I write this post from Nashville. More specifically, from a couch at a friend James’ house.
For me and hundreds of my fellow program participants, the return from Spain is complete, with the full spectrum of emotions to match. A sensitive soul named Emily Dickinson once wrote:
I years had been from home,
And now, before the door,
I dared not open, lest a face
I never saw beforeStare vacant into mine
And ask my business there.
My business,–just a life I left,
Was such still dwelling there?
I suspect everyone who leaves home for an extended period of time — those like first-year college students, expats, inmates and members of the armed forces — experience this uncertainty as they consider their return. They wonder about the changes they’ve undergone in the new environment and how absence has altered their relationships at home.
At the end of the poem Dickinson flees the door, scared to confront the stranger she fears is behind it. For me, it’s just the opposite. The arrival has been so highly anticipated — and the welcome so warm — the door practically threw itself open.
I’ve seen great old friends and even made new ones. I’ve celebrated with my aunt and cousins and visited home to see my parents and sister (fresh off her own adventure in Ireland). I’m grateful to have such a community of loved ones.
What else am I grateful for? That my hunt for work has ended already. This week I accepted a marketing position with an excellent healthcare company in Cool Springs — it’s a great group of folks working towards a meaningful mission in an important industry right here in the city I love. I start in two weeks, and I can’t wait.
Of course, I’m also thankful for the free time. At this moment I’m watching Uruguay and South Korea match up in the first game of the World Cup knockout round. Later today, the U.S. team plays Ghana.
Today’s match is reflective of the trip I took. Spain loves soccer. We watched it all the time. Furthermore, I actually met two girls from Uruguay and two others from Korea when my friend Justin and I were in Paris. The former were impressed by how many sites we had seen in two short days. The latter laughed at all of the things we’d missed.
On the other hand, this moment is so indicative of my return. I stayed in this very house for several weeks last summer while preparing for my departure. And just as now, my personal belongings were spread out between my upstairs room, my aunt’s house, a storage unit and many other locations. At least it’s all in the same city.
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So that’s how the journey ends. I hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as I enjoyed writing about it. Thank you so much for all of your emails and even letters while I was gone. I really enjoyed them.
Finally, if you or anyone you know is considering a similar adventure, please send them my way (and tell them to keep an eye on this website).
