I'm the worst at beginning and ending blog posts. I never know how to start! But the middle, now that I can do. So here it goes.
I'm writing to you from the land of the free, home of the brave, star spangled banner, red white and blue with a side of potato chips AMERICA! And ya know, it is true what they say; there's not place like home.
We've been back for just over 2 weeks now and it's a strange readjustment. You wouldn't think it would be a big change going back to your country of origin after less than a year away but it kind of is! Like seeing your best friend from middle school 10 years later with a baby on their hip type weird (which, hello. Can anyone relate??).
We've been pulling out onto the left side of the road and more than once I've asked someone where 'the toilet' is. But all in all its been a good transition. We've had a great few weeks catching up with family and friends and eating the mess out of Chipotle and Panera. And I must admit that my trips to Target are less sporadic and more part of a daily occurance (oops).
An American friend who I met in New Zealand told me that returning stateside was a weird experience for her. She said, it's almost like you've never been away, and like New Zealand doesn't exist at all. Almost as if it's an alternate universe somewhere that you dreamt of. That sounds really strange and bizarre, but it's totally true. I spent the last 8 months in an unbelievably gorgeous place on the other side of the globe, and even though I have pictures to show and stories to tell it seems unreal in a sense.
Maybe none of this makes sense, and that's ok. Honestly, it's 3am and I'm wide awake from drinking too much coffee so I might go back and proofread this to find it total jibberish. But I guess the moral of the story is that it's great to be in America. I like not being a 'foreigner' and not having to ask people to repeat themselves 47 times before I understand what they're saying. But I also love and miss NZ. It was a great home to us full of lovely people. And I'll be happy to greet it again in a few months when we go back. I have a feeling it'll be just as stunning as I remember.
(Props to Kevin for taking ridiculous photos)
But if you need me in the mean time, check the nearest Taco Bell, anywhere my sisters are, or probably Target.
Yeah, definitely check Target.
