Home is where the heart is...

It's been about a month and a half since I returned to the United States, my home.  Being away from home for so long has confused me about where exactly home is.  Is it with my parents who now both live in two states I've never lived?  Is it in NYC where my job and previous life were?  Is it the towns where my college or high school friends live?  Is it in Louisiana where I was born and went to law school?  Where is my home?  The bible tells us that our home is in Heaven and I believe it to be true: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:20)  The best moments in my former and future homes are mere glimpses of my true home which awaits me with Him.  This is a refreshing reminder as I reintegrate into my "home" culture after being gone for over 9 months.  


This time has been full of love, familiarity and friendship that has filled those empty and lonely places I felt in Rwanda and beyond.  The gift of conversation has not eluded me.  I have talked and talked and talked to trusted friends and family members until my heart is (nearly) content.  They have patiently listened.  I have seen and done and visited many of the places I longed for while I was away.  And yet, nothing is the same as it was when I left; I have changed, family members have changed and I have missed significant events in many close friends' lives.  After 6 weeks of reacquainting, and often scrutinizing, my home culture, I find myself longing for - of all places - Africa.  Can this be real?  Maybe it is not a place I long for but a state of being.  Of contentment, of joy and of peace.  These things the Rwandese had in abundance.  How do I incorporate this into my life as an American?  Is it even possible?


As I ponder these things, I will share with you with a few pictures highlighting my time at home with family and friends - which, as you can imagine, was a great blessing to me.  I am very thankful.

Volunteering with my dad at a soup kitchen in West Virginia

Daddy-Daughter golf outing

Me with sister Amy at welcome back cookout my family had for me...so sweet!

At Arrington Winery near Nashville, TN with high school friend Angela

Hanging with Angela's kiddos - Nathan and Paula Grace - adorable!

At the Tin Roof, also in Nashville, with college roommate Carla Blackston

Having cocktails and apps with Carla after viewing Sex in the City II, how I've missed girl time!

With brother Michael and mom at a Mississippi Braves (minor league farm team) game in Jackson, MS

Mom, Mr. Turk and me at a Southern Sunday Brunch...with grits!

With mom and Jennifer, her colleague, at a cookout in their new home in Madison, MS (just north of Jackson)...weird coming "home" to Mississippi and WV and not Tennessee!!

Stephanie and her little girl Addie, mommy's look-alike!

Dusk on one of East Tennessee's beautiful lakes, near Bristol, Virgina Stephanie's home

Even after all my travels, there is nearly no place that rivals the beauty of East Tennessee

College roommie and sorority sister, Anika Hudson, in front of her new home in Charlotte, NC

At brunch with Kelly Dinda, friend I met while living in Paris, and more grits - yum!

Anika's 30th birthday party - somehow I have no pictures from our photo-scavenger hunt all over town so this one will have to suffice for now!

A Few Stops in Asia before Heading Down Under

As many of you know, I have made it back to the US after a few months of travel post-Rwanda.  It was sublime.  After leaving India, I make a quick stop in Hong Kong and then Singapore before heading to Australia and New Zealand for the last adventure before going home.  Man did it feel great to land in the USA after being gone nine months, the longest I've ever been away from my home culture!  Needless to say, I had a fabulous time and can hardly believe all of the places I was fortunate enough to see.

View of Hong Kong City from Kowloon (TST East)

The Breathtaking Hong Kong Skyline at Night

High Tea at the Peninsula Hotel

Found the Ropes & Gray Hong Kong Office!

Dim Sum, yummy!

Dim Sum at Royal Wedding Restaurant in one of HK's Many Malls

In Front of the HSBC Building

Hong Kong's Beautiful Botanical Gardens

Traditional Singaporean Breakfast

Hanging out with freshman roommate Brittany Fitschen and her husband Ben, 

who recently moved to Singapore

Dinner in Singapore at a Hawkers' Stand, including Sting Ray and other Pan-Asian dishes

Boat Casino

Singapore Flyer

Mer-Lion

Even ran into some Clemson grads!

After about a week in Asia, I made my way to Australia, a country I've always dreamed of visiting!  The next two weeks were divided between Sydney, the Outback and the Great Barrier Reef.  Not too shabby!

Climbing Sydney Harbor Bridge

Bondi Beach

Sydney Opera House

Harbour Bridge and the Opera House from the Royal Botanical Gardens

Uluru also known as "Ayers Rock" in the Northern Territory

Gum Trees in the Outback

Palm Cove Beach, north of Cairns in Queensland

Kangaroos

Holding a Koala named Diesel

Rainforest just North of Cairns

Great Barrier Reef

Snorkeled off a live-aboard Ship for 3 days, 2 nights

Wine Tasting on Waiheke Island, New Zealand

Waiheke is near Auckland, on the Northern Island of NZ

Such a beautiful Island, definitely want to go back in summer!

Traveled to the Winter Wonderland of the South Island

Saw a Blue Penguin Colony in Omaru

The penguins swam in from fishing, jumped up the rocks

 and waddled across to their nests to reunite with their mates

Queenstown, New Zealand

Night Skiing Mount Coronet for Independence Day

Never been more thankful to be an American!

Took a boat cruise on Doubtful Sound in the Fiordlands region

Saw sea lions and lots of other wildlife on Doubtful Sound

Hiking up to Franz Joseph Glacier

Ice Pick and Clamps for Boots

Walked through ice crevices and caves

Dense ice creates a blue glow

Auckland, NZ - last city before flying back to the US!