A Stop at Home (and Mexico)

“I think you travel to search and you come back home to find yourself there.”

–Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

So am I Still Traveling?

Hi folks. It’s me again. Upon leaving Singapore in January, I took a short travel break and spent a few months back at home. If you didn’t see me stateside, you likely never noticed any of this happened.

When I left Singapore I was just a tad behind on blogging. You’re welcome for that. Because of my laziness and time-consuming, over-thought, forever-taking process of writing, none of you had to wait very long between blog posts. This isn’t Game of Thrones.

To answer your questions, no I am not completely done traveling. Almost done…. but not quite. My year of travel will end in Guatemala in April, where I am going to Yoga Teacher Training. You’ll hear more about that soon enough. Yes, I would like to teach yoga when I finally settle back in the US. No, that probably won’t be my whole career. And definitely no, I’m not exactly sure of what else I’m going to do for a living.

Lay off already.

A Stop at Home

As the usual, my time at home flew by in a whirlwind. Being back in DC was a giant mix of relief, sadness, love, elation, anxiety, and confusion.

I’ve had a very selfish year of travel. Intentionally. When I first left the US last March of 2018, life had knocked the wind out of me. I was going through the motions of a routine, but everything felt lackluster. My general state of being was one of boredom and frustration, and this didn’t leave me much energy to give to other people or responsibilities. I was giving a healthy 61% effort to just about everything, and it didn’t feel right. I needed to learn how to be happier myself so I could be a better friend, daughter, girlfriend, person who gets paid to produce things and talk to people, etc.

So I did that. I think. But it’s no easy task to spend a year focused on exploring the world, only to get home and switch cultures, environments, responsibilities, and mindset all so quickly. Not to mention, while I was gone all my friends and boyfriend had their own lives going on. And not a single one had the courtesy to write a blog for me to catch up on the events in their lives and moments of emotional self-reflection in painstaking detail.

I had a lot to catch up on.

Tried as I did, in truth I was clumsy at best. It’s like trying to find the bathroom light when you wake up in the dark, groggy and disoriented from a dream. I’ve done this a thousand times before, and I know everything is in roughly the same place. But I still find myself knocking into the wall, and tripping over that shoe I forgot on the floor.

Coming home also meant facing all these questions I’d been happily avoiding, like – so what are you going to do now? What do you want to do career wise? What jobs are you applying for? Are you going to stay in DC? What’s next for you in life?

Shit, I don’t know people. It’s a lot to think about, and I’m still sleepy-eyed and trying to wake the fuck up.

Memorable Moments

I arrived home in late January. The weather was cold and the mood on the somber side. Despite this, my arrival in DC was still marked by happy reunifications with friends and loved ones.

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Being home has its perks. I enjoyed a whole new world of wardrobe selection and a hot shower every day. My cell phone had service all day long, and the Wifi in the US is unbeatably fast. Speaking of things only available in the US – I sure missed a good asian buffet and American oversized plate of Mexican food. Honestly, the US has bastardized these two foreign cuisines like no other. I longed for these cheap foodie exploits (almost) as much as I yearned to see actual people.

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With a healthy amount of assistance from a certain former car salesman, I also got some needed wheels. So that’s exciting. I’m a car owner again. I sold my old car when I left the country last year. Even though I live in a city with public transportation, I learned quickly that I still very much need a vehicle to get around. It’s damn near impossible to complete a weekend Target run without one. The Minnesotan in me couldn’t handle this.

Mexican Weekends

I missed Mexican food so much I decided to go there for a weekend.

Kidding.

Andy and I planned a lovely weekend away very last minute. This was pure vacation for me, and a much needed break away for Andy. Initially we wanted to visit some exotic Caribbean country, but last minute planning and expensive airfare caused us to land in Cancun, Mexico instead. I would call this a happy accident. Neither one of us are what I would consider ‘resort vacationers’ by nature, but I certainly had no complaints. And you wouldn’t either if you had this view.

Mexico is rightfully known for its beautiful beaches. Sitting poolside next to the beach here was lovely. It was SO very, very lovely. Especially so since Andy very much treated me to this trip, and along with it a sense of luxury that I had not experienced sleeping in hostel twin beds around the world for the last year.

As is the usual when the two of us are together, Mexico involved a lot of moments of culinary joy.

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We spent a couple of days gorging and lounging in Cancun before heading slightly south to Riviera Maya. The scenery in Riviera Maya is still beautiful, but the beaches are more rocky, and there isn’t a town nearby to walk around. It was a lovely respite for a few days, but visitors really need to organize a tour to get off the resort.

Andy and I agreed this made Riviera Maya slightly less desirable compared to Cancun, but we took it in stride. We took the opportunity to get off our beach bums and take a day trip to the ruins at Coba while here.

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Our visit to Mexico was basically over a long weekend. Short and sweet. But four or five days of good food, better company, beautiful ocean views, and no sunburn is a success in my book.

Until next time Mexico.

And of course….FLORIDA

No trip to the United States is complete (for me at least) without a stop south to the land of my retired parents, FLORIDA.

What can I say about Florida? It’s a great place to spend a few weeks. Or maybe I should say, it’s a great place to freeload off your parents for a few weeks. Staying here involves two weeks of amazing gourmet meals each night cooked by Phyllis, morning dog walks with Ron and Sam, and weekly golfing where no one keeps score and everyone earns a beer after the game.

Mom and I toured open houses, and took our required painting class together. Ron and I walked the dog (almost) every morning and golfed every week. He cleaned the entire house almost every day like a maniac. We mini golfed as a family. Sam the dog barked in my ear. A LOT.

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I wish I could be retired now. Oh wait, that’s kind of what I’ve been doing for the last year. Right. Well, then it was nice to be retired and surrounded by family for a change.

Next Up?

That’s the quick sum of all the parts that made up my time at home. It was too short-lived, and a reminder more than anything of all the people that I miss. But in due time I’ll be home for good, and I know that time will be here before I know it. So for now, I’m going to try my best to be present and enjoy the last few weeks of this daring travel chapter of my life before I officially, and happily, turn that last page to my next, even better life adventure.

Next (and last) stop: GUATEMALA