When I jumped off the plane last Sunday (blearily stumbled might be a more accurate description) I knew these 2 weeks would go by quickly, but I had no idea how fast. We had heard that trips home could become exhausting if you let them and were determined to avoid that. No need to need the proverbially 'vacation from your vacation.' Ultimately, I think we were successful and this was the blue-print that got us there:1. Get the family time in first. Great way to get some good relaxing in the first few days. If you can't walk around in your pajamas for 48 hours with your family, who can you? In our case, as always, the familiar cooking and beer and wine helps with the unwinding process. Also, you don't want to get to the end of the trip and all of a sudden be rushed in catching up with everyone.
2. Track down a car. We were lucky enough to borrow a spare one from the family. We had seriously considered renting a car if there wasn't one to borrow and it would have been worth it. We've gotten spoiled with the cheap MRT and taxis and had forgotten how truly helpless you are in the US without wheels. If we would have had to rely on friends to come pick us up and cart us around it would have been a logistical nightmare. Plus, we may not have had any friends left to visit with the next time we come back.
3. Have a communal meeting place or two. One of our friends was nice enough to have a football party on Sunday so we could catch up with multiple friends at once. This worked so well I almost didn't even mind that the Packers lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Vikings. Of course the Badgers losing in the Rose Bowl (again) was almost the last straw, but again, the fact that we got to watch the game with other friends we hadn't seen in months made it bearable. Settling in at our old neighborhood tavern the last night we were in town was a great idea as well. The creepy old guy checking ID's even seemed to recognize us.4. Get your sports and TV fix in. This started with basketball when I had my layover in San Francisco, continued with multiple NFL games on Sunday and culminated with multiple college football bowl games and basketball games during the week. I've been able catch the occasional live college football game on Sunday mornings in Singapore or watched a replay at a different time in the day. However, there is just something that feels right about watching a football game on Sunday or seeing games on New Years Day. Unfortunately, can't really replicate that. We've gotten good at watching our favorite shows in Singapore and even picked up another computer chord that should make it even better. Still nice to see reruns of How I Met Your Mother at night before bed vs. CNN International News.
5. Spread your food out. We have eaten, eaten and eaten some more. On the plus side, its been delicious. On the plus side.... its resulted in a different type of addition. Good thing we're heading back to normal sized portions in the near future. Sure going to miss a Jucy Lucy like this stuffed with molten cheese (in this case cheese curds) and other goodies. Good thing we at least saved this until the last night. Especially since someone had the bright idea to get some deep fried SPAM bites as well. I am wearing my Blue Door Pub Winner shirt on the flight home that we got for eating all 10 burgers in the past few years. 6. Set up meetings at work. Walking into the office was a surreal experience. To you, the 6 months have flown by, but you know time hasn't stood still and the working world continues to revolve. Sitting down with various people in the office over a two day period was a good way to reconnect and see what was going on.
7. Stop to soak it all in. This might be the most important. We were walking out of our friends place the other evening, saw the display at top of this page across the street and had to laugh. Such a typically American experience in a typical American neighborhood after a typical American evening of football, pizza and beer. Its nights like these that you can reflect back on if you ever get that twinge of homesickness on the far side of the world.
Now we're off to the airport and heading back to the tropics. Feeling more confident than we did 6 months ago and really looking forward to some warmth after some below zero temps this week. The burrito the size of my head should provide enough sustenance for the 26 hours of travel to come. Let the adventure continue.
No comments:
Post a Comment