Home

Here I am! Back in the USA after one year away and one really long day of traveling home.

I arrived at O'Hare at about 1 pm on Wednesday afternoon. I'd come in on a plane carrying over 400 people, so I had to wait quite some time for my bags to come around on the carousel. But immigration and customs was a breeze. I barely had to stop walking, and the only question they asked me was, "Did you have a nice time?" to which I smiled and replied that of course I had.

And with that smile masking the weariness in my eyes, I followed the arrows to the exit, where my mother, so beautifully familiar, was waiting for me with open arms. I ran into those arms and thought I could just stay there forever.

But there was a burger to be eaten, wasn't there? And I assure you that it did.

It is so good to be home. But even as I sit in my familiar living room, it's difficult to believe that I'm actually here. I don't think it's quite hit me that I've left India and arrived in the USA. I know I have, though, because I've eaten beef, drunk water out of the tap, and even shopped at Wal-Mart - things I certainly didn't do while I was in India.

I imagine that, in time, it will hit me hard enough to bring me pain. But at the moment, I only feel the goodness of being back in familiar. And that is, perhaps, the best part of the news. Even after being away from it for a year, my home feels just like that - home.