Time is Running Out

This parallel universe I have been living in for the last 3 ½ months has never felt as real as it does now. In just 4 weeks’ time I will be back in Virginia Beach with a completely new life than the one I left behind in Northern Virginia and the one I’ve been living in Southeast Asia. I can’t quite wrap my head around the transition that I will be forced to make. For the last few months, I have been waking up whenever I feel like it. My days are filled with relaxation and fun. Work is so far from my mind, I have forgotten how to even do it. Responsibility? What’s that? Basically, I have to start a new life all over again. I admit, starting all over is a little refreshing, albeit a bit daunting. Just to start, I have to find a job, find a place to live, and buy a car…ASAP.

Many backpackers never make the transition back home, getting sucked into their own parallel universe of fun and freedom. They adopt new lives, new friends, and new families in their chosen paradise. On one hand, I am jealous of these people living the ‘perfect’ dream life. But, on the other hand, I am sad for them. How bad must their lives be back home that they feel the need to abandon it all together? And then I remember why I am choosing to return home. As the end of my trip keeps rapidly approaching, instead of thinking about all the things I will be giving up, I remind myself of all the wonderful things I will be gaining and all the not-so-great things I will be leaving behind.

Things to look forward to at home
1. Food: CHEESE, especially goat cheese and Mexican food. Both are hard to come by here and way too expensive when you can find it.
2. New clothes. Basically, I have been wearing the same 10 articles of clothing over and over and over again.
3. My bed and comforter. Enough of the board-like mattresses and stained sheets already!
4. My awesome, cuddly, cute dogs
5. Last, but not least, my amazing (but sometimes crazy!) family and friends



What I cannot wait to leave behind
1. Toilets. A bathroom with a toilet I can actually sit on, flush with a handle, AND toilet paper is a luxury over here.
2. Packing and Re-packing. Packing occurs about every 4-7 days and everything must fit in a bag I carry on my back. You can’t truly appreciate the term ‘backpacker’ until you’ve experienced it.
3. Haggling. I just want to know the price of something and pay it, period.
4. Travel time. About a quarter of my trip is spent in a tuk-tuk, taxi, minivan, bus, train, or boat. None of which are all that comfortable or efficient.
5. Being dirty...all the time! It doesn’t matter how often I shower (which frankly isn’t that often) I am still always dirty from the heat, grime, and not-so-clean clothes.


I will paraphrase what Mal so perfectly stated: There is always a price to pay for living in paradise. Can you handle it??