Sometimes I just sit and stare. Stare and reminisce. Reminisce about those first few weeks, when you dive into a new country head first and bask in the glory of culture shock. How alien it sounded to hear a new language spoken, how tantalizing the smell of new and unknown foods, how curious you were to see people wearing strange clothes. Every experience feeds the traveler's addiction - to see something new or to feel something fresh - and you grasp frantically at anything that will keep that feeling alive. But as you paddle furiously upstream, you know what's waiting for you downstream. Comfort and rest. Adventure gives way to routine and you find comfort in the things you know - your favorite TV show from back home, a bar that reminds you of your old hangout. Slowly, the feelings of culture shock - once so visceral and green - become pale memories. Did you ever really feel that way or is it just a dream you make up as you sit and stare? Stare and reminisce? And th
The life and times of an American from Vietnam, back in Vietnam, from America