Thursday, August 11, 2011

Home and Away

I've been home from my amazing trip around the world for about three months or so now. During the course of my travels I had been asked by various people I've met and who knew about my travel blog if I was planning on writing about the inevitable transition from amazing excursions to iconic landmarks, endless flights and just plain travelling to many different places to all of a sudden boom; everything stops and you're sitting at home again. Of course I knew I would write about it but I hadn't gotten around to it - until now.
So, how have I handled the transition? The answer to that was at first it was difficult - rewind - VERY difficult. God I was so happy to be home again but what made it so tough was how long it took me just to get my bearings back, to establish a routine again. I was still extremely jet lagged after the first two weeks at home and just found it weird waking up in my own bed even though I would dream about it when I was travelling. I was going to bed and waking up at the oddest hours, sometimes waking with a start wondering where the hell I was - forgetting I was actually at home. I was also sleeping a lot longer than normal. When I did wake up I was thinking ok where am I off to today and then it would hit me - oh yeah, I'm not on a schedule anymore! I've had various doctor's appointments and when I got the results back from the many, many blood tests I had to take my Doctor was like "ok Steve, it looks like you actually need a vacation from your vacation" which made me laugh and worried me a bit. Apparently my body was completely stressed out!

I also didn't see anyone other than my immediate family for the longest time mostly because I was still adjusting to being home. When I finally did meet up I didn't/couldn't get into long conversations about the trip – sort of cut myself off there. Don't get me wrong, I WANTED to talk about it but it's a question of reading your audience: are they genuinely interested or just being polite lol – so I'd give condensed versions of stuff that happened.

What I really found concerning was my memory. I really am happy/relieved I started the blog because I was forgetting things. I guess it was because I really wasn't talking about it much. Honestly who could I talk too about this? I visited places that no one else I knew had been so they really couldn't share in it no matter how you discussed it. When I say this it is by no means an accusation or dig at anyone who couldn't go to Japan or Iceland or wherever, but it's a bit disconcerting when you want to just babble about the people you've met or the food you've eaten only to be met with blank stares or just plain boredom. You can slice and dice the story or just get to the point by saying yeah it was cool but ultimately I was doing myself and the people who are asking a big disservice by not being honest.

I'm reading a great biography by, wait for it; Rob Lowe! Rob freaking Lowe. I know right, can you believe I'm not only reading but also quoting Rob Lowe's bio? Anyway, it is an awesome read – very, very good and actually highly recommended. In his book, he mentioned that once an Actor finishes a project it's very difficult to go back to 'real life'. How do you explain the emotional highs of being 'ON' all the time to someone who wasn't there with you? The same could be said for travel on a worldwide scale. It is always 'ON'. You are forever on alert; absorbing and learning, seeing/experiencing new things all the time. It is incredible, emotional, tough, amazing, draining all at once and if someone hasn't seen it themselves, they won't quite get what you're on about which can turn what is ultimately an unbelievable experience into something quite lonely. Mind you, the same could be said for a lot of things in life right? All I can say is thank God I kept the blog because it's great to go online, check it out every once and a while, read (and correct spelling or grammar mistakes), smile and remember that yes I really did see that or do that. This trip was the best thing I've ever done in my life and I'm so glad I had the chance to do it and even better, kept (what I think) is a pretty good record of it!

So what's the future plans for a hungry man now that he's somewhat settled at home again? Good question (he asks himself). Now I'm mostly asking myself "what do I do now? What's next?" It's not a comforting feeling not knowing what direction you'd like to head in after accomplishing something you've always wanted to do, to find new goals, new reasons to push forward but thankfully I do have some time to get those thoughts in order.
The biggest question I have yet to answer is whether this trip has changed me or if am the same person I was before I left. Time will tell right?



Up next: California!