Returning Tabinow

Whoops – I forgot about that whole “be sure to keep in touch” thing during my first month back in Yap.  In reality, I did not forget – I truly just did not have that much time to be able to sit down and write blog posts, or facebook chat, or Skype, or even my favorite – send out some hand-written letters.  So – now that summer session has ended and I have 3 ½ weeks before school starts up on August 21 – I will attempt to fill in that blank gap of time that I may have seemed to have fallen off of the earth.

            My month home was absolutely exhausting, in the wonderful sort of way.  My only major responsibility was hanging out with people, eating, drinking, and telling Yap tales of adventure and misadventure – yet, I was overwhelmed by the fast pace of life and the unbelievable amount of over stimulation.  Did you know that in the United States there is this thing called Netflix that can just pull up almost ANY movie or television show in the world and you can watch it INSTANTLY?  But seriously – I was only a year removed from the states and my innocent Yapese mind was being shattered.

            I appreciated most just being able to sit and talk with friends and family.  When asked what I missed most about being home, I honestly couldn’t think of anything really other than the people.  Sure – a hot shower every day felt fantastic.  Yes – the unnatural amount of steak I consumed did help me to shoot back up to a semi-normal weight.  Of course – the options of draft beer, and really just any beer in general made my mouth water.  But, the only thing that I realized I could truly not live without was all of the incredible people in my life.

            Even though I unfortunately did not get to see everyone I truly wanted to see, or get to spend nearly as much time with some of the people who matter most to me – I still was able to be inundated with love and friendship and hugs and laughter.  From talks with Mom-mom about the “good old days” before technology (of course, this does not include Wheel of Fortune, which was essentially a nightly ritual for us – we would DOMINATE if we ever get on that show), to my unbelievable visit to Scranton where I got lost for hours catching up with amazing role models, to the shores of Ol’ Stillwater where I got to relive a bit of the glory days at Camp Minsi – it was all a boy living on the other side of the world for two years could ask for. 

            Kammagar gad – I would not be the man I am today without all of the friendship, support, and love.

**Prepare for some rapid fire blog updates to make up for my total lack of story-time this past month due to the awesomely intense amount of work for Summer School**