Thursday, June 24, 2010

The End

I've been putting off this post, because I know it will be the last. I thought I would put up tons of photos, but not having my own computer complicates things a little and I have decided against it for now. Maybe in the future? Although Andrew had a great idea (I posted this post unfinished originally!) and that is to just keep posting, so maybe I will. For now we will just say that I have been putting off this post because it does truly signify the end of something, and I hate saying goodbye.

So how has it been to come home? I remember asking Alex what it was like to return and surprised to hear that it wasn't so bad. It was even pretty great. Nonetheless, I was anxious about reuniting with family and friends that I hadn't seen in a long time. But even more so I was anxious about reuniting with my country that I had fled with out so much as a backwards glance. I wondered how I would feel here, if I would feel like myself, and even if I could be happy.

As we journeyed North with the Andes I grew weary of travel but also wary of my imminent return. We flew into Orlando airport on the 11th and we were greeted by a mix of Spanish and English. However two things made us feel that we were back despite all the Spanish. As Josh approached a lineless immigration window the immigration officer looked up at him and said, "Did I call you? Wait in line until I call you!" in a thick menacing Bronx like accent. The second came with our first sips of Sam Adams Summer Ale at ABP. And it tasted good.

I then took a whirlwind trip to Europe to retrieve my sister from her 9 glamorous months in Italy. There I took in ancient sites that I had wanted to see for a lifetime that seemed modern in comparison to the ancient majesty of the of the Andes, and rode around on quads around ancient roads on the Island of Santorini. After we packed Mia's clothes into four suitcases and lugged them home I was ready to be done with travel; for a while anyway.

And now, I'm here to tell you that being Stateside ain't so bad after all. Life here is quiet, clean, and a little boring which is exactly the opposite of my life in BA and exactly what I need right now. I have been able to hide myself in the shelter of our home, finding a much needed balance, eating healthy food, and emerging to reunite with a friend here and there.

Now I am applying myself to the task of setting up the next stage in our lives. I'd like to say my job search is going well...but its not. I think I'll be more successful at finding an apartment but hopefully some job will make itself known to me by August 16th when Josh starts law school. Until then the excitement of moving to Philly is enough for me and I spend my days doing the grocery shopping, cooking, organizing, and getting back to a few loved hobbies I had left behind when not scouring the Internet's horizons.

The corn is already two feet tall, and in a month the tomatoes will be coming in. Life in New Jersey is good, despite popular belief, and I will enjoy my next month on easy street until I return to the struggle that is early adulthood. However, I would like to send abrazos and besos to my friends in Argentina, I think of you often and miss you everyday.

3 comments:

Reed said...

Say it ain't so! I want the updates to keep on flowing! Besides, if you're in the US, you're still abroad from Argentina, no? Si! SI!

But seriously, if this is the last post, I will say what I have told you a thousand times. Your blogging has been overly impressive and compelling. And it matches the way you and Josh spent your time here. You guys drank in everything this great country has to offer. We all miss you here and look forward to your first vuelta.

Un abrazo,
A

Indecisive Expat said...

ahhhh no this is too sad! right now im writing my 1 year in Argentina anniversary blog and have been thinking a lot about all the people who have left. come back to us soon! we miss you!!!!

Jindy said...

Makes me think of my inevitable return. Recently I have made some really amazing friends that I can't imagine leaving behind, and part of me wants to stop meeting people to make it easier on my myself when I leave.. but that's lame and I want to make the best out of my time here. It's good to know there's a light at the end of the tunnel, in the states. I hope my return to Alaska goes as smoothly as yours to New Jersey did. Besotes y Abrazotes! Les extraño y espero verles otra vez, quizás cuando viaje por la cosa este pueda vistarles =)