Saying goodbye to my sister, Laura, a short 48 hours after she picked me up from the airport was depressing.

She will spend a semester in Fiji, studying marine biology, but I probably won’t see her until after my year in France, which means we will have spent two days together during the past two years.

Laura and I have grown close, as we’ve been apart.

Enemies for 17 years, we began to appreciate one another after I left home to attend Ohio University, 2.5 hours south of our hometown, Mt. Vernon. I rarely came home and the distance made us grow a fondness for one another that could easily be upset by spending too much time together again during holidays or summer vacations. Fortunately for the health of our relationship I was eager to set out and explore and spent few holidays in Ohio, and I then embarked on my year of travel abroad immediately after graduating. During the past four years Laura’s and my time has rarely overlapped.

Two days out of two years is a bit extreme, even for two girls who tortured one another, by stealing the bigger bedroom, taking the biggest piece of cake and telling mom that the other called her ‘stupid’. She vowed to hate me forever, and I promised that when I grew up I would never speak to her again. Now we still rarely talk, but I recognize her worth and she respects me. We convey a lot of love and understanding through the few words, and short amount of time, we share.

No one will ever grow up under the same circumstances I did and she is the only witness to my entire life (minus the first 16 months before she was born).

I guess our bond is bigger than the oceans and continents that keep us apart (cheesy, but true).

She will do great things abroad and I’m happy to support her, just as I know she is proud of the things I’ve done with my life.

Good luck in Fiji sis!

Home, Ohio

A month ago I decided to cease writing for my blog because I thought I wouldn’t have anything interesting to share until I landed in France and started my job as an au pair in Marseille. I’ve changed my mind. There are funny, disappointing, frustrating and exciting things happening daily -- even in my sleepy hometown in the state of Ohio – and you may be entertained by them.

After landing on the Columbus International runway on July 8, my life has transitioned seamlessly back into household chores, parental disagreements and rendezvous to Columbus, mainly around OSU's campus where a half dozen of my friends now have apartments and rental homes. These days I make more trips to the Short North and fraternize with "fellow professionals" who, like me, are graduated from college, entering the world of adulthood and upgrading from cheap, unpalatable beers and wines that taste like vinegar to martinis. We socialize in bars wearing skirts and slacks instead of slumming it in a frat houses wearing heels and flip flops that stick to the floor. Yes, my standards are improving. I’m surrounded by people in transitional phases of their lives and my moving and shaking around the world doesn’t seem to differentiate me from this crowd.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that just a few weeks ago I was on the other side of the world- fodder I fling shamelessly at my parents whenever they forget what if feels like to miss me. (Just joking, we actually get along well.) But really a month ago I was squatting over toilets that made the most basic plumbing seem luxurious and eating soup with whole chicken feet floating among rice noodles.

The first few days back in Mount Vernon, OH, were busy preparing my sister for her semester abroad in Fiji. Because of jet-lag I didn’t sleep for almost 48 straight hours. I stayed up past midnight helping her pack for her July 11 flight and attending last minute farewell parties her friends hosted, while my internal clock that was still set to Indonesian time woke me by 3 a.m. I was up doing yoga, cleaning the kitchen, reading, and baking chocolate, walnut biscotti before the sun came up.

Adrenaline allowed me to keep pace with everyone around me and enthusiastically recount tales from the road to family and friends, but I knew a crash would be inevitable because when I’m tired I don’t cope well with emotions, especially anything that is slightly frustrating.

Three days after my arrival the waves of exhaustion were hitting me like a psunami and I felt everyone wanted more of me than I had to give. I collapsed in tears in the shower, yearning for the freedom and seclusion of being alone on the road, where no one asked me to come visit or call or wake or sleep at hours that suited them.

The most frustrating thing was few made an effort to accommodate my needs, everyone was eager to have me pay them a visit without considering all the other people who were making the same request. I was driving between aunts and uncles, mom and dad, grandparents and friends on a tank that was close to empty.

I began being more assertive, setting boundaries and requesting people meet me half-way. My body adjusted to the time difference and soon I was sleeping through the night- according to the Eastern Standard Time zone.

Now that I feel balanced again, it has been wonderful to reconnect with so many loved one and sleep in a bed that isn’t infested with bugs. I’m making up for every cold shower I took over the past six months by taking daily hot baths, and I’ve enjoyed driving on the right side of the road again.

I change my clothes a few times a day relishing in the variety of a wardrobe -- I refuse to wear the handful of items I wore, hand-washed, and maintained for nearly a year, I’m sure I’ll warm up to them again someday.

My mom has take me to eat ice cream (dairy isn’t popular in Asia), and I haven’t eaten a single grain of rice or chili.

The transition back to Ohio was mostly smooth, and not at all effortless, but I’m happy to be home.

Temporary Pause on Blog Activity

At 11 p.m. on July 8 after four long days on buses, trains and planes I walked off an American Airlines jet and into the arms of my sister, Laura. She came running at me down the vacant terminal corridor, both of us laughed and cried during a long embrace. It was eleven months since I boarded a plane taking me away from the same airport in Columbus, Ohio, and it felt good to be back.

For about one month I will be home enjoying time with my family and friends and working on getting my French visa, so I won't be updating me blog. I will resume writing in the beginning of September when I commence my job as an au pair in Marseille, France.

Please return to hear about my European adventures and the challenges of living, learning and working with the French.