August is so far away. It'll be eight months before I can have a chicken biscuit from Bojangles, or grits, or a disgustingly greasy double cheeseburger. Eight months away from open highways and the local classic rock station. Eight months until I'm greeted with a smile and a hey y'all at every register I walk up to. Eight months until I see the other side of 70 degrees.
I know that's all North Carolina centric, but I think the familiarity of home is what I'm going to miss. That seems obvious, I know. Other than your friends and family, you miss the things that you're accustomed to. You miss knowing where everything is and how the food is going to taste and how the people are going to sound. You miss your favorite soda or beer or snack. You miss your normal.
And now, I'm staring down months of being the outsider again. Months of sounding different from the norm, of using the wrong words for things, of making witty references that don't land because we don't exactly have the same shared cultural experience. And that's with being in a country whose language is basically the same as mine and whose people are generally inclined to like people like me-
Hang on, I have to go deal with an airplane.
***
Okay, nobody panic- my plane was struck by lightning but I wasn't on it at the time and now I'm rebooked on a better flight than I had before and am thankful that I'm not one of the people I see sprinting across the airport as I sit with my Bojangles on a rocking chair under a tree in the Charlotte airport. Everything works out okay. Usually.
If you didn't get to see my face while I was in America, I'm sorry, but never worry! I made a video (which serves the dual purpose of introducing the new Vlogyries team for 2016) and I've put it below. Here's to new flights and new years!
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