No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.
I really love this quote by Lin Yutang, though I don’t think I ever truly could relate to it until now. Being home in Maryland these past few days has been wonderful. I thought I would feel like a stranger in my house, but it’s been amazing to me how quickly I fell back into my old routine. There have been definite moments where I have thought to myself, “Wow, this feels so different than Spain.” Those moments, however, have been more in stores, on the metro, or while watching TV. When it comes to time with my family, however, it’s like nothing has changed.
When so many people think of “home” they think of their room and their bed or places in their town that they love. Living in Spain these past few months and now returning to Maryland for the holidays has made me realize that for me my home isn’t my house, my room, or even my state. My home is my family. And it is nice to come to this realization. When I started this Spain adventure, I thought that maybe I’d like it so much that I’d want to stay in Spain/Europe for a few years (and I would certainly like to do another year in the BEDA program), but I don’t think I can ever see myself settling down in a place where my family is not. I know that for many people that is not the case, they could settle down anywhere and be fine with just seeing their family every once in awhile. That is just not the case with me. And I am okay with that.
I leave for Spain again in a few days and I plan to enjoy the rest of my time there to the fullest and make as many memories as possible, but I love the fact that I know that in a few months I will be reunited once again with my family. I don’t care if we are in Maryland, Spain, Puerto Rico, or Timbuktu, as long as I am with family, I’m home.
Lady in Spain 
Dec 29, 2012 @ 22:19:37
I really missed my family this holiday season. Glad you are enjoying time with your family!!
Jan 01, 2013 @ 11:34:22
I also live abroad, and have been thinking about “home” recently. The thing for me that finally made me feel at home here (South Korea) was getting married and having a family of my own. I still miss family in the States, but it’s much easier these days to stay connected than it was years ago (Skype, Facebook, e-mail, etc.) Thanks for sharing your thoughts. If you have a minute, drop by my blog; I recently posted something on the same topic. Cheers.
Jun 04, 2013 @ 16:26:52
Hi! I’m doing the BEDA program this next year and was wondering what the typical christmas holiday is? i wasn’t sure if i would have time to fly back to the states!
Jun 06, 2013 @ 19:15:14
We won’t know for sure until a few months from now when they release the calendar for the school year. Either way, I’ll likely choose to fly out the 21st and come back the 5th. Even if we have work that Monday, I’ll just ask for that day off. I left 2 days earlier this year because I wanted to be able to have a decent amount of time with my family.