5 Months

I've been here five months now. Five months that have flown by. This is the longest I've been away from home- which is surprising considering everywhere I've traveled and the places I've lived. But I just got news about my brother's wedding date, and it looks like I'll be heading back to ATL for a quick visit at the end of August. Eight months away from home.

The idea of home is interesting to me- I think because I move around so much (and don't have plans to stop for a while) there is only one place that I truly think of as home: Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA.

Five months is also one of my longer stays in the same place, but even this time is about to come to an end. In a month I'll be heading from Tierra Seca to another country not so far from here. But not before a quick trip through 3 other countries in the region.

Like I said, maybe one day I'll settle down. But for now, I gotta keep on movin'.

One Year Ago...

One year ago I had just moved out of North Carolina and was settling temporarily at my parents' house back in my beloved Georgia. I also started a summer job at the crack of dawn the day after arriving late a night (what was I thinking?).

This last year has been a whirlwind! I've been in 4 different states and 8 different countries where I've had to use 5 different languages to get around, constantly adapting from one context to another. Remembering whether to shake hands or kiss as a greeting, whether I'm supposed to give a woman a hug or not even look at her, and whether I should eat pizza with both hands, just my right hand, or with a fork and knife. I love it though! Things ain't slowing down any time soon either- over the next month I'll be in 4 other countries in this region, having to adapt to new dialects of Arabic as I go. Life certainly isn't boring!

Perhaps one day I'll settle down for a bit...