funny how things change so quickly

I just did this thing on facebook that picked out my top 10 statuses for 2010 and I thought this was the perfect place to post it. You may notice a pattern when looking at it.

Looking back on this list of statuses (which I think are based on the number of 'likes'), the theme is clear: travel. That's what my life has been about these past 12 months. Oh, and if you're wondering about that last status that got cut off, I'm pretty sure it was something about the evil Hummer truck I had to drive upon arriving in the US after 24+ hours of no sleep (and not driving for an entire year). What a fun day that was.

Now that I reread these, especially the ones about the US, I just remember how utterly thrilled I was to be coming home from China. I can still remember the feeling of elation when I stepped off that first plane in LA, the swelling in my chest like a giant balloon of giddiness to be somewhere I belonged. God, it was such a relief. I won't say that I didn't enjoy China, because I did, but coming home was a much needed breath of fresh air. Granted, the reverse culture shock was... surreal to say the least. For a week afterward, I walked around thinking, "Why are there so many foreigners here? Oh wait, no, those are just normal people." It persisted past a week, but the first one was the worst. I walked into a grocery store, walked around the whole thing and walked right back out. I had no idea what to do or how to function in it. It was crazy. I never posted anything about it here, but it totally happened.

I could go on about the reverse culture shock because it's actually quite interesting, at least to me. I remember sitting in the airport in LA waiting for the next plane to Phoenix and realizing that everyone around me spoke English and that if I wanted, I could talk to any of them. I didn't know what to do with myself. It was a weird feeling. I also realized that I couldn't just say what I was thinking without consequence. I'd spent the past 11 months doing it in China and I literally had to stop myself from making off-handed comments about things I saw.

Anyway, the point is that my China experience was about a million times different than my France experience has been, and it's only been three months here so far, but I know that come April, I won't be clawing my eyes out to get back home. I'm not saying China was bad because I learned and did a hell of a lot of things I never thought I would or even dreamt of doing, it's just that it's so much harder than Europe is and you have to be so much stronger to go there. I'm sort of glad I went there first, though. It's made France a breeze, and all those people complaining on the forums ought to shut up and get a clue because it could be a million times worse.

It's Christmas Eve Eve and I should probably go to bed but I haven't been sleeping lately, so I'll stay up a little longer and contemplate how much easier France is. Happy holidays, all.