Blogging
From Abroad

I return to the States in 25 days… I can almost feel the grime on the streets, the taste of Panera Bread, the sound of the highway drowned out by my music (I haven’t driven a car in 100 days!!!), and the smell of fresh mountain air in the New River Gorge. I get antsy just thinking about it!

Study abroad is supposed to be this big “life-changing experience”. I want it to be part of who I am, but I don’t want it to be WHO I am. I don’t want to be like a typical study abroad kid and roll up to PF Changs and try and speak in my limited Cantonese to the high school hostess and dismiss it for being too Americanized (mainly because I prefer PF Changs to real Chinese food haha, Westernization has its merits).

What has changed about me? I’ve realized it is one hundred and fifteen percent fruitless to wear make-up in most places in Southeast Asia because it will melt off your face. I know you can’t walk out the door without 35% DEET insect repellent or you will get 30 bug bites in 5 minutes (NO EXAGGERATION HERE, I’m stuck wearing jeans, leggings, and tights in 80 degree Hong Kong heat and humidity because I am embarrassed of my legs!!). I threw away my trusty travel hair dryer that has been through 3 continents worth of travel with me and didn’t bother to replace it, because Southeast Asian heat and humidity has destroyed my perfect blow-outs and bouncy hair. I’ve learned to eat vegetarian because then you don’t have to worry about what creature you are eating, as well as it’s typically tastier anyway. I know every time I leave the country I’m bound to get caught in a tropical downpour (“maybe monsoon”, as we heard in the Philippines). I’ve figured out how to get through a city of 7 million people on my own and thus, how to hold my own. I know to wave off Indian suit makers and how to bargain for a cheap taxi ride or a steal on a backpack. I roll with what happens and know it won’t be the end of the world. In a sense, I’ve grown out of that over-concerned teenager phase and just figure out what I need to do to get by.

I’ve seen a lot this semester, I’ve done a lot this semester, and by no means are my adventures in Southeast Asia done yet for this stint, nor for good. Southeast Asia lacks the rudeness, expenses, and hit-or-miss nature of Europe with all the religion, ancient culture, and food on 1/4th of the price of its Continental neighbor to the Northwest. I miss the US, sure, and I can’t wait to get back in the normal swing of things that involve salads, running on green trails, and half-and-half in my coffee, but there is definitely a sweet spot in my heart for Southeast Asia now, too.