There's no place like home

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More than four months into this crazy journey and it is almost at its end. On any given day I go back and forth between just wanting to get the hell out of dodge, and not wanting to ever leave this weird, not so perfect, paradise. In less than a month and a half I will have my feet planted firmly back on US soil, I will have my dog constantly at my side again, I will have consistent wifi, a Starbucks down the street, Chick-fil-a within walking distance, my momma back on speed dial, and my beautiful Jeep sitting in the driveway just begging me to load up the dogs and go for a drive.

Maybe it is a little bit too early for me to start getting nostalgic, but regardless, I am. Before I left for Fiji I told my mom that I couldn't afford to leave another piece of my heart in another country. Well, wouldn't you know it, I went and did just that. When I get on that plane, a part of my heart and mind will stay in Fiji. I will keep a set of mental postcards in the back of my mind, ready to be pulled up at any moment. Memories of walking along the sea-wall while eating fresh pineapple and watching the sun go down, of sitting at the yacht club with a Fiji Bitter and watching rugby with my friend Zane, or of riding the bus into Suva City and just having to shake my head at the silly Fijian remixes of American pop songs. And that just touches on the things that I will miss. I had a dream last night of walking into a grocery store in the states and being so overwhelmed by how big it was that I had to leave. Not sure if that is going to happen, or if it will be simple to just slip back into my old routine. Guess there is only one way to find out.

It is very interesting to me how different lifestyles are in different countries. In Fiji nothing happens on time. Everyone is walking around on "Fiji time". Meaning it will happen when it happens. That would never fly in the US. I have no doubt that there will be days when I will miss Fiji time immensely! So my friends, please bear with me if I am late to everything for a while after I get back, it is really not my fault! In Fiji you can always count on the fact that a stranger will smile and say "Bula" as you walk by. Good luck even getting a head nod back home!

What I won't miss is having to take a taxi or bus anywhere. I will never again take having a vehicle for granted. I will not miss sleazy cab drivers who like to think that you are their friend. I will not miss having to go all the way into town and sit in a loud coffee shop to get even a remote wifi signal.

My friends and family keep asking me what the first thing I plan on doing when I get home is. Well, I plan on convincing my dad to let me drive home from the airport, lets hope I can remember how to drive and that the steering wheel is on the left, not the right. I plan on giving my dog the biggest hug, and drinking an entire gallon of milk, ice cold, real, milk. All we have is powdered milk and milk that needs no refrigeration....yuck!

But enough talk of home for now. I am still in Fiji for another little while, and trust me when I say I am going to soak up every beautiful minute of it! Bula y'all!

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