Not So Far From Home

While soaring over the Atlantic, bound for foreign shores. I imagined Europe to be a peculiar and strange place. True the customs and cultures have many nuances that set it apart from back home. There are the obvious ones like metric measurements and Celsius temperatures and there are subtle ones. Dogs walking freely alongside their master and waiting patiently outside the local grocery store for their return, friends meeting not with a distant handshake but with a close kiss on either cheek of a smiling face, a child walking down the streets alone as his parents have nothing to fear for. But no matter how different things appear to be, living here feels just the same as being back home. I still go out to eat; just like home. Still get groceries and do laundry; just like home. And still wait til the last minute to do homework; just like home. On the surface you can compare and contrast but underneath it all, I find it quite the same. Children here still run, laugh, and look at the world with breathless amazement. Adults still head to work with blank faces but head to the pub afterwards with renewed vigor. Lovers still hold and kiss each other tenderly thinking of nothing but the moment.

You might be thinking, "But the languages. Surely the languages make it feel different." Yes the French, Dutch, and German speech can be a bit daunting to face. But I have found that ,even without words, people can still understand me as I can understand them. Not in any fine detail, but enough to get the message. On the train or bus I may unintentionally eavesdrop on the group behind me speaking a language I can only be certain is not English and yet I still smile and chuckle when they break out laughing about something I can only guess at.

It seems so strange to think that I sit writing this over 4000 miles from my home. When it feels like not even 4000 feet. I am certain that if I so desired I could simply hop on a bus and be back in my own bedroom within the hour. Home always seems closest in the dead of night. While the city sleeps and what little stars can be seen twinkle above. I guess what this trip has shown me is that wherever you journey. Whatever wondrous lands you find yourself in one day. It's not so far from home.