Going Home

It is time to dust the sand off my feet. It is time to let go of the “beach resort” attire and start dressing a bit more hip- get-with-the-trends-but- put-in-your-own- personal twist. Maybe I’ll finally get a pair of Manolos and wear them with my favorite Gap jeans and Hiroshima leather messenger bag. Perhaps I’ll buy a few more sunglasses because in New York City more people wear them than the locals here in sunny and hot year-round Singapore. It’s time to pack up again for a more permanent home this time.
That’s right people. We are MOVING back to New York City this summer.I can end the blog post right here because I really don’t know what to say.
Ha! You know that is not happening!
Everyone expects me to be happy and I really am. I’m relieved that the time is now and not some far off date that I cannot foresee. We have been living in Asia for 3 years and have answered a hundred times “I’m not really sure” to the question, “How long will you be in Japan/Singapore/Asia?” I feel like I can finally plan and live our life in a non-temporary fashion and dig out my beloved books and photographs that currently sit in some massive storage facility in Queens. I can stop planning 13 to 22 hour flights for weddings, summers and Christmas in Chicago.
I can now have a real hot dog, go to a Yankee game (and Cubs games!!! I can hear all of Chicago gasping) watch television on real time (watch television period) and be close to all my family and old, life-long friends. Our first runs will be to Danny’s Pizza in Queens, Blondie’s on the Upper West Side for real buffalo wings, Laila in Staten Island and Fela and Reza in Brooklyn. Diego will run in a real park-Central Park and visit museums with his new friends. I can take long strolls with my hubbie in SoHo and take our Chicago guests to see the Statue of Liberty. I will be able to understand the language again. I will be able to feel like I belong again (that’s another story-more on that later). But it is also time to reassess and figure out what I will do after the unpacking is done and the transition is over.
I am also sad and I think some friends and family don’t expect this emotion. It’s a feeling I really can’t explain to Jose, you or even myself. Someone recently told Jose that living abroad makes us a bit invisible. We always get to see outward and no one other than the bubble we have created with the people on the same boat can share the view with us. We are pardoned for not blending in with the locals and for always speaking too loud and for not understanding Japanese or Mandarin. We are forgiven for not slurping the noodles fast enough or not ordering the shark-fin soup. We don’t become involved with local politics or read the gossip on the tabloids (we have no idea who the people are)!
Amongst the “expat” world in Asia, many feel not to be living in reality as full-time-live-in-maids are hired, everything imaginable delivered to doorsteps, special events and shops designed for the foreign consumer and travelling the region is a hobby for many!! Living in this bubble keeps you wondering about your loved ones back home (and trying to keep up with them all), makes you less or more patriotic, makes you see the ugly and the pretty of your home country. Makes you see what the rest of the world is thinking and saying. Makes you miss Honey Nut Cheerios, Twinkies and Chex Mix. Makes you realize who your friends are and makes you find your old stomping grounds again.
To say that Asia has given me moments, memories and experiences is an understatement. Asia has given me my son, new passions, new life-long friends, courage, adventure, patience and compassion. It has allowed Jose and I to endure our early years of marriage alone, to be our best friends and confidants, to see Mt. Fuji, the Borneo Elephant, The Sydney Opera House, and feel the energy in Hong Kong, the sun in Thailand and love in Indonesia… together.
I know more, unknown experiences in America are to come. It is a country people plan to visit and dream to live in. We are so, so lucky to go home.
Now, what will I do with my blog?? Stay tuned as I reflect some more in the weeks to come!
Xoxo,
Betty