My first morning back I woke up at 9:30 AM. Then went back to sleep. Next thing I know it's 2:30 PM. Never done that before. I hadn't slept much the previous day, so I needed the sleep. But it happened again the following day. And for a few days later as my body adjusted to the new time. I've never struggled with jet lag and I'm not helping the situation by allowing myself to sleep in so late.
I spent the next few days catching up with mail and errands and such. I ran into friends at the store, saw them at church, and even went back to my old work place to help someone with project. I made my rounds, dropping in to visit people I hadn't seen since before I quit. I stayed there much longer than expected, but it was nice to see everyone again.
Over the next month I did a camping trip with a friend in Pennsylvania, went with family to Tennessee to visit a cousin of mine who lived there, and continued to try catch up with everything.
I've eased back into the culture and my responsibilities here. It wasn't sudden as I didn't have to jump back into a job. Some things have caught my attention that I never really noticed before. I went back to a park that I've always loved going to. While there I noticed how... pretty the birds sounded. I've gone to this park for over a decade and grown up in this area, and now their song catches my attention. I guess birds in NZ and Australia have more of a... disruptive sound. Birds here sing. I also noticed how lush and green it was. Again, I grew up with this, but I felt like I was seeing it for the first time in a way.
Late June and early July I'll head out to help out with a conference in San Antonio, Texas. Then I'll head out for a road trip across the country and into Canada mid-August to end of October. I'll take my own car which will be easier and very economical compared to heading to the other side of the world. Good things in store for this year :)
I spent the next few days catching up with mail and errands and such. I ran into friends at the store, saw them at church, and even went back to my old work place to help someone with project. I made my rounds, dropping in to visit people I hadn't seen since before I quit. I stayed there much longer than expected, but it was nice to see everyone again.
Over the next month I did a camping trip with a friend in Pennsylvania, went with family to Tennessee to visit a cousin of mine who lived there, and continued to try catch up with everything.
I've eased back into the culture and my responsibilities here. It wasn't sudden as I didn't have to jump back into a job. Some things have caught my attention that I never really noticed before. I went back to a park that I've always loved going to. While there I noticed how... pretty the birds sounded. I've gone to this park for over a decade and grown up in this area, and now their song catches my attention. I guess birds in NZ and Australia have more of a... disruptive sound. Birds here sing. I also noticed how lush and green it was. Again, I grew up with this, but I felt like I was seeing it for the first time in a way.
Late June and early July I'll head out to help out with a conference in San Antonio, Texas. Then I'll head out for a road trip across the country and into Canada mid-August to end of October. I'll take my own car which will be easier and very economical compared to heading to the other side of the world. Good things in store for this year :)
The sound of local birds singing caught my attention as never before. I guess the birds in NZ and Australia more often have a "disruptive" sound