08 August 2006

Maxwell House and Mini Wheats

Well...I'm back. I didn't feel all that different when I was gone, but now that I'm back I feel so weird. Everything just seems so surreal. I keep being weirded out by things that used to be normal and unquestioned ("Dang! Look at all these HUGE cars!"), and I keep being distracted by the fact that I can understand all these conversations going on around me...to the point that I find it difficult to keep a conversation going. Lol. I drove yesterday, and had a hard time because I'm not used to having to pay attention to where I'm going. Agh.

And breakfast just ain't the same when I can't go to the Caffeteria Emo. Sigh.

It's not quite as bad, but it's almost the same "culture shock" feeling that I had in my first couple of days over there. Things are at least familiar, but everything is so different, and my life has completely changed again. It's a little depressing...partially because one never really wants to completely change all at once, and partially because it's coupled with the knowledge that I will probably never go back; and even if I did make it back over the ocean, I wouldn't be able to live there long-term again. It's so sad!

All the same, though, I am so happy to be back with people that I love. I spent yesterday driving back from Dallas with my dad, and it was great. Then my mom came to my apartment and joined us after she got off work. Dad took me to Rosa's, upon my request...and laughed a lot, saying I was acting like I'd been in prison for twenty years or something. Hey man, Rosa's is exciting stuff when you haven't had it in six weeks! When my mom got there, we went to get soft pretzels at the mall (another random thing I missed), and then afterward I opened my red wine and cheese I had brought from Tuscany, and we enjoyed a little taste of Italy. Maybe we were drinking the wine out of mason jars...but hey, you work with what you've got!

Now I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by all these details of my life that I need to get back in order. The real world is back! And I'm going back to work today. So, I'm off!

2 comments:

Jill said...

i totally know what you mean about being able to understand conversations in public! it's really unsettling at first. conversely, people like JP, Dusty, and i have to remember that people can understand us, so we can't be obnoxious any more!

The Adventurer said...

Hehe! I totally feel you (except for the "I can understand EVERYTHING!!!") I was excited when I returned home to see stars in the sky at ten instead of the twilight... But at the same time, I miss waking up to those obnoxious frogs from the pond. Yeah, GO figure

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