It's a Jungle Out There

These past few weeks I've been counting down, 8 weeks, 6, 1 month....now I'm at 3 weeks left in Lesotho.
Leaving Lesotho was a hard decision to make and it still is.  Peace Corps doesn't just kick you out after 2 years; you have options to extend and flexibility on where and what you would be doing.  It was a very attractive option for me and there were a lot of reasons I could think of staying.
At the end the decision to leave was 60/40 and at different times the ratio changes.  Lesotho has been my home for the past two years and I've known little else during that time.  I've gotten used to the way of life, the people, my host family, my colleagues, and above all my fellow PCVs.  As a volunteer you are open to opportunities you could never have as a working person.  I considered using another year in Peace Corps to get experience for my career.  But at the end my decision to leave rested on two main things: I was tired of being a volunteer with the rules and policies I had to abide by and I missed home. I knew it was time to go back and move on with life.
You might think going home is the easy part but it's actually not.  Peace Corps spends so much time, materials, and effort preparing you to come to a new country; they spend two days on preparing you to go back home.  I imagine my homecoming to be little like Mogli's discovery of modern civilization in The Jungle Book but more like Tom Hank's return home in Castaway.  I know things have changed, people have changed, and while I can remember exactly what life was like in October 2011, I doubt most of you reading this post can.  There's actually a technical term for readjusting to coming back home: reverse homesickness.
So here's a warning to all my well wishing friends and family who can't wait to see me, ask me about how Africa is, what I ate for two years, why I didn't lose weight, and any other well wishing conversations you might wish have with me: be gentle with me, because while I can't wait to see you all I'm also figuring out my place in a world that hasn't seen me in two years.  I ask for you forgiveness now for all the times I may just shut down 'cause I'm tired of talking about a time that most of you could never understand.  And above all I ask for your patience as I play catch up on the past two years both on your lives and the rest of the world.  It'll take some time to fully readjust but I'm jumping back in to America with both feet.  I might have a little trouble remembering how to swim but with all of your love and support I know I won't be drowning.