It’s 3:00 in the morning and I’m wide awake. It’s time for my second breakfast in Greece. After 17 hours of traveling, we drug our suitcases into our kitchen at 10:00 P.M. Thursday. Minus phone calls with our family, this has not been one bit fun. I’d much rather watch the sunset over the sea, eat Greek salads at rooftop restaurants, buy fresh fruit at the corner markets, or hop a bus to another exotic beach than do loads of laundry, go to Meijer, open mail, and make decisions about what to do with all the photos I’ve taken and the metro tickets and matchbooks and postcards I’ve collected over the past 6 weeks. I just want to go back. Re-entry is tough.

My time in Greece was a gift. I always feel a little melancholy when vacations are over, but this time, it was difficult to leave. I was sad.

Back to reality. Since I left home, three of my friends have had surgeries and my mom’s husband is in the hospital recovering from a stroke. This is real life. I’m so thankful everyone is going to be okay.

Today, I begin to rough out my final paper for EN 580: Greek Philosophy, Literature, and Culture. It will be a great opportunity to revisit my studies and reflect. Mostly, I have been reminded once again, of how much more there is to learn. There’s a big world out there about which I know little. We’re thinking maybe Morocco next. The adventure continues.