Outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, on our way to Tucson, Arizona -- March 18, 2010

Look, I’m not gonna lie: it’s been tough readjusting to life in Georgia.

Not because the Georgian New Year’s celebration wasn’t a lot of fun (it was). Not because we don’t love our friends and host family here (we do). And not because we don’t value the time and opportunities we have over here (we certainly do).

No, it’s been tough because, frankly, at the end of the day, we’re American. And after spending a couple of wonderful weeks on vacation in the homeland, there are certain American “luxuries” that we just miss.

Like showers every day, a couple of times a day if you want, whenever in the day you want them, for as long as you want. Like an endless variety of food, brought hot to your table by a smiling server if that’s what you desire, or chopped, sauteed and baked to your heart’s content by your own self if that’s more what you feel like. Like clean clothes, every day. Like a heated bedroom and bathroom. Like everyone around you speaking the same language as you, verbal and non-verbal. The list goes on.

It sounds whiny, I know. To some of our friends and family, I know it must sound like a broken record. And truthfully, we have it pretty good and comfortable over here, and don’t have much to complain about.

It’s just that homesickness manifests itself in weird ways, at weird times, I guess. And coming from this utopian version of life in America, during the holidays, seeing so many family and friends, having no responsibilities… coming from that back to the other side of the world, where things are just harder… well, I guess we just got a little homesick this last week, you could say.

We have six months of Peace Corps service left. Wow. So much to do in that time. Even this week, both of us are back in the thick of work, throwing down on a couple of grants that have waaaaaaay-too-much-work-left-to-do-given-the-deadline-but-that-doesn’t-matter-cuz-we-have-to-do-them-anyway. Back at it.

Six months. And sure – we’re looking ahead to The Big What’s Next for us. Not only where we’re going to travel after Peace Corps and all that fun stuff, but also where we’re going to live… what we’re going to do. Next. How could we not?

So the challenge, of course, is staying present. Not wasting this time. Not going through these months with one foot on the plane. Not squandering this opportunity for want of a different one. Some saying about grass.

How are we doing that? Well, mindfully. Purposefully. Yoga helps. So does eating well and exercising. We’re focusing on how we can be most beneficial to the people we’re serving in the time we have left, knowing that some battles can’t be won and aren’t worth fighting. We’re trying to let go of frustration. Be realistic. Be focused. Be patient.

There are also trips, conferences and get-togethers with friends to look forward to in the next six months. Little oases, if you will.

And of course we’re still thinking about and planning The Big What’s Next. It helps to pass the time in a constructive way and to focus on something more in our control when everything else around us seems so out of our control much of the time. To do that without sacrificing The Real What’s Next — i.e. tonight, tomorrow, next week, etc. — that is the trick.