“do you miss it?”

Someone asked me the above question referring to the SF Bay Area on Tuesday night at the pub quiz, and I must say I was a little taken aback. I don’t really know why, but I had to think about it and my first instinct was not to reply yes…. amazing/shocking leap in the personal development of Emily in Germany! The last couple of weeks have been good. I have not been counting the days ‘til I come home (yes the Bay Area will always be home), I have been going out with friends, meeting new people, and still getting to know the older ones more, the weeks aren’t seeming to drag on as much as they did in the beginning… I went through an adjustment period when I got back from my Christmas trip to the US and it took a good three weeks to sort of fall back into things, but now that I have, I really couldn’t imagine myself anywhere but here right now. I still have trips to look forward to, people to get to know, holidays to celebrate, and 6 more months to postpone my real life :-) But, really, I don’t know that I could have appreciated this as much had I not been asked that seemingly simple question… but it’s not really. Yes I do miss my family and friends, and I still get nostalgic thinking about home, I know I will eventually go back, but the pressing emotional strain in longing for my former life has somewhat dissipated through my time here. I am glad that I had such an extensive time to be back here after Christmas. I think it will do me some good, to be away and hopefully gain some perspective on the things that are truly important to me.