WOW!! This blog certainly has evolved over the last year. It went from blogs about life in Mexico and the PC training, to the many wonderful trips I took all over Mexico to book reviews and recommendations. I want to thank everyone for reading! I hope you have learned a lot about life in Mexico and the Peace Corps. It was an amazing two years and it was…and still is hard to leave. I made lifelong friends and I can’t wait to return!
Sooooooooooo now I bet you are wondering…what’s it like to be home? What changed? What didn’t? What do you miss?
Well I am writing this blog in Japan so I guess I still really don’t know what its like to be home. I am still feeling pretty homeless and unsettled. In the month that I was “home” I spent a week in the bay area (with two different people), then a week in Oregon getting to know my dad and his family and then finally two weeks in Arizona with my mom and family. At that point I called my brother and said “Hook me up!! I am ready to stay in one place for a while!” and then I was invited to Japan and a week later…Japan here I come!
So…having said that…what changed? Really not much and I guess that was the surprising part! Besides my mom buying a new house nothing really changed. I went to the same nail salon, the same massage place, the same taqueria, the same grocery stores, the same everything…I guess it seems weird because I have changed so much that its surprising nothing else did.
The other thing I am noticing is that I am still speaking a lot of Spanglish…even here in Japan I find myself speaking Spanish…gracias, aqui, si si si! It’s great though when someone answers me back…de nada!
In general though I guess the hardest part for me and I am sure it is true for most returned PCV’s…is finding a job. We joined the PC to change the world…or at least make a small difference in part of it. I find myself wanting to still do that…but of course I want to get paid for it this time. I don’t want to be another number in some giant organization! I want to be a person who matters and who does things that matter. Do those jobs even exist? Am I being selfish in wanting something like that?
The good news is…is that I feel like I am in a place where I can dream the big dreams and take risks. I have very few things to lose at this point (hence why I am in Japan). I am having a difficult time dreaming big but I am hoping that some of that is fear and I will clear it soon. Before I left for Japan I signed up for a temporary agency for contract work. It won’t be life altering work but at least it will keep me busy and stop the bleeding! Even with telling myself that I am job hunting “fulltime” I am tired of being home all day long doing nothing but job hunting. After a month I am finding very few new items.
So what else is new? I miss the simplicity of Mexico, walking every where, cooking with super fresh veggies and the people. I have tried walking everyday since I got back…super easy to do in Tokyo but harder to do in the US. I have had to give myself assignments in order to motivate myself. Walking dogs and going to the grocery store are good ones but other than that I feel like I am walking aimlessly around. Like I said…I am hoping getting job helps some of this. I also think being settled in one place for a while will help. We shall see…
So, aside from not having a job and looking to create something wonderful…moving back to the US hasn’t been as hard as some people would think. Yes, TV has gotten even more insane (so I am choosing not to get one) and now I have to start paying more attention to the news (and sports). I am a lot more flexible and adaptable than I was before so I think that helps a lot but only time will tell!
I have been asked to blog for a couple different groups. One is Scrappy Women and that one should be published sometime this month. The other is a Silicon Valley Project Management group and that will be published in May. I am thinking about making some changes to this blog since my service is over and maybe create a few new blogs…maybe one specifically for book reviews and another for positive thoughts and coaching. Who knows…regardless I will keep you posted 