BACK IN THE U-S-S-A!
Monday, July 9th, 2007So, we’re HOME to San Francisco, a word that now has special meaning. You learn a lot about the concept of home when you spend most of a year isolated from friends and are constantly challenged by strange new customs, food, and language.
THE VIEW OF SF FROM OUR SUBLET SOUTH OF MARKET
There were times when it felt like we would never make it back home over the past year. Even before landing at SFO, I was dreaming of the places we had seen that will stick to my memory forever…like a hilltop cemetary above Sarajevo
or more recently, the beautiful and spiritual Koya-San cemetary in Kansai, Japan
and even climbing to a castle in Eastern Slovakia
So a lot of you are asking, “so what’s it like to be home?” Well, in short…”absolutely wonderful” Not only do I feel recharged, rested, relaxed, and enlightened from our past year, but I am able to enjoy things in a different light. We met and saw so many people around the world who struggle to feed themselves daily, breathe foul air, and drink undrinkable water. We are so lucky to be born where and when we were. I also feel charged to never forget their plight as we go forth with our busy lives again.
COW WASHING IN THE HOLY GANGES – VARANASI
Sure the US is not perfect and our current xenophobic us vs. them foreign “policy” is beyond disturbing as it spirals us towards more conflict and unrest in a world that desperately needs our help. But all in all, the positives are many. The most striking thing about getting off the plane at SFO and taking BART back into the city was the broad diversity of the people. Most of the places we travelled are mono-cultures that are fascinating, but don’t offer outsiders much chance at blending in.
NO MELTING POT ON THE TOKYO SUBWAY – JAPAN IS JAPANESE
But the areas of the US subject to more recent immigration are vibrant, multi-cultural, and generally very tolerant. We brought glares in most of China and polite stares in Japan, but Chinese and Japanese (American or not) in San Francisco can walk down the street without causing the blink of an eye. It really is a wonderful thing as the melting pot is real.
That said, it is also apparent that the majority of Americans don’t know much about the world outside our borders and our media mirrors and fosters that perspective. The media in most of the countries we visited covers foreign issues with dramatically more attention. Suddenly you are aware of the crises in Africa, trauma in the Middle East, and suffering around the globe that generally goes unreported here in lieu of a new terror alert, weight-loss fad, or pretty white child that has gone missing. (except for the communist countries of Laos, Vietnam, and China where news is controlled of course) And although Australia is also a part of the coalition of the willing, they still seem to have more focus on global issues such as global warming, which is reported as a fact that needs to be addressed.
HOME IS WHERE YOUR FRIENDS AND A GOOD BURIRTO ARE!
But it goes beyond this, as one of the shocking results of taking a year off to travel is that I have lost the urgent sense to make more money and to return to the working world too fast. It’s great to have the time to actually enjoy San Francisco without the pressures of our pre-sabbatical life. I move slower and am definitely more patient. And as a cyclist and walker in San Francisco things look pretty good.
Other shocks on our return:
Many Americans are big! And I don’t just mean overweight, I mean big boned. Westerners started to look strange to us towards the end of our trip.
Kids grow fast! We barely recognized our nieces and nephews. (Shocking I Know)
San Franciscans all move fast and seem to be in a rush!? You’ve got to be to make enough money to live here.
But best of all is to be back to familiarity. Home does matter and you are where you are from. We are Americans, Californians, and San Franciscans and these things define us more than you think, especially by age 40. If you love burritos when you leave, you still love them when you return. Now I just love an even broader array of world cuisine.
YUP, A GOOD BURRITO AND A JARRITOS MAKES ME SMILE!
We also are convinced that our car free perspective prepared us well to better enjoy life in other countries as most of the locals do: on bikes, foot, and transit. This is yet another reason why y’all should quit your jobs now and travel the world.
Next entry….favorite places revealed. (You’ll know most of these if you’ve been following us)
-R
rich.coffin