I’ve been
back in the States for a mere 36 hours. The World Race ended so suddenly – I’m
not exactly sure when it even ended. Was it after our final banquet? Was it
when our plane touched down on U.S. soil? Was it when we hugged each other
goodbye? When we walked out of LAX?
Whatever
the case, the World Race has come to an end. My next season of life has
begun…yet I’m still acting kind of freaky, like I’ve just been on this crazy
mission trip for the last eleven months…
Yesterday
when I walked into Panera I found myself bowing (Asian style) to an employee
who said hello to me. When I crossed the street to meet Chelsea, Colby and Beks
at Chipotle I had to remind myself that cars wouldn’t necessarily come to a screeching
halt for me – stepping directly in front of moving traffic and expecting
everything to stop for me is no longer a norm. Also, where were all the
motorbikes?
When I
was in Barnes&Noble I saw a journal with a picture of the Big Buddha on it
– I was there two weeks ago. I grabbed the journal and started screaming, “IT’S
THE BIG BUDDHA! THE BIG BUDDHA!” No one else seemed to be as thrilled.
Right now
I’m in California, where there are 7-Eleven’s on every corner (same as
Thailand). Every time we pass one I point and scream.
I still
cheer every time I get to flush toilet paper down the toilet, or when I brush
my teeth using tap water and know that parasites will not be a side effect.
When I
saw a dryer I drooled. Literally.
I want to
grab each person I see and tell them about squatty potties and wild chickens and the
call to prayer in Turkey and the Masaai village in Africa and the orphans in
the Philippines.
This
morning I had the choice between cereal, cinnamon rolls, bagels, watermelon,
cherries, raspberries, blueberries…I felt like a kid on Christmas. I’m not used
to being able to make decisions about what to eat for breakfast – I felt
paralyzed. At the same time, I wanted to eat it ALL. Unfortunately my stomach
has shrunk, so I couldn’t eat everything. Sad day.
I’m
staying with Colby at his uncle’s house with Chelsea and Beks for a week. When
we were driving here Colby said, “This might make entering into America more
difficult because the house we’re staying at is really nice.” And it is.
Today was
spent deciding what to eat for breakfast, laying out by the pool in the
backyard, riding bikes down Huntington Beach, eating delicious milkshakes and
watching the sun set over this beautifully rocky area on the beach. Colby’s
sister Sheryce was with us – she drove us around and paid for everything…”maybe
I’ll get a tax deduction for helping out you poor missionaries,” she joked. She’s pretty much awesome.
It’s nice
to transition back into America with fellow World Racers – we sit around and
talk about how weird it is to hear people speaking in English and we’re all
equally shocked when water is free at restaurants (…we’re also shocked at how
ridiculously expensive other things are.)
It’s also nice to be around a World Race family that did a fair amount of blog-stalking…when we mention anyone from our squad Sheryce and Colby’s mom know exactly who we’re talking about.
Pretty much everything I see or do reminds me of someone from my squad. I’ll see a middle-Eastern man and think of Robin, or I’ll want to rest my head on someone’s shoulder and then I’ll miss Emily. If I saw a Western Union I’m sure I’d think of Anthony.
So yeah. This is what I’ve been up to and a bit of how I feel. I’ll keep you posted as my re-entry into the grand land of the U.S.A. continues…
