Well yes indeed, I am in fact back in the Pacific Northwest. After leaving London yesterday morning around 950 am (thanks for the help Mosh, you know you're the best) flying to Frankfurt (horrible airport by the way) and crossing 9 time zones, I landed in Seattle at 1715 local time. The sun was shining and it was perfect weather. Oh and I was finally able to see my dog ;]
I had hoped to be writing this in London, but time did not allow and it is my belief that my mind would have been too overcome with the sadness of departure and separation. Nevertheless here I am. Back in my parents home, thinking back to Europe, missing all of my friends and wishing I could still be there.
The 4th of July was something else. I fell asleep around 2230 local time to the sound of celebration and fireworks exploding overhead and didn't wake up until just after 5 am PST. Not so bad. The best way to deal with jetlag is to try and power through it. Stay awake as long as possible and try and force your mind to adapt as quickly as possible. Surreal to be back? Certainly is. Sunday I was in London, the previous Sunday I was in Amsterdam, and the previous Sunday I was in Germany. How quickly things should change. It is difficult for me to consider life here at this time. I've no idea which way to go. The security agent who searched my bag last night asked me that very question: "So what now?" And I replied with the same answer I've been giving everyone: "I've got no idea." The options are really endless. Some people are pushing for me to go to school and finish a degree. Maybe I get a temporary job somewhere, make some money, try and sell some of my photos and go from there. But where to live? That's the big question. I've been offered a spot in a rented home in Lynnwood. I could stay with my parents until I find a place of my own. But there are pro's and con's of both options and I really don't know what I'd like to do yet. Do I try and stay put for a year? Look into enrollment back in school? Do I study business or try and proceed down the biology track again? Do I seek out work in a brewery or a pub? These are the questions I've got to answer. And what also of travel? I know it's still inside me, the need and desire to keep going, keep seeing new things. But this last trip has left me fatigued and I may not be able to return to the majority of Western Europe for quite some time. So then do I look elsewhere? Somewhere new? Some place to stretch my mind even further? Good questions I suppose, and like with everything else, I've no idea.
And now back to travel. The last word on this nearly 6 month long journey. How to sum it all up? It really is impossible I think. You can't sum up something like this in two paragraphs. But it was an experience I'm not likely to forget. I think about all the people who helped me along the way; they are countless really. As I'm sitting here I've got this feeling in my gut and I'm wondering where exactly I should be. I am back in the USA, surrounded by fellow Americans. For the past 6 months it was the other way around. Now I am no longer a stranger amongst strangers. Travel is an amazing thing. In the scheme of the journey your mind is warped. Will it bend back now that I am here? I suppose at the end, only one question remains: in which direction do I take my next step?
To everyone who followed this journey along the way, thanks so much. And to everyone who made this journey a possibility I cannot thank you enough. Thanks for tuning in. Ciao.
Zach
