America is Pretty Great.

As many of you know, I spent the past month in America visiting with friends and family and enjoying the comforts of life in a developed country. It was an incredible month, and a much-needed break from life here in Cameroon. I’ve been thinking about how to best condense my time in America to one manageable blog post; it was a month unlike any I’ve ever experienced and certainly overwhelming at points.

            The best way I’ve come up with at this point is to think about my time back home is through the lens of gratitude. On a larger level, I’m incredibly grateful that I was able to take a month-long vacation from my responsibilities as a Peace Corps Volunteer and travel back to America to enjoy the comforts of home. I’m grateful both that I get to call America home and that I’m getting the chance to live in a place that’s nearly as far away as it gets, both geographically and functionally. But I want to talk more about the smaller parts of my trip back home and how grateful I am for all of them.  

The Carleton Arb: still one of my favorite places in the world.

            I was worried at first that a month back home would be too long-there was potential both to grow bored of the amount of unoccupied time or become too comfortable and refuse to return. Luckily, neither of those happened. I broke up my time stateside with a trip out to Minnesota for the wedding of two friends. The wedding was originally the impetus for the trip-I couldn’t bear the idea of missing out on the reunion of so many people that I care about and an opportunity to return to a place with countless wonderful memories. In practice, the trip was everything I needed it to be. Most importantly, I got to spend a couple of quality days just hanging out and catching up with some of my favorite people in the world. A case of scabies (not me!) only added to the excitement, and an attempt at seeing the Northern Lights provided a perfect excuse for a late-night venture into the Arb. I’m incredibly grateful that my friends found the time and resources to make their own trips happen, and that we were able to share some time together.

Some of my favorites celebrating our friends' wedding

            But as great as my time in Minnesota was, it was only a small part of my time back home. My parents and I (and our dog Zoe!) started off my time in America with a few days at a cabin in Vermont, and it was pretty ideal. The leaves were beginning to change but it was still warm enough for swimming. We made a detour to my favorite bookstore and stopped at my favorite cidery for a tasting. In short, my parents indulged all of my America cravings to the best of their abilities. And being reunited with my favorite pup certainly didn’t hurt the situation.

            The rest of my time back home pretty much followed this pattern. I got to see many of my favorite people, do many of my favorite things, and eat most of my favorite foods. Food is something that Peace Corps Volunteers love to talk about; both in the context of what we’re able to get here and what we miss from life back home. I got all of my favorites, from bagels and lox to Chipotle, bison burgers to raspberries. My mom even brought my favorite Chinese food to the airport when she and my dad came to meet me. This is a woman who has gone on record as saying “food is love”.

Jake struggles with his apple picking
 related obligations

            So thanks for a great month, America. Thanks for reminding me that life back home goes on while I’m over here. Thanks for showing off your finest fall colors during the short time I was able to enjoy it. Thanks for reminding me that public transport can be pleasant, and that I don’t always have to be home before dark. Thanks for bringing so many important people back into my life, and for giving me enough distance from Cameroon to appreciate what I’ve learned here. As for my return to Cameroon and my next year of service, game on.