Do you know what it means?

Yes - I know it's a bit of a cliche, but around New Orleans this is a bit of a theme song in the post-Katrina world. Of course it's not the same without my husband, but it definitely feels good to be in our house despite the fact that my body is telling me that I am still in Southeast Asia.

I managed to get a decent amount of sleep, waking up a few times. I set the alarm for 9:00am, realizing that it would be wonderful if I could get the full 12hrs of sleep that I wanted/needed to get myself reacclimated to the time zone. At 3:30am I told myself that I would not get out of bed until 5am, a reasonable time to start my day, but I had to make a compromise because I was going crazy in the dark. I picked up a book and read for about an hour before getting up and making some coffee.

Inspired by our friend in Bangkok, and the DeLonghi, I made myself a delicious caffe latte and have resumed the process of putting things back in order and readjusting to life at home. Nothing too exciting, but there are some things that I have noticed immediately.

(1) It's really nice to be able to communicate with strangers in a language that I speak fluently. It's very easy to ask simple questions and understand the responses. "Excuse me, are you in line?" Wow - so basic, but such a phrase cannot come to pass for me in Lao or Thai. The politeness that comes with me communicating in SE Asia usually corresponds with a big smile and a lot of pantomiming.

(2) American media is really bad. I hate to say it, but it is sadly true. Television news programs are so ethnocentric. With so many things happening in the world, why are we only concerned with things in the United States? And, with so many things happening in the world, why does the news focus on ridiculous 'non-news' items to gather ratings? It would be great to have more global information readily available to the American public, not just something that people have to search for.

(3) In tune with the above realization, I am going to try to read much more and watch television much less now. I read some wonderful books on the trip, most pertaining to SE Asian history, and I appreciate the knowledge I've gained.

(4) Having never travelled anywhere alone, I am quite proud of myself for making the trip from Vientiane to New Orleans on my own. Granted, I was familiar with the route and could easily anticipate things that would transpire, but I did it. I took responsibility for myself, and lived for about 48 hours in Asia alone. You must understand that in these cultures women do not do travel alone. I took for granted the security of having a loving and watchful husband around, but the self-reliance without him there also makes me feel stronger. Even for such a small trip, it was a good experience for personal growth. Incidentally, it must also be good for physical growth - because my shoulders and arms are tired today after doing so much lifting and transporting of my bags.

I don't know how many family members or friends read this blog - but I'll probably update occasionally to give everyone important information at the same time.

Hope you are well.

Best,
steph