in between time zones

I'm home, and oh...so...jet lagged.

Its such a confusing and ambiguous thing, this jet lag. To feel in between two worlds at once. I'm trying to adjust to one world, while still feeling very much invested in the other. My body is here, but my mind is...elsewhere.

I love aspects of both these places. In China, having friends from various corners of the world allows me to see things from so many different perspectives. I have first hand access to another culture, engaging in conversations I would never have back home, enjoying the unpredictability of each day, and having travel at my doorstep. In Canada, I have my family, the comfortability of home, heart to hearts with my dad, the presence of close friends, roots, the sense of being grounded and known. I value both places.

Of course, there are aspects of these places as well that I really struggle with. In China, there is the daily challenge of making myself understood while coming to terms with a culture that I will never fully understand, not to mention not seeing my family for a year at a time . When I'm home in Canada, I sometimes find I'm a stranger looking from the outside in, on the familiarity that I once completely identified with.

I guess being jet lagged does have it's perks. It makes me realize that in this experience of living in one country while having my roots in another...I can't take anything for granted any more. I have to remember that with every experience in life, I need to live it with eyes wide open, to treat every circumstance as one that I can learn from.

Ok, so jet leg isn't so bad after all.