Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Homeward Bound


          It is just under 2 weeks now until I will be making my way to Johannesburg for the grueling 24 hours on a plane and some 10 hours in airports before I touch ground in Portland, Oregon for the first time since I left on June 24th, 2014.  It will be the first time being back in the United States since I left also that 2 ½ years ago give or take a few weeks.  I am not sure what to expect in these upcoming days and it really hasn’t begun to sink in that I will be traveling home to see friends and family for the first time in a long time.  I have been trying to reflect on how it will be like, how I will feel or act when I am home and how have I changed in my time here in Swaziland and the Peace Corps.  Some of me is nervous for how I will survive, excited to be home with friends and family and all the good food and drinks, how will my stomach survive that change, excited to be able to share Swaziland with everyone, but nervous if they really care and how long I can actually hold their attention before they get bored or sick of me talking about Swaziland.  I know all these things are real life and will happen but I am thankful and grateful for the support of my friends and family in the United States and my ones here in Swaziland.

         Some things I am most looking forward to when getting home is having Mexican food waiting for me at the airport, not that Chipotle want to be Mexican food, but the authentic stuff you find on the West Coast and in Oregon.  I can’t wait to have a beer that does not taste like Keystone or Coors light, but something with that dark rich taste of chocolate and pumpkin spices.  Being able to get in a car and run to the grocery store, not worrying about how you will carry everything home and having the AC going.  Since it will be winter that won’t be happening, so being able to turn the heater on or have a warm fire going while home.  The smell of Thanksgiving food and Christmas food and pumpkin pies and all those holiday smells including the real Christmas tree.  I can’t forget the pumpkin spice lattes and having actual coffee at home or on the run in a cup that is not Styrofoam and spilling all over you.  Being able to use my phone and not worry about how much data I will be slaying by using Instagram and the ability to download and watch all the shows and movies I have missed since being here.  I will be bringing them back to Swaziland so don’t worry about that.  Most of all it will be being home with my family and seeing friends and being together for a full 5-weeks.  It is time for me to recharge and prepare for the last 9 months I will be spending in Swaziland.  Or that is how the plan goes for now.  We all know my 2-years has now turned into 3-years so who knows where the 3-year plan will go.

            What am I nervous about?  One is the fact of being back on the other side of the road and all the traffic that will be happening.  I have gotten used to the slower pace of life here and not having to drive anywhere, or being allowed for that matter in Swaziland to drive.  Good thing I have a younger brother who can drive me everywhere, even pick me up when we are out with friends.  I am nervous about the richness of the food and drinks and my stomach adjusting to that cause I know it will not like it at first.  I am nervous about my patience with people when they complain about something so “First World Problem” and not wanting to jump down their throat.  Life has gone by since I have been here and people have moved, gotten married, had children and started new jobs.  Will it be the same and coming home and expecting everyone to be the same and to pick up where we left off?  We all have our own lives and the World continues to turn no matter what we are off doing.  It will be exciting to hear about all the change but will be difficult at first adjusting and getting back into the life back home.

         Some people ask how has the Peace Corps changed you and it has been difficult for me to answer that sometimes.  I want to say it hasn’t changed me much but I know it has and it can be easier for others to see that but more difficult for the individual to notice their change.  They can be little changes in your mannerism from the way you stand or sit to just little things you say that have picked up from Swaziland.  I do know “Yebo” and “Eish” will be a common phrase my friends will hear when I am home and will give my strange looks.  It can also be the bigger things from my patience to how I can get more frustrated now with the actions and the things other people choose to talk about.  Are you really upset because they put whole milk in your latte instead of non-fat milk?  I can’t tell you all the ways I have changed and how the Peace Corps changes your outlook on life but I can tell you it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made to join the Peace Corps and have been extremely lucky to be blessed with living in a Country like Swaziland.

         My time home will be filled with traveling to Seattle to see a best friend then flying to Colorado to ski and be reunited with my best friend from the Peace Corps to back to Seattle then down to Portland for some Peace Corps events and talks then home for the last few weeks for Christmas.  It makes me tired just reading that sentence.  The time will be great and packed full of adventure and activities but will go by too fast in the end.  It is important to make time to rest and just enjoy the time home and not look forward too much to coming back to Swaziland.  Our time with friends and family must not be taken for granted and we need to enjoy all the time we have with them from the talks that go late into the evening over drinks to speeding down the slopes for the first time in a long time.  I have a life here in Swaziland, I have a life there in the United States, and I am looking forward to sharing all our lives together and hopefully one day bringing them both together.

 
One of the first sunsets in Swaziland

Our first taste of Swaziland




Things I miss from the United States                  Things I will miss from Swaziland



1. Friends and Family                                                1. Friends and new Family

2. Coffee and Beer                                                       2. Chicken Dust and school beans

3. Mexican Food                                                          3. Buying a meal for $1.50

4. Driving in a Car                                                     4. Not worrying about a car

5. Snow and Skiing                                                    5. All the soccer played

6. Football Games                                                      6. The simplicity of life

7. Fast Internet and data                                        7. Not worrying about my phone

8. Snow Storms                                                          8. Thunderstorms