Lost in America?

So I have arrived back in the United States. In fact, I've been back for awhile, and have just been too busy to post an entry. I apologize, and enough people have now requested a final entry, that I feel obligated to oblige them (hahahaha, what a funny twist on words!).

Being back in the US is both completely bizarre and also utterly normal. Columbus hasn't really changed all that much and I find myself driving the same cars, on the same roads, going to the same stores, to buy the same kind of stuff. And in a mid-western, banal way, it is totally comforting. Nothing can ever replace the house I grew up in, my mom's food, my dad's jokes, my brother's advice or my 13-yr old dog, Ralphie. These were the things I missed most when I was in Madagascar, and it helps incredibly with culture shock to find these things mostly unchanged (my dog does move a lot slower now... he's pretty old).

I have had my little freak out moments... the first time I ate Graeter's (the BEST ice cream in the world) was something on par with a religious experience. I find that I crave bizarre food things... I still need to eat a lot of rice, but I'm eating a lot more donuts than I ever have before (it's something I missed that i didn't even realize... don't worry, it's not that many). I think I'm allergic to air conditioning... I've had a weird, scratchy throat that gets worse whenever I go inside.

Seeing people has been the best part about being home, and much less weird than I expected. My parents did not go into shock at the airport or have any type of epileptic fit. My friend Andry accompanied me back to the States and we've been to DC, NYC, Vassar, Cincinnati, OH and Lawrenceburg, IN, and in all places I've seen great friends and family and had a wonderful time. The hardest part with everyone is where to begin telling the stories of the past 9 months. But I've found that you just start with small stories and the conversation flows from there. Relationships continue like they did before, and in some ways, I feel like I never left.

Madagascar has definitely left it's mark though. I'm a lot calmer than I used to be and don't see the need to rush as much as I did before. I even walk a bit slower than I did. We took the Greyhound bus back from New York to Columbus, and the 14 hour ride went smooth and easy and the time just flew by. It's ten times better than any taxi brousse I ever took in Madagascar and it was the cheapest way to go. Andry and I are now in St. Louis at the Missouri Botanical Garden, doing work, and we go back to Columbus, before he heads back to Madagascar about a week from now. The rest of the summer will be devoted to working on my research and seeing other friends and family, before my mom and I drive across the country, so I can start my Ph.D. at UC-Irvine.

Lost in America? Well not really, and definitely not as much as I thought I would be. Though, I'll let you know if that all changes once I move to California.