HOME

HOME.

It’s a beautiful word.

You know the saying, “Home is where the heart is”?

Well, I find myself struggling with that.

My heart is in China, and yet, I am home. I’ve been home for a little over a day now. Haven’t I? Or was I home for those two weeks that I was in China? Hmm… it’s puzzling.

But for now, I have been home in TN for a full day. And it does feel good, even though I do miss China dearly.

It’s the little things that makes life worth with, and so much easier. For instance…

Not feeling like you’re going to die everytime you hop in the car. Or taking a shower in your bathroom. Or brushing your teeth from the tap. Or texting your best friend whenever you want. Or being able to talk to your parents. Watching movies in a comfortable bed. Seeing trees! Going to church. Understanding what everyone is saying in a large crowd. Not feeling like the odd one out. Or being able to hear your sisters giggle and laugh until they can’t breathe anymore.

Yes, after 36 hours of traveling, I’m grateful to be in Tennessee. I’m grateful to be home. I’m grateful to be with my family.

I got home around 10 am yesterday, and wasn’t tired. But I took a shower and sat down to catch up on my tv shows, and soon discovered that I was. I slept all afternoon until about 8pm. I got up, and was sad. I had a head ache, and was feeling a bit miserable. But also feeling almost depressed. Tears filled my eyes as I realized my trip was really over. I wasn’t in China. I wouldn’t wake up to horn honking, and bitty baby faces. I thought to myself, “What would I be doing? This summer will be so boring.” I mean, it’ll be busy… but nothing seemed important at that moment. How could anything be more important than those precious children waiting in an orphanage across the world? I felt useless, because I was not there. Suddenly the rest of my summer seemed pointless. It as weird.

After my little emotional episode, I was able to skype with our foreign exchange student (who is from Shanghai)! She is very sweet, and I am excited to have her living with us. And then I watched a movie with my momma and fell fast asleep. For about 7 hours. My mission for today was to stay away all day long. So far, I’ve been successful. But I’m so tired right now. I could die. BLECK.

Let the record show, that I hate jet lag. It’s the only down side to going to China. :/

Oh well, hopefully I’ll beat it soon.

But yes, my team and I have all made it back safely to our homes. We are all sad to have left China, and left one another. I miss my team. No matter how different we may be… we all had a special bond. We all were at the same orphanage, had the same experience, we are all Team Chenzhou 2011. They were all great people, and I’m sad to leave them. But we are home, we are with family and friends. My team will forever have a special place in my heart, and I can’t wait until our paths cross again.

Okay, I need to stop now. I’ve been droning on and on now, and I’m really sorry. I’m tired, and don’t know when to stop. Haha.

But just so you know, I’ve made it home, safe and sound. :)