A Final Word: Be That Person

Coiled garden hoses posing as snakes:

I write to you from the place it all started from-- my very own home computer room in Waban, MA. Just as I started off this blog some 15 months ago, I will now draw it to its close. Indeed, here you have my final entry of what has been a meaningful and necessary outlet for me over this incredible journey.

I've returned. Yes I'm back home in Boston-- back to a place where I feel comfortable, not foreign, back to a place where I can unpack my belongings (albeit temporarily) and get some of that much desired R&R. The last 2.5 months since touch-down in the U.S. have been an amazing whirlwind of weddings, street-strutting in NYC and San Francisco, camping out under gorgeous redwoods in Northern California, carting a group of American teenagers around Ecuador, hanging-ten in Darwin's famed Galapagos, and finally returning back here, to my original home!

I'll be in Boston and its environs for a month, more or less-- with fun friend-visiting trips in between it all in an effort to catch up on so much that's occurred in a year of Laura-absence-- and then it's westward ho! to the land of hippies still attempting to legalize pot, vegan restaurants, Ghiradelli chocolate, and sea lions: San Francisco.

Below you will find 3 items of note: 1) Musings on reverse culture shock, 2) Lessons learned by Lady Laura, and 3) A final note to daydreamers everywhere. Enjoy any or all...

#1: Musings on Reverse Culture Shock (or RCS)

As I sink my feet slowly back into Americana, I come to many realizations, which can only, logically, be conveyed through every one's brave and concise pal: the bullet point. So here you go, the shocking, the confusing, the wonderful:

• Dogs. They don't attack me here-- fabulous! They don't stop, drop, and hump... and then get stuck together in their humping-- stupendous!
• Chairs. They're here, they're there, they're everywhere. You just can't get around them. I must say, I find myself desperately wanting to a) sit on the ground when inappropriate, or b) remove my shoes in public places so that I can curl up my legs cross-legged style in most improperly.
• Diversity: America is made of so many different people, languages, customs. It's gorgeous.
• No props where the props are due. Where's our respect for the elderly? What's going on with this fear of them and old age? We think they're bad drivers, that they're crazy, that they smell. Botox is all the rage. What about the beauty and wisdom in accruing those years? America has some things to learn from Asia in this respect.
• Children first. We stand up for children, their rights and their importance in society. We hear their voices and take them into account. Awesome.
• MSG alert: I need not request my food sans MSG directly after ordering. Very nice.
• Flat electronics: What's going on with you people?! I thought BIGGER was better! Not flatter! It seems the evil razor bunny just spawned more and more flat, shiny babies until they populated every one's pocket, purse, and fanny pack-- including my own (purse that is. I may consider myself an adult, but I'm nowhere near mature enough to dawn the f-p).
• Nostril pleasures: The streets of America smell good (except for those few crusty corners of NYC, and the "urine block" just off of Van Ness in SF)
• Plastic coated foodstuffs. How can we disguise the four-legged, mooing, uddered cow so that even a fool won't know the difference? Place it on a styrofoam tray and wrap it in plastic, baby. It's amazing how we know so little about what we put in our mouths.
• Cleanliness. Americans ever-so-incessant put-trash-in-its-place PSA has paid off, and this country is pristine like no other.

#2: Cultural learnings from Thailand/ Burma to make benefit glorious nation of Lauraland

Here's what I have learned:

• Respect your elders. There is so much wisdom and beauty accrued through their years.
• Ride a bike. It's fun, cheap, and good exercise. And you see more things.
• Use natural light. It feels better, is cheaper, benefits the environment.
• Everyone's needs are valid. Even if you grow up in a place of moderate comfort, this does not disqualify your needs. Sure, you could save those $100 bucks on a new pair of sneakers to give to a foundation. But if you need the sneakers, buy the damn sneakers! Don't go crazy with the excess, and don't forget about the rest of the world and generosity, of course, but keep in mind that it's okay to make yourself happy.
• Find out what you want to do, and go do that. So what if you want to be a human rights activist, a financial consultant, a real estate broker, or a pest-controller? Doing one of these things over another will not make you a holier or less scrupulous individual. Time and time again my students told me to go off and do whatever the hell I wanted in my life-- they would do the same if they had their freedom.

#3: A final word.

Lastly I want to say this: many people over this past year wrote emails, declared to me over the phone, or said to me upon returning that they wished they could do what I did this last year. And now I'm going to tell you a secret: you absolutely can do this, and indeed your energy, expertise, and general experience is still needed on the Thai-Burma border and countless other places just like it.

There is an immeasurable benefit to the culture and knowledge exchange that happens when one person moves outside their culture and devotes themselves to another, sharing of themselves and absorbing just as much.

Be that person.

So. There you have just a taste of the rumblings and ramblings in LK's brain. Overall, being back on American soil has been incredible, welcoming, beautiful and comfortable. I feel, for the first time in a long while, that I am not a foreigner. This is truly divine.

The next months will bring a move out to the charismatic San Francisco, a soul-crushing job search (see also: Laura's soul-- stomp stomp stomp), and an adventure-filled apartment search.

Wish me luck in my next endeavor. I wish you luck to you in yours...

Stripes, bright stars, and Barry Bonds-

Laura!