Post-travel reflections

I'll try to water these down a bit to keep from sounding too much like a hippie.

The plane ride home was pretty grueling--KL to Singapore with a seven hour layover, then to Hong Kong, then finally to Chicago to rest for a couple of days at my sister's before hitting EL. It didn't fully hit me that I was returning to the US until I got to Hong Kong and saw tons of sharply dressed, blue jeans-wearing city dwellers and heard nothing but American voices in the terminal.

By the time I got to Chicago, I was used to those things, but not the rainy, cold weather I encountered or the return of American branding mania--BK, McD's, CVS, Walgreens, Starbuck's, Barnes & Noble, etc. on every corner, identifiable by the colors and shapes of the signs before you are even close enough to make out the wording. But nary an independent store in sight. Drew quite a few stares walking down Fullerton in my dust-stained saggy pants, dingy t-shirt, tanned skin and flip flops. Not to mention the large pack strapped to my back. By the time I made it to Erin's, I was a little unnerved (Odd that after three months, I found walking down a street in Chicago more unnerving than cities where I knew no one, didn't speak the language and usually didn't know where I was staying that night. Perspective can change everything.) Luckily, I had a familiar face, hot shower, laundry facilities and a bag of peanut m&ms waiting for me at my destination.

Two weeks into life stateside and I'm still adjusting, although I'm reminded less frequently of that fact. The first day back in EL, I went to the mall with Linds (probably not a smart choice on my part) and couldn't have been more ill at ease. I chastized a Biggby employee for trying to sell a plastic mug for $15, and made all my friends feel uneasy at the bar when I couldn't give a normal answer to the most basic questions (sorry for being wierd). Friends joked that they thought I was a hologram the first time they saw me, and I think that's an appropriate comparison for how I felt--my body was there, but I was still stuck in a Southeast Asian state of mind. I was uncomfortable with the US, unused to interactions here, and unprepared for the onslaught of conversations that began with "So, tell me about your trip." Not to mention I just plain missed the adventure of waking up every day and knowing I would see and do something I'd never seen or done before.

At the onset of my trip, I was looking for an adventure and a challenge. I got both of those things, but in different ways than I envisioned. I also got much more. I'm extremely glad I went and can't imagine not having done it. At the risk of being overly dramatic, it really was life changing. It raised questions I didn't even know I had about the world and about myself. I keep wondering how long it will take me to lose this feeling of empowerment, self-assurance, and ambition with a dose of realism and contentness with the idea of life not going according to the straight and narrow path we're expected tread.

I think I've snapped back into reality pretty well, but there are parts of me that have changed forever, and I'm happy about that. I doubt I'll ever make a purchase without considering how unneccessary most of the crap we acquire is, and why it's so cheap. Hopefully the answer will make me rethink buying it in the first place. I hope I'll never make a major decision without considering how my actions as a citizen of the most powerful nation on earth affect others. I think I'll be a better journalist with a broader world perspective, a greater tendency to look beyond the surface of issues, and a greater awareness of how good reporting, bad reporting, and lack of reporting can affect the way people view the world and directly impact people's lives. And I know this won't be the last big trip. I've just got to find a way to make some money first. Or maybe find a way to get travel to make money for me. Any ideas?