Missing Home

Today is the day that my beloved Kristen DiTucci and Brian Sheridan get married.  Congrats!  I could only be happier for them if I were there to celebrate with them.  Which, to be fair, they did invite me to do.  Their love has always been amazing to witness. I love the way that they support each other and approach life cooperatively.  I am lucky that they adopted me as a welcome 3rd wheel, and I am certainly missing our frequent dinners on Patapsco St.  My sadness at missing their great party is slightly mitigated by my impending honeymoon crashing trip.  I will adore being reunited with them in Chiang Mai for a weekend dominated by wats and street food.  Is it next Friday yet?

When we returned home from vacation last Tuesday, I got the post vacation blues.  It was great to have intense bonding time with my fellow newbies, but then it was so hard to return to real life.  This was all made worse by my stomach rejecting a weekend of too much food, too much beer, not enough sleep, and the stress of a looming week of work.  My stomach has been a champion in the process of adjustment.  This was really the first time that it decided to hate me, and even then, it didn’t prolong my misery for long.  I am feeling better, but there is something about getting sick that always makes me a homesick.  I may or may not have had teary eyes last night when we went to a sports pub downtown to try to watch the Packers/Seahawks game.  Unfortunately, the feed from Thailand wasn’t great and sailing and cricket kept interrupting our viewing, but we got to see a few possessions in the 1st and 3rd quarters.   

Today, I am telling myself to follow the expert and wise advice of my intelligent college roommate and to get all my work done so that I can fully enjoy my honeymoon weekend next week without stress about planning and grading when I return.  So this weekend is all about getting ahead for me.  I did already make a solo bike ride to work today to pick up some papers that I left behind.  That was a proud moment.  In between bouts of school work, I am going to do some shopping today for more fans and home wares that will make my house company ready by the arrival of Stephanie Owens!

I may be slightly homesick, but I am moving forward in building a life here.  

8 Comments

  1. Well, we miss you too. Frankie looked larger in the photo compared to your farewell to him. Today is PSU’s 1st home game. A blog site you might want to check is, at this season, mostly all football. http://www.blackshoediaries.com/
    They have a game-day open thread and lots of other stuff or you can check in for a write-up after the game. Lots of cussing and drinking references, particularly in the comments.
    Aunt Nancy helped me pick eggplant, tomatoes and flowers yesterday. I appreciated that as I got out of the field earlier on a quite warm day.

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  3. Jodi I’m missing you so much. I’ve had a crappy attitude starting this school year without you. This is really sad and pathetic since my students seem wonderful and my class sizes are actually smaller than they’ve been in years. Also I have an irrational hatred for the teacher who has claimed your old classroom. I actually chuckled to myself last week when she had pulled a student out into the hallway to “discuss behavior.” What is wrong with me? I’m struggling without having you to cheer me on and to bounce ideas off of. I realized I was falling down a dark hole, so I’ve borrowed an audiobook from the library to fill my silent car rides. Have you read Americanah? I’m only 2 chapters in but I already love it. The reader is great and she does all kind of accents. Hope your stomach is feeling better, and that you are super productive this weekend. Love ya and talk to you soon! Keep going with your blog. It is amazing so far!

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    • Dani, I miss you too!!!! I literally just finished reading What I Was Doing…, and you were so right that it was what I needed to read. Of course you were right, you know me so well. I miss spending our car time together, and I agree that it is harder to tackle work without a cheerleader. We had a good thing going. Also, I want to know all about my classroom intruder. Have a good weekend! Tell Justin to cheer extra for me during the game!

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  4. You are an amazing woman Jodi!! Children all over the world will be better for having you as a teacher. Whenever you decide to return to the states, there will still be PSU football games to watch and other things you enjoy here. Don’t miss a minute of your adventure. Now that you’ve made the move, don’t ever regret it. I happened to see your mom today at the grocery store when she was on her way to the Fairgrounds for 4-H Round Up. I have the distinct pleasure of seeing Dani every day in school as her math classroom is right across the hall from my room 🙂 I get a hug from her every day, I can’t wait to have her for class next year. We’ve been close to 90 degrees every day this week. I think we’re “enjoying” some of your weather. Hoping for a cooler week next week. Take care and enjoy every minute.

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    • Good advice, Shaf! I like your outlook, and I plan to enjoy this opportunity even more. I spent some time today researching vacations and fun things to do with visitors, and I am pumped to live here!

      I did get to see ND crush Michigan, and that was also a bit of a mood enhancer. Sorry, Michigan fans.

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