How does one explain being back in the USA after having lived in Third World countries for the past year? Explaining the feeling and the sensation would be like trying to describe the feeling you get when you see a beautiful sunset; or when you smell fresh baked bread. We know that the feeling makes us feel good, but we cannot quite put it into words. Really the only thing that I can say it is akin to, would have to be the seeing of an old friend that you haven’t seen in years and years. When you finally do meet up again, it’s like nothing had ever changed. Time had not passed. That is pretty much how I’m feeling right about now. Yes the Country still has problems. Bush is still the President. The idiot Democrats in Congress are still suffering from Stockholm Syndrome or something, because they’re still not doing a damn thing. The economy still sucks, and I still owe thousands and thousands of dollars on my student loans. But, the United States is still here. The essence of Her still exists, and, oh, what a pleasant essence it is.
I know that many people have said this, and it has become a rather over-used cliché, but you most certainly do NOT know what you’re missing until you don’t have it. I honestly don’t know how I have survived for the past year without Barnes & Noble™, Starbucks®, Safeway®, the NBC Nightly News™ (such that it is), and the New York Times. Yes, all of these things are just “things.” That point certainly has validity, and you will get no argument from me on that point.
However, my point is that there is something comfortable, and, well for lack of a better term, superior to being able to get whatever you want, whenever you want it. It’s not necessary for me to travel 1 ¾ hours by bus to México City, just to get a latte. It’s not necessary to read the newspaper and think that you’re only getting one side of the story because everything is owned by one company, umm, well maybe that’s not too different.
It’s not necessary to pay all your money to ONE company if you want to make a phone call. It’s not necessary to deal with harassing and unprofessional people in the workplace, because there are laws that actually protect the workers, well for now anyway. It’s not necessary to step over mountains of garbage while walking down the sidewalk. It’s not necessary to smell raw sewage flowing down the river.
All of these things are just a part of what makes it so wonderful to be back in the USA. I don’t want anyone to take this the wrong way at all. I had an amazing time traveling around, and seeing all the amazing things that I have seen; I don’t think I’ll have the chance ever again. It’s just that there’s something about being home. There’s a feeling of belonging, of being part of the greater whole, that you don’t feel when you’re living and working in a foreign country. While in Thailand and Mexico, I constantly had the feeling of being judged in the eyes of every single Thai or Mexican I crossed paths with.
Don’t think for an instant that I’m so naïve as to think that Americans are not judgmental! I would have to say that we gringos are some of the MOST judgmental people on this blue marble of ours. What I am saying, is that we tend to not show our judgment of others outright.
While in Thailand and Mexico I was able to travel, and see many amazing sights. I was able to make some amazing friends. People that I know will be part of my life for years to come. Those are all things that I will never forget.
