Home

Well, it's over.

Since the last update we explored Egypt pretty thoroughly. We went all the way south to the border with Sudan and saw temples, engravings, pylons and pyramids. We went shopping for gifts and souveniers, rode trains, buses and camels, and had amazing (and often hilarious) interactions with the locals. Overall we really enjoyed our time in Egypt. Now that we're back, it's really... what's the best word... weird?

We've been back in the U.S. now for 2 days. We arrived in Rochester, NY (where my parents live) at about 8pm the day before yesterday. Walking through the airport parking lot with my parents was our first exercise in sanity, and itself an odd experience. The silence was deafening. We could hear birds chirping. The cars were going out of their way not to hit us. It was 75 degrees, and the sky was cloudy (and not from smog!); all of this was a drastic departure from where we were less than 24 hours prior.

I think I can speak for both Michelle and I when I say that being back is, first and foremost, a weird experience. Actually, I'm positive I can speak for her because she is going to proofread this before it gets posted. But anyway, I don't think either of us are suffering from culture shock, per se... but we are absolutly both overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of indulgences available (especially at my parents house) and by the realization that the trip we planned for years has actually come to an end. We can both so vividly remember being in our first hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City and feeling euphoric at the freedom we had. We can easily go back to so many events that happened thereafter -motorbike crashes, certain hikes, sicknesses, fights with locals, meeting friends- and everything feels like it just happened. The last 9 months have undoubtedly been the fastest of our lives, and I'm sure that's in large part because of the sheer number of events that have happened to us in such a short period of time. That change -from a life where everyday is a complete adventure into the unknown, to a life where the rules are much more defined and easy to follow- is going to be one of the first challenges we have to tackle. It's a matter of slowing down, both mentally and physically, and while it's an odd adjustment to have to make, so far it feels pretty good. (note: this blog is being written on a screened in porch, on a comfortable wrap around couch that I am sharing with Michelle as we sit listening and watching rain- talk about slowing down!)

I know this post is quite vague and may not be exactly what people were hoping for as far as what it's like to be home, but I think the fact that it is so vague is probably the best way to describe how we feel. At this point, it's all a bit blurry. We know what we've done, although we can't quite process it all. We know what we've learned and some skills that we've acquired, although we haven't yet entered a situation in which to really use it all. We know what we have to accomplish now that we're back, but we don't have a defined plan on how were going to do it. And how could we? Condensing a lifetime worth of experiences into 9 months makes a 'quick review' of those 9 months virtually impossible, as our 2500 pictures in need of sorting attest. The changes those 9 months have created within us are even more difficult to discern, especially on a short timescale. And perhaps most of all, we are essentially starting our adult lives over at 25; new city, new home, new school, new jobs, new cars, new friends. Redoing all of the things we had accomplished up until this trip started -and redoing them in the next 2 months- is overwhelming, so trying to tackle it all at once just won't work.

So I think, for now, I'm going to leave it at that. I'm sure we'll make some more posts as new things come up, so feel free to continue to check this blog sometimes. All of our pictures aren't quite up yet, including the pictures of our camel rides at the pyramids, but we'll try to get those up shortly. We'll also be updating our 'stats' post from a few months ago with our final figures; total miles covered, etc. So yeah, this blog has a bit of life in it yet. Stick around!