Tuesday, January 4, 2011

My new addition

Purdy aint she?

I think I ate the bad mushrooms

That's the only rational explanation I have for what I've just gone through. The most amazing year of my life. The most amazing things my eyes have ever seen. The most amazing people. All this year, and completely all unbelievable.

As soon as the wheels touched US soil the disbelief set in. Had I truly traveled around the world for an entire year? Was that me trampsing through cow shit in the middle of Delhi? Or was it all a dream? A hallucination? Had I really done it?

Everything at home looks and feels the same. It's hard to wrap my mind around.

This is my last trip blog, the one about coming home. I know or at least thought this one would be a long essay about the things I learned on my year abroad and the person I have become, but all of that is too cloudy right now. Too hard to make sense of. I think I'll notice the changes piece by piece, little by little each day. As for the essay, I guess I just don't have the words.

what I will do is thank everyone who made this year possible.

First off Sabrina. Without you I would have never made it out of Los Angeles. You were the absolute perfect person to travel with, my best friend and the woman I love. Everyday, even the days I awoke to you peeing in the sink above my head, were the best days of my life. You not only showed me that I can truly love another person you also taught me how to love my life. You're amazing.

Thanks to all the people I met along the way. Even if I never see you again you have changed my life forever. You've opened my eyes to the world and reignited my imagination. Dave, Nelly, Cameron, Mikey, Meredith, Geoffrey, Kirstie and Hannah there's not a chance in this world we dont see each other again.

Thanks to the kindness of strangers. Especially Hillary, Hugh, Alexandra, John, and Anne. You made us feel like family when we were thousands of miles away from our own.

Thank you to Sabrina's Egyptian family. You welcomed us to Egypt with open arms and truly made our trip one we will always remember.

Thanks to all the folks at Secret Weapon for making the trip possible in the first place. Dick, Leah, Cam, Pat, and of course Jack (sorry about that whole bird chewing your face thing.)

Thanks to my family for missing me while I was gone. It made me feel purdy special.

Lastly thanks to God. (this is not my Emmy acceptance speech), but instead something that means alot to me. I asked God to protect us during our trip, to keep my heart burning with curiosity for the world, to keep my eyes open to all it's wonder. He never let me down for a second. I felt his presence in every step I took.

There's no way I can express what this year was like, I can only know for certain that this is the path I want to continue to walk down. There's so much of the world left to see. I plan on seeing as much as I can.

So I'll keep writing about it and hopefully you'll keep reading.