A brief return to the States*

USA: April 18 – May 6

The flight itself was pretty low key other than the woman throwing up next to me on our landing into Dulles (a pit hole if you ask me). After a couple of gate changes I was off to Chicago. After a broken airplane, a missing crew, and a severe delay, I was back home in the Twin Cities.

I arrived home with a great family waiting: Mom, Dad, Grandma, Aunt Lynn and Uncle Dave. We had Mexican for dinner (the one type of food not in London) and I came back to Grandma’s place.

The next two weeks I spent preparing for my two month backpacking trip through South America, visiting friends and family, and enjoying not living out of a suitcase. I was home in PoCo, in Rochester, Lacrosse, all over the Twin Cities (living out of my trunk and staying on people’s couches), and relishing the time with all of those whom mean the most to me. I had really missed everyone.

The other thing I did quite a bit of was wrestling with the possibility of returning to London. My boss had mentioned a work permit and the school’s wish for me to return. What did I want to do with the next year? Do I want to return? Will it be beneficial? How will it impact my relationship with all of my friends? So many things to think about and so many questions I thought I needed to answer. I met with professors, friends, mentors, and the like to get all of their input. I definitely was leaning towards returning to London but decided to give it two more months of travel before I decided.