Home.

---

well, i'm back in the States - actually it's been about 2 weeks now.

after 2 months in SE Asia, that first blast of cool Bay air as i was getting off the plane was refreshing. walking through customs/immigration in the "citizens" line instead of "foreigner" or "all others" was nice. having the customs officer look at my replacement passport, empathize with my troubles instead of grillin me, and then, actually smile and say 'welcome home Ms. Glenn' was...wonderful.

after leaving the airport, i went to my friends house where he cooked me a much-missed American bfast. blueberry waffles (fresh blueberries), scrambled eggs, and turkey bacon. yes, i flaked on the veggie thing for a minute - and it was so worth it. mmm, good. no more noodle bowls or fried rice in the morning! he even got me a photo printer for all my pics (and there are loads of them). for all that and everything else, thanks Mr. C...*mwah*

spent a week in Oakland doing absolutely nothing and loving it. got a hair cut and style (go see Dom at Nappy or Not for all your natural hair care needs), relaxed, caught up on entourage (HBO on demand baby!), relaxed...and then finally made it back down to the South Bay. it's nice when your neighbors are glad to see you. plus the guy i sub-leased my apt to is a law student at USF...well, he left me a packet of OCI resume tips...which was just in time since i only had a couple of days to get my docs together to meet the submission deadline. if i had had to do a law res from scratch, i don't think i would have finished in time.

spent this past week catching up on the administrative side of my life - including cringing at my bank account. refund check oh refund check, wherefore art thou, oh refund check. i can't believe how much money i spent this summer, how much loan debt i have, and the fact that i still have two years of school left before i start working in earnest. at least i am joined by thousands of law/med students throughout the country in the same predicament.

so in summary,

i'm back. i'm happy. i'm rejuvenated. although i'm still in the middle of a grind-phase - i realize that i have worked hard to be in a good place. there are so many blessings and the right people to share them with, and i'm grateful for it all.

the rest...i just let go.

i'll post more pics from my travels and a couple of blogs from my written journal as i get time.

for all you would-be travelers...just do it. yeah you need money and some sort of idea of where you're going, but more importantly, you need the will to go. make up your mind. then, do things that affirm your choice: buy your plane ticket, get a backpack, pick up a lonely planet guide, talk to people who have traveled. and on that fateful day when you ask yourself if you are crazy to be going away when there are xyz responsibilities at home...please humble yourself and know that the world really will keep turnin even if you're away. your job will survive. your kids probably need a break from you anyways. your man - if its real he'll likely be there when you return, if not...better to know now, huh? your law school internship...ha! there's plenty of time to find a firm to whore yourself out to 😊

empty your mind of expectations, and Go.

there's the idea of traveling and then the reality. chances are it won't be exactly what you thought, but probably exactly what you need. turn off CNN and go see for yourself.

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." ~Mark Twain

---

Comments

[Shannon]

I'm glad you made it back safely and enjoyed your summer. See you in a few days! :D