(america)

Well, there you have it. After a 25 hour train ride, a happy weekend of parties in Berlin, and a 23 hour plane adventure, I've made it safe and sound at least as far as Atlanta. It's strange to be back, as expected, and I'm not even quite "back" yet--James is picking me up from Molly's apartment later this morning, which I'm at because my awesome old roommate came to get me when I didn't make my last flight. There will be more updates soon--there's even a play-by-play of my train ride that I'll be posting here soon, when I have my own computer up and running and am a bit more settled.

Coming home to a place that doesn't feel like home anymore is always strange, but a generally positive experience, all the same. Homesickness for a life in Europe that already seems so far away is setting in, but I'm enjoying the rediscovery of American pleasures I'd forgotten about: I could grab a sandwich at midnight, Molly poured me up a big glass of milk to drink with a Savannah pecan praline, there's air conditioning to combat the oppressive humidity, and I'm certainly excited about the series of giant reunion-hugs coming my way oh-so-soon.

On the neither up nor down side, however--I'm not sure how I feel about arriving home and finding out that the pennies look different. Even though it feels like I might never have left at all, there are those little elements that reassure me that a great year in Europe isn't a figment of my imagination, after all.

But seriously, what's up with changing the pennies?