Back At Home, Still A Foreigner

After spending time promoting Wigs For Kids in Cleveland, I headed to North Carolina to be with my immediate family.

I call myself a Happy Nomad, but even in the U.S. I was a nomad. My parents retired last year and moved down to North Carolina. I was with my mom last year when she picked out their retirement house so I knew what to expect. But I had still never lived there.

The day after I arrived, the moving truck came and the house was full of boxes. We had to go through them and put stuff away and get rid of unnecessary stuff.

But when I go home, I feel like a foreigner in my own country.

I think this is something any traveler experiences. It’s common to have reverse culture shock upon returning to your homeland after being away for a while. What was once familiar becomes strange.

In my case, I’ve been going and coming since 2004 and each time I return I find something strange or hard to understand. This time, after spending so many months in Latin America, I saw things through a Latin American perspective.

Some old habits die hard. Below you can see a picture of me preparing breakfast – cut up papaya and coffee prepared the Central American way.

And I think this is the greatest testament to the transformative role traveling can play in one’s life. Not only does it expose you to different perspectives, scenery, lifestyles, food, cultures, etc. It also allows you to, in some way, apply that same fresh perspective to where you come from.

The only downside is feeling like a foreigner in the place you are supposed to call home.

In my case, I guess I was very nostalgic while at home. How else can you explain eating at Mexican restaurants four times in three weeks?But how can you blame me when you can re-enter this amazing world..