Monday, July 25, 2011

Singing with the Radio

For over a year now I have been saying that there is nothing about the states that I miss other than family and friends...

I flew into San Francisco from Incheon, South Korea on Saturday, the 23rd of July. Customs was fairly simple and didn't take too long, however, I highly recommend giving yourself a two hour window for connections or you might end up running to your next gate with your shoes in your hand. Once I arrived at Washington-Dulles it was just a matter of getting my bags and shuttling to Budget to rent my car. I drove a few minutes south and stayed at a Marriott in Westfields. Gorgeous place. It was night and I was exhausted and I hadn't thought much about being back home.

On Sunday, I slept in, ordered room service and then left the hotel rested and refreshed. I was given a Toyota Corolla to drive and after driving my little Hoopty in Korea, I must say it was a really nice change of pace. I don't think I have driven over 40 miles per hour since I left home over a year ago and to be able to drive over 60 again was such a great feeling. Not to mention that the roads seemed wide enough for two and there were no pedestrians! As I was driving and listening to stations that were NOT AFN, and enjoying the wide roads, I realized that I had missed it here. Immensely!

I passed farms and farmer's markets, recognizable store signs, traffic signs I could read, and mountains that rose in the distance. There were houses large and small, and businesses large and small, and just an amazing openness of space. I had lived in wall to wall buildings and with wall to wall people for so long that I had forgotten how it felt to live and drive in wide open spaces.

As I sang along with the radio I realized that while I really enjoyed living in Seoul, and experiencing another culture, nothing will ever replace my country. This way of life that is so good. It gives me a new found pride in my home, in my country - something to fight for. And that feels good.

I have missed my America.

5 comments:

  1. All those things I taken for granted-you've renewed my appreciation. Welcome Home Spc Hayes-Coward. Poochie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your blog! simple and excellent! thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We all take the little things for granted every day. Seeing it through your eyes makes us aware we should appreciate those things. Hope everything goes well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You're welcome Poochie!
    @Toshiba LAptop Batteries (someday you need to tell me the story about this name) - Come on back anytime! I could use the guilt to keep me posting regularly!
    @Kim - everything is going well and I am slowly learning to not sweat the small stuff... slooooowly. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. You know, I should say you are one of a kind blogger. You never fail to amaze me with your ideas and thoughts, your views and your stories. This is how the internet connects us all together and share ideas even if we are far away from each other. By the way, you might want to use the internet not just for blogging but also make money online by joining an affiliate program. This is the power of the internet. You can stay home and still be an enterprenuer

    ReplyDelete