Looking Back

As I'm preparing to head back to the United States, I'm getting very nostalgic about the time I've spent traveling. There are, of course, a few things that I missed out on doing during this time.

- I didn't get to climb Mt. Fuji (I didn't even end up going to see it)
- Believe it or not, I haven't gone to the beach in Australia
- I missed seeing a home birth
- I still don't really have a grasp of the metric system

I have, however, gotten to do a lot of wonderful and unexpected things.

- I learned how to use a squat toilet
- I learned what it is like to be unable to read, or to speak to the people around me
- I learned how differently Japanese and American women walk
- I (accidentally) learned how to break into the Japanese subway system
- I learned what it feels like to be bigger and fatter than everyone around me
- I learned how much I didn't (and don't) know about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- I had the pleasure of spending a night in a traditional Japanese Inn
- I learned not to eat onigiri in Australia, even though it was my favorite food in Japan
- I learned how to drive on the left side of the road
- I saw a dust storm in the outback
- I learned to let the flies crawl all over me instead of constantly brushing them away
- I ate kangaroo meat
- I learned a whole lot about caring for a two-year-old who simultanously loves and is jealous of her newborn sister
- I had possibly the worst stomach flu of my life, which was brought to the house after Russell spent a week working at the Bondi Sewage Plant and the whole family came down with "the poo flu"
- I saw my first professional basketball game, my first motorcycle race, and my first netball gala day
- I saw a nest of baby birds prior to their consumption by a neighborhood snake

- I can now identify Australian money at a glance, rather than taking each bill and coin out of my wallet for close inspection
- I discovered that the "existential crisis" I've been feeling is remarkably universal, at least among people I met traveling (but maybe traveling attracts people who are feeling that way)
- I learned how fast 64 days can pass.

Hmmm. Not bad. An interesting way to look at life.

I am looking forward to seeing my friends back in Minnesota.
I am looking forward to directing the show.
And I am looking forward to my future travels.