Transition Time

Apologies for the lag in blog entries.  I don't intend to stop blogging just because I'm back in the US.  While the entries may be further apart, I plan to continue to write about the transition and life in the US.  Hopefully you don't find my life in the US too dull to continue reading. ;-)

The transition to the US has been the most unexpected and pleasant surprise of my life.  I would say the first 3-4 months in Singapore were the happiest of my career and adult life after school.  I thought the transition back to the US was going to be hard, awkward, uncomfortable, etc.  It has been the most wonderful feeling to be back and spend time with family and friends, and to just be here.  I thought I would feel out of place and not be able to connect to anyone.  I thought I was going to feel so different.  It has been the exact opposite--I feel like I'm right where I belong at this point in my life and feel like I have not been gone for 6 months.  Singapore feels like a dream.  I really can't believe that I just lived in another country for 6 months.  That above all is the weirdest thing to me right now.  I really don't understand it. 

I do understand that Singapore is exactly what I needed.  I needed to get away.  I don't even know why anymore, but the travel and adventure is what I needed  before I settle somewhere long term.  It's so hard to describe how contented (correct grammar?) I feel.  The experience abroad has fulfilled whatever it was that was lacking in my life that needed to happen.

The happiness I feel being back in the US is most unexpected.  While the US sucks on many levels right now (sorry USA....), it is still a wonderful country.  I love everything and everyone right now.  I teared up about three times during the Browns game today (first Browns game in my life!)  And no the tailgating festivities that took place before the game had absolutely nothing to do with the increase in emotions. ;-) Hahaha.
I lost it during the national anthem.  Thank goodness for sunglasses!      

I am extremely happy right now and have no idea what the rest of this year holds....Except lots of fun times with all the people that I love so much in my life!  Hdigabtt? :) 

Steve Jobs' Commencement Address

My uncle sent an email forward of Steve Jobs' commencement address to the Stanford graduating class of 2005.  It was perfect timing for me to receive this video.  I am at a crossroads in my life and I'm not sure which way to go.  The video hasn't necessarily helped me to make a choice yet but it has given me new perspectives as I contemplate the two roads.  Hdigabtt?

Adapting to the US

Now that I'm back, it feels like I was never gone.  Singapore feels like a dream to me.  Part of it is that I've been running around the eastern half of the US doing interviews and second interviews and visiting friends and family.  I haven't stopped since I've been back and I know it will be this way for at least the next two weeks.  There's a lot I have to focus on for the next month. 

Adapting to the US again was no problem at all.  I thought it would be weird for awhile but it's been quite normal.  Driving a car again was only shaky for about ten minutes.  It was fun taking a drive to VA with my fave Glee tunes blasting in the car.  Until I had a car again, I didn't realize that I actually miss it.  It can be time consuming and exhausting taking public transportation all the time.  Places that take ten minutes to drive to might take 30 minutes via public transport by the time you walk/bus to the train, wait for train, and so on. 

I thought I would be freezing after being in constant heat and humidity.  Luckily I arrived to beautiful fall weather.  Now that it's getting colder---yeah I'm cold and shivering but not any less than last fall.  It's just normal midwest fall weather to me.     

My favorite part of being back is eating American food again.  I've been eating all the different things that I missed while in Singapore. 

I am not sure where I am moving yet but I've been blessed with a couple wonderful possibilities.  I will make a choice sometime this week and let y'all know! :)



 

I'm baaack

I am back on US soil and in my favorite city in the world. :)  NYC was probably a good first stop on the way back from Singapore.  The two cities are very comparable.  Walking in midtown Manhattan reminded me of being in Singapore with it's diversity, the tourists, and the tall buildings.  NY has at least triple what Singapore has but it wasn't as drastic of a change as going right to suburbia America.  Everytime I'm here it puts a big smile on my face.  I was riding the subway yesterday and had to hold back grinning like an idiot while I was sitting there.  People always say it's the little things---this is so true.  The bud light ad for NFL.  Hearing the English conversations on the train.  The beautiful fall weather.  :-D  <---Me

Last Day

I am very calm.  I'm leaving tonight and I'm calm, neutral, indifferent, not really having any feelings.  I was really excited last week and now I'm very cool and composed.  Not sure if I already experienced all the up and down emotions that I got those out of the way?  Maybe I am just focused on the tasks at hand today preparing to leave?  Or maybe it's the Wayne Dyer book I started reading yesterday that has created this attitude?  Whatever the reason, this is unexpected.    

~14 more hours in Singapore...

The Countdown and Reflection Continues

Friday was my last day of work.  I was super high strung all day and felt out of touch with reality.  The day flew by and felt like a dream.  It feels unreal that I'm leaving here and it's really hard to imagine what it's going feel like to be in the US again.  I think this experience has changed me in ways that I don't even realize.  It's hard to describe in words what it's truly like to live in another country.  Sure I can describe the food and the culture, but to actually give someone an idea of how it feels to live in Asia is very difficult.  For starters, it's the most amazing experience I've been through in my life.  It has put me above and beyond my comfort zone.  I feel like if I can move to another country and make it, then I can do just about anything.  I feel like I'm a stronger and more independent person.  Sometimes life abroad is frustrating.  You don't always understand cultural habits and anything that is different is uncomfortable at first.  But nowadays, it's merely amusing.  It's common for me and my friends to say, "Oh Asia...." or "Oh Singapore...." with a sentiment that only expats in Singapore understand.  Living abroad was a time of deep reflection for me.  I've been through quite a journey the last couple of years and I just wanted to get away from everything and have this kind of experience to reflect on everything that's happened the last couple of years.  I'm so grateful that I was able to do that. 

I know with all my heart that it's time to come back to the US for awhile.  I'm not sure why but the universe has really pushed me to go back for some reason.  Deep down inside this whole time, I just had this feeling that I wasn't going to be here for as long as I said that I was.  It also seems since I've been here, my intuition and gut have been the strongest as ever in my life.  I'm not sure what to attribute this heightened sensitivity to.  I hope to use this as I continue on and figure out where i'm suppose to be next. :)

So let the countdown continue:
2 more days left in Singapore
3 more days until US (NY)
7 more days until Cle

See some of you soon! :)