Homeward Bound

I have literally traveled around the world this summer. It's been amazing, and I can't believe it is almost over. But, as they say, there’s no place like home. And from my limited international experience I feel like I have discovered some of the reasons why they say that. What follows is a list of things I love about the United States and reasons why I am, despite a good portion of unsatisfied wanderlust, quite glad to be going home.

1. Water. Eating lamb in New Zealand, dim sum in Hong Kong, bratwurst in Germany, and lasagna in Italy was fantastic. But having to eat all of the above with 200 ml drink that costs 3 Euro (Hong Kong and New Zealand are excluded from the expensive complaint) leaves me appreciative of the US policy of willingly refilling water glasses throughout a meal. (That reminds me: how’s the drought in the southeast going?)

2. Street signs. This is one thing that I think the US does extraordinarily well. Everywhere else seems to be in one of three schools. School 1: no street signs at all. School 2 a.k.a. European style: making the street signs as difficult to find and read as possible. Germany is exempt. School 3: having street signs but pointing them in ambiguous directions, causing me to wonder if I am on Falcon Street, crossing Falcon Street, or if Falcon Street is actually the overpass.

3. American English. I have been able to get by with almost no trouble (the notable exception being the Polish rail system) speaking only English, but I miss being able to blend in with the crowd, since even in New Zealand and Australia my accent stood out.

4. US Politics. My first presidential election as a voter!

5. US Dollars. Not that I am particularly pleased with the good old USD right now, but at least at home I don’t have to think about how much cheaper this trip would have been a year ago. (Funny note on this subject: at the exchange places in Croatia, the abbreviation for our dollar is not USD, like everywhere else, but SAD. I found this funny because right now changing dollars is sad).

6. Routine. No more giant backpack. No more maps. My own bed. School. Friends. No more constant worry about losing my passport. A kitchen all the time. My phone. Things like that. This isn’t really specific to the US but after three months of sleeping in hostels, on trains, on planes, at train stations, and at the airport, I am ready to wake up every morning in the same bed, brush my teeth at the same sink, go to school, and complain about having to do homework every night.

As soon as I get back into my routine I will probably want to head off again, but that how it always goes. I’m glad I extended my little project into an entire summer, because I feel like I have made the most of it, and spent just long enough abroad to really appreciate coming hope without beginning to under appreciate traveling. I would like to thank my backpack and various forms of public transportation for being the defining elements of my life for three months, and I intend to reward them with some time off.