It has now been almost two months since I've arrived in Vermont. My number one issue with returning home is the fact that my study abroad experience has ended. Just like that - 5 months, over. Studying abroad has always seemed like some magical imagery that would "happen next year", "next semester".. something I have always looked forward to since the college search began in high school. It was always something that I had been planning for, ie: taking enough classes so that I could go abroad, save money so that I could be unemployed for 5 months, etc. It seems as though everything has flashed before my eyes.
I can't even begin to express how this experience has changed me. I have met a variety of people from coast to coast of America, formed friendships with people from New Zealand, Australia, and Europe, traveled three different countries, took four classes (or "papers" in NZ terminology), and adapted to a completely different lifestyle- ALL in five months. Not to sound cliche- but I can not imagine moving forward with my life/career without this experience. I have learned to respect different lifestyles/cultures, accept people, gained an immense amount of travel knowledge, and most importantly, I have become more self confident. I think that has come from my intention of adapting to the new culture. And ultimately, I am proud of myself. I feel like I have conquered yet another experience and have really embraced it.
I have come across multiple awkward encounters regarding my return to home. A lot of people act interested in the experience and say "how was your trip". At this point, I feel confused and likely express a shocked expression. I mean, what trip are they talking about? I have traveled to over 25 towns/cities in New Zealand, vacationed in Fiji, and flew to Australia visiting multiple towns/cities there as well. I usually ignore that and start to explain some favourites from my NZ "trip". I then realize, this experience can not be summed up in five minutes (at most) of conversation. If you think about it, it would be like me asking you how your 5 months have been...if you have traveled to over 40 destinations. I usually just say "it was amazing. i miss it so much.. i hiked a glacier and swam with dolphins... i was legal to drink"... a VERY short summary of my life February-June.
My travels back to the States weren't bad, until I reached JFK. Of course, all of my baggage was overweight (50 kgs). It was smooth-sailing from Auckland to San Fransisco (which is the 13 hour flight). I took some sleeping pills, watched some movies, drank some wine. All was fine! Leah (a very close friend I met abroad) lives outside of San Fransisco (SF) and offered to pick me up for my layover. She and her boyfriend took me to In-and-Out burger for my first west coast burger experience. It was amazing! I loved reconnecting and trying that food for the first time. We also had time to cruise around in the convertible for a little while. I then flew to JFK and was there overnight. Awful. I had all of my bags and had to connect to different terminals with them. This meant taking the lifts to different locations. I must have taken the elevator at least 10 times that night. Especially since I was in search for food. Unfortunately, everything was closed and I settled for some weird/gross wrap at 2 am. I finally caught my flight to BTV at 8am. As I flew into Burlington and heard "welcome to Burlington, VT. Partly cloudy and mostly sunny"- I started to cry. Just a few tears but I think at this point I realized that I actually was arriving home and I was very excited to see friends and family. My mom organized a welcome-home party to give me the opportunity to catch up with everyone without being overwhelmed. I was extremely grateful for this. It was really easy for me because people just dropped by or hung out for a while. I didn't have to make plans with anyone.. which was awesome after my 35 hours of traveling!
We had heaps of snacks and drinks (including NZ wine, margaritas, and a log keg of Magic Hat).
I forced myself to stay busy and trained myself to avoid the jet lag. I woke up at 5/6am just a few times and usually went to sleep at a normal hour. I did tended to get grumpy around the late afternoon but I settled that with an iced coffee (which i missed DEARLY). It was also funny to be driving again. I was amped to get in my car and grab the wheel! I was generally okay with driving after running a quick errand on day one. However, I did catch myself once driving on the wrong side of the neighbourhood (hehe!). It's funny, I didn't think it would be a problem because I only drove once in Australia but actually living in NZ with the opposite traffic standards really screwed me up. I still have to think about the direction I'm turning if I'm really tired. It is starting to feel normal again but it's funny that I sometimes actually have to think while driving instead of performing second nature (pre-NZ).
My next step is unknown. I literally have no idea what is next for me and what I am planning for. And for some reason, this bothers me. I do know that I have been bit by the travel bug and that traveling is what I WANT to do next (after graduation). Right now, I am thinking of taking six months off after graduation to just travel around. I don't know where, but I do want it to happen. I have met a lot of friends from my international travels and would love to reconnect with them. Ghana is always a place I want to return to and I've been missing the kids at the orphanage quite a bit lately- so that's always an option. But this whole travel idea is unplanned as well. What if I get offered an amazing job? Basically, I need to stop planning for the next step because it seems like the next journey will just happen on it's own and needs to be unplanned. This all seems to weird to me. Literally, every large step in my life has been planned and as you know, has likely stressed me out.
Last week, Gin Wigmore played free and live at Battery Park on the waterfront. Gin Wigmore is the #1 singer in NZ and is extremely famous among Aussies and Kiwis. Her popular songs "I do" and "Under my skin" were well liked among the Burlington population too. I was SOOO excited for this event and actually got a picture with her as well. She was a very sweet woman and brought me back to Kiwi land. I sincerely wished that I could hop the plane with her and head back. Someday! Until then, I just have to reminisce on the good times I had down under. I am reliving the experience by drinking the wine (good excuse?), skyping with the Kiwis, talking to the Americans who were abroad with me, and obsessing over the pictures. New Zealand will always be considered my home away from home and I am so thankful for the opportunity and experiences.
I appreciate everyone's excitement about the blog and the encouragement that lead me to continue sharing my experiences.
