannot bring myself to leave my family so soon. The overwhelming relief and love I felt just stepping out of the plane and into my parents' embrace and home has just been amazing. Four months of movement and scenery-changes makes you appreciate the familiarity of your hometown just so much more! Few more days here to be filled with yoga-doing, town-lake-walking, cooking with dad, drinks with family and friends and catching up on trashy TV/vegging out. Then it's San Diego, Orange County, LA, San Luis Obispo, TAHOE for a good bit and then unloading all of my worldly possessions into Andy and co.'s pretty blue and red Victorian in Seattle! Between the excitement of having a 'normal/non-long distance' relationship and the possible connection I have landed with this WONDERFUL new nonprofit, I am just so happy and excited to be making this move.

Besides the exciting new relocation and the family love I have been absolutely engulfed in, I have been trying to answer everyone's questions while also trying to digest my own thoughts and feelings of the last four months. I thought I would just write a few out to save some of y'all the trouble of asking....

Q: How was your trip?
A: Amazing. (what else is there to say? how do you explain four months of travel? you just cannot)

Q: Where was your favorite thing?
A: Impossible to say.... Vietnam was NOT my favorite, I know that. The culture in Bali was my favorite; The beauty of Laos; The kids of Cambodia; The food and sheer variety of landscapes in Thailand; The efficiency of Hong Kong.... How do you pick a favorite between so many different things and so many different experiences??

Q: Are you happy to be home?
A: Extremely. Traveling by yourself lends itself to a whole mess of emotions- its empowering, lonely, and is a ginormous learning experience all at once- but one thing I always learn (and then seem to forget before my next trip) is that, without the people I love by my side, my traveling experiences seem to lack a bit... I find myself looking at the most stunning landscape or ancient temple or talking to the most stunning old woman or exuberant child, and I will just think to myself 'Man, I wish so-and-so could be here'. You meet so many great people along the way but your family and closest friends are people in your life that cannot be replicated or replaced by a fellow smelly backpacker like yourself. So yes, my trip was amazing, stunning, crazy, and awesome... but I am extremely happy to be home.

What did I miss about home: (and thus, now appreciate sooo much more!)
-My friends and fam first of all... duh
-Mexican food and sushi
-Having toilet paper readily available
-The comfort of my bed and clean sheets
-Free water
-Hot showers
-Dryers and laundry only taking a couple hours instead of days
-Hair conditioner and blow dryers
-Wine and cheese
-Accountability (of businesses/buses/etc to be fair/show up on time/etc)
-Winter and the cold and SNOW
-Cooking and having a kitchen
-The holidays
-Seat belts

What I now miss about Asia:
-The kids at CCPP
-The laid back lifestyle
-The prices- being able to live off of <$20/day
-The white sand beaches
-Spicy curry
-The lifeline that is the Mekong River
-The little kids that always wave and say 'hellooooo' everytime you walk by
-Eating heaps of exotic fruits on a daily basis
-The markets
-The lush mountains of the jungle
-How history and tradition is still so deeply rooted in so many places
-The constant influence of the Buddhism and Hindu religion everywhere
-Motobikes
-Sticky rice and pineapple with chili and fried bananas
-Cheap healthcare and prescription drugs

What I do NOT miss from Asia:
-Karaoke music... oh my lord I will be the happiest person alive if I never have to see/hear another karaoke video blaring at odd hours of the night/morning on buses/in restaurants/on cell phones. Seriously.
-Being woken up by roosters, barking dogs, tricked out car horns and karaoke videos
-The lack of toilet paper and the smelliness of those squat toilets
-Mystery meat
-Having to haggle for a price with most anything you buy
-The showers and always having a wet toilet because there is no real 'shower', just a hose
-Having to drench yourself in bug spray/deet every single day
-Mosquitoes, rats, cockroaches, poisonous snakes in my shower, ants everywhere, sand flies, all that good stuff...
-Not being able to pet/play with all the beautiful cats and dogs for the worry of rabies and other personal health and safety reasons



Anyways, I have some more to write and some pictures to post but this is entirely too long as is so I will cut it off here and tell y'all that I appreciate your support as I have been away and that I so look forward to catching up with any of ya that I haven't yet. Ya'll are the reason I am back... without the people here, I think I would forever be a vagabond!

Much love and appreciation.