Holidays and thoughts on the concept of time

So it’s December, and everyone is making plans to go somewhere. Being away from home this time of year is always very hard – its cheesy, but I love that holiday feeling in the snowy city, with my friends and family, lights in the trees and more holiday parties than you can attend. I’ve spent a few Christmas’ away – one in Spain my first year of uni, and then one in Tunisia with mom and this one I will spend in Hanoi, Vietnam.

I’m heading out with my Banda roommate Cat, and we will meet up with our friend Sarah, who recently relocated to Bangkok but we met her here. I’m excited to get out and see ASIA. Banda Aceh and my brief days in Jakarta are my only experience of Asian culture, and people tell me that Aceh is very, very different from the rest of the continent. I’m sure it is and eager for it! After Hanoi, we will go back to Thailand with Sarah and see her life there. I know I will love Bangkok, I’ve just got this feeling about it! We are also meeting up with some other friends for New Year’s Eve so, although I’m sad to not be in the snow with my family, I’ve definitely got something to look forward too!

Also, I’m broaching my 5 months in Aceh anniversary and 7 months abroad anniversary. Looking back (because this is what we do at this time of year, even if you’re sitting under a palm tree on your laptop), I’ve been away from my family and friends in Chicago for about 1 1/2 years now, including Kripalu, but luckily with two 1 month long visits in to keep me grounded. The thing is, I feel like I just left. It’s like a strange time warp this life I make for myself; moving around every 6 months or so makes the time melt into a strange shape; some lonely days passing painfully slow and then weeks wizzing by before I can planwhat to do next. If anything, there is just a lot of planning involved. Maybe planning never stops – planning where to work, where to live, where to eat, what to do, should I eat that?  Once all that gets figured out, as in, when we have one home and one job and one life, then do we just start planning smaller things (micromanaging) or do we stop? I know for me, at least this far in my life, I start planning when to leave again. I guess it’s just my nature for now, whether that nature loves the challenge of the unplannable or just hates having to plan the little things. So, on that tangent, my time in Aceh is running out – the end of January is the end of my 6 month contract with the UN. What’s next?

To be continued . . .