an almost 3 week wrap up

so i have been in the states for almost 3 weeks and honestly it has not been the easiest of transitions but hey when are transitions normally easy?!

so what has made the past few weeks a bit challenging? well, it's a combination of things. transitioning from an environment where i was surrounded by the same people every moment of the day to an environment where independence and alone time reigns has been surprisingly hard. surprising due to the fact that i normally love being alone and independent. this environmental change was especially hard the first week but since then i have found the joy i remember experiencing in the quiet moments.

i have also come to realize this is the first time in life when i don't really know where i am going or doing. i don't have the "next" thing lined up nor do i even have an idea what the next thing is. this fact alone provides a great opportunity to shape my perspective in life. should i look at this time as being wasted time or is this an opportunity to truly define myself and profoundly think about which path to follow? my perspective as of now is of the latter... which i am thankful.

the final ingredient to this transition combination is the rekindling or reevaluating of relationships. some have grown stronger during my time in the philippines, others have basically disintegrated. past people have resurfaced as well as current people have disappeared. it has been challenging and valuable to recognize the role others play in my life and vis-a-versa. tears have been shed, memories have been made, laughter has been shared but eh, isn't that life?

so what have i been doing? well for the first week i tooled around in dc trying to kick the lasting effects of the 12 hour transition. lovely lovely stuff jet lag is. then exactly a week after returning i headed back to the midwest to see beloved friends and family. i spent a few days on the ohio river in southern indiana where my brother-in-law and i swam across the ohio river. probably the hardest physical thing i have ever done but downright awesome. then i spent a few days in goshen visiting good friends and hanging out with the sister. then rounded out my trip on the farm where 3 calves were born, there is no light pollution and my favorite dog greeted me with a dance.

now i sit and fervently pursue job opportunities, at least in my dreams. but seriously, i have continued in the quest to find an excellent job in the disaster relief, post conflict reconciliation or the international social development field. Lord, grant me patience.

so that is me. i am sad to report i will probably not blog about my thailand nor boracay trip and i apologize for that. i feel i have been detached from those experiences too long to blog in the manner those experience justify. so until whenever...

blessings.

and i'm back...

so i made it back to the good ol' U S of A and it only took 31 hours. perhaps the longest day ever!!! my journey began at 5 am in manila on thursday, august 9th continued for 31 hours until i landed in dc at midnight on thursday, august 9th. that dang international date line makes for super duper long day.

oh and i know i need to write about thailand and boracay and i plan to do that some sleepless night when my body is telling me to eat lunch when i really should be in a deep slumber.

hope all is well.
blessings.

thailand... kinda

alrighty folks... i am back from bangkok, thailand and it was fantastic. unfortunately i do not have the time to seriously blog about it but i did post the pictures. sorry no captions. when i have some time i promise to catch up. only a week left of my asian adventures. looking forward to seeing you all.

blessings.