Home Sweet Home?

So I have been back home for just over a month and it has been nice. It is nice to be in a familiar place - IN MY OWN BED around people I know, and have known for many years.

The flight home from Australia was good, for the most part. I had to fly from Sydney to LA, from LA to Chicago and then Chicago to Toronto. Before we even took off in Sydney there was a medical emergency, an older woman had started to get sick, so we had to get off the run way and go back to the gate, get paramedics on the plane to get her off the plane then refuel. This took about an hour and half, now I had a VERY small window between my flight from LA to Chicago once we landed in LA I had to go through customs and re-check my baggage (thank you America). Long story short I had to run the length of LAX and by the time I got to my gate (after cutting a few lines, people are nice when they know you might miss your flight) they were calling my name over the intercom and about to close the door, almost like what you see in the movies - which is not so awesome when it is happening to you. The rest of the trip home was a breeze.

In the last week I have noticed culture shock. Well I wouldn't call it culture shock but the dynamic between people has changed. It is a confusing feeling to be around people you have known for a long time and have them feel like strangers. To be honest I have been feeling pretty blah about a lot the last week. I am back into routine, a very similar routine to what I was in before I left and there is a void - I miss traveling, I miss spontaneity, I miss "fresh starts", I miss meeting new people and hearing their story. I know that this can still happen here in Canada, I just feel stuck right now.

I shouldn't be all negative, because it is nice being home. I am very lucky to be getting the amount of hours I have been getting at work, I am lucky to have a supportive family who will be working with me the next five years as I work towards finishing school and I am lucky to have good friends who are willing to deal with my mood swings. I am just really analyzing "me" now, more so than I ever have - still trying to figure "me" out and why I am where I am now for whatever reason. . .

Love from the Great White North
Kim

Comments

Niki Devereaux said…
Hey Kim, thanks for sharing your thoughts! The culture shock will wear off eventually, the feeling of changed friendships will fade but know this: your friends HAVE changed. But here's the good news: so have you.

I'm perpetually trying, unsuccessfully, to live my life the 'way it was'. Despite my love of travel and all my fresh starts-much like yours-I often struggle with others changing. It's selfish, but it's as if I want everyone else to stay the same while I can do whatever I want. Each of us finds comfort in stability and when we choose a life that is full of change, it can sometimes be hard to accept that yes, others will change too.

I'm glad to read that you are still seeing the positive and would encourage you to continue to seek out the positive in each day, count your blessings-and thank God for them!

I'm excited you're back home and to see where God will lead you next.

much love!
September 7, 2010 at 4:54 PM
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