A little bit of both

It is difficult to describe the feelings of joy, excitement, sadness, and utter weirdness I have felt over the last week. I finally arrived back in London after a tiring couple of days traveling and living like a hobo.  I felt such comfort and contentedness when I arrived, and I headed to my friends house, reunited with my suitcases, and overjoyed to stretch out on a proper bed.
The next day, I absorbed my Morocco souvenirs into my suitcases, barely keeping them under the allotted 23kgs. 10 lbs of chocolate seriously doesn't help. And all of it is to give away.  Most of it. Some of it.  A few pieces.
I spent part of the afternoon checking up on my favorites in the National Gallery.  Then I met my cousin which was super weird as we usually only meet once a year at Christmas.  But it was really awesome to catch up and exchange our love of all things British.  It felt as though it had been far longer than a month since I left Coventry as I met a couple of cov peeps and  headed out for dinner to catch up on our four weeks apart.  (How will we feel when years have passed?!)

I was, of course, very sad to leave England, but I felt ready to get back to the 'real world' and definitely missed people here and work (I know, it's sad).  On Thursday I basically wanted to cry the entire day from parting with the tube to parting with my friend who is irreplaceable and more kind to me than I deserve.  I didn't have long to wait which was probably a good thing, and made the last calls with my UK phone.  I'll keep it, maybe it will come in handy in years to come.  If I need a flashlight.

It was a very tolerable flight with plenty to eat and thankfully good company.  I wanted to sob with excitement for the last hour, and happily, the lady next to me was so nice and chatty, the time flew by.  When we landed I tried to remain calm and not make any national security incidents, but I seriously wanted to run through the airport like a maniac.  The absolute joy of seeing both of my bags emerge from the depths to the luggage carousel was nearly unparalleled as I prayed not to be secondarily searched (as this would have taken hours with over 100lbs of luggage).  I happily presented my landing card and suddenly found myself searching through the sea of people at the arrivals gate.  It was an immensely happy reunion with balloons, signs, gifts, and tears.  Who cares about luggage?

It is a few days later and the surreal but nice feeling has not worn off.  The strangeness piled up as I felt culture shocked in my own country.  "Do you see how big that truck is?  I mean seriously?!"
I ate at Chick-Fil-A, shopped at Target and skipped through Walmart wanting to shout "You're so American!" at everyone (in the most endearing way possible).  Also, I'm glad to have hulu back and caught up on 30 Rock right away.  And Pandora is my new DJ.  Seriously, the UK needs these things!

I was reunited with my truck and happily reminded myself how to drive and get around my city (which hasn't changed much).  With much trepidation I pulled into traffic, and am beginning to look the right (actually left) way first.  Singing in the car was something I truly missed. 

With a fair amount of dread I entered where all of my things are stored and pawed through for a while to find my kayak paddle.  Priorities, man.  Hopefully this weekend I'll get some time on the water and enjoy this glorious fall weather.  I found my work clothes too, and truly had to search for my stethoscope, but I am ready and all but rehired and learned today I won't have to suffer through orientation again, woot!

So, "happy to be back" barely describes the feeling.  I am excited and overwhelmed and stoked to find somewhere to live and get back to work and feel like a functioning member of society again.  My friend asked me if I had 'gotten it out of my system.'  For now...

When I fly, I like to ask my seatmate if they are going home or leaving home. For this trip, my answer was a little bit of both.

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