We’re Back!

Yes, it's true. We are back in our home in the U.S. enjoying all of the comforts of home. I wanted to drop you all a short line to say how much I appreciated all of you reading my blog and also to mention a few late-breaking reflections regarding our experiences.

Reflection #1
It’s really nice to be back. Unlimited fresh water. A strong supply of hot water. Showers. Highways, stop signs, stoplights. A plethora of restaurants. Grocery stores with gazillions of items. A hundred (or more) kinds of cheese… Ice cream. Literally hundreds of other observations of the differences between here and there. For the first week we were back all I could say was “this is very different world that we live in.”

Reflection #2
We really have too much stuff. I cannot believe how much stuff we have. There are moments when I am completely embarrassed by how much we have. Not that I have someone to be embarrassed to... but embarrassed as in mortified that we have so many things that we do not need.

Neither one of us are employed, at present, so we do have some time where we will be able to work on de-cluttering our lives… I am looking forward to it.

Reflection #3
They say there's this thing called "reverse culture shock" when you go somewhere foreign, spend a long time there, and then come back to your "home culture." Yes, I experienced this. No, it has not been too severe.

During our first few minutes back on American "soil" I found my way to a bookstore in the airport in Chicago (O'Hare, that is). I was in awe of the number of books available. I hadn't seen a selection of books like that since leaving. Then I picked up a small pocket sized journal. Lined paper, $7. Not including tax. And all I could do was stare at it and think 1200 Naira. Maybe a week’s wage for some. A week’s wage for this trifle. Not that we didn’t spend our share of money on seemingly frivolous things while we were there (Coke, Snickers, Shortbread).

And while I have continued to spend more than my share on seemingly frivolous things, I have not done so with anywhere near the reckless abandon of my former self.

Before we got home we decided we would go out to eat whenever we wanted for the first two weeks we were back, as a kind of celebration, before starting on a much stricter watch-what-we-spend kind of regimen. We didn’t go out to eat every meal. Or every day for that matter. Yesterday was our last day. I was craving cheesecake so I said let’s get Buca curbside-to-go. Stephanie had wanted me to go out solo for sushi as I had been craving it and hadn’t had it since being home. I thought… $40 for dinner? For just me? I can’t do it. For $40 we can get an order of pasta, some dessert, and have some money left over. Six thousand Naira. More than a month’s wage for some. One meal for us. Shameful.