Reason #299: Back to U.SS.A.

Posted at March 30, 2010

For the first time in nearly four years I will leave my beloved Costa Rica and return to U.S. soil….for seven days. The very thought scares the hell out of me, as if I am about to enter a black hole that will suck me into its swirling vortex with no hope of return. But I need to do it and I am going to do it. In fact, hopefully this trip will break the icy grip of resistance to returning that has plagued me in recent years. I do have family there, including four great kids, and they would like to see me begin to return often. So at 12:34 PM tomorrow I will board a flight that will take me northward for the first time in a long time. To be honest, I am really looking forward to returning and spending time with my kids as well as maybe catching up with some old friends. It’s going to be a bit weird, I am sure of that. The U.S. is such a different place and when you haven been here so long I imagine it really will seem different. Life is at a different pace. The things I have grown accustomed to here are not available there. Funny, that is the complaint that many expats voice about this place, except in reverse fashion. I guess it all comes down to habits and traditions. We get settled into the idea that the way “we” do things is the only way they should be done and when we encounter a different way, it can be frustrating. I wonder if the place will seem different from what I remember? I wonder if folks will recognize any difference in me? I wonder if I will like it there, or hate it there? I guess all that really doesn’t matter…I am just a visitor now, a tourist if you will, as my home is now and always will be, Costa Rica. So role out that red carpet and have the champagne corks purged to pop, Costa Rica Guy is returning.