Tolkien says it best.

"In Britain's land beyond the seas
the wind blows ever through the trees;
in Britain's land beyond the waves
are stony shores and stony caves."

Of course that little gem pops up in my assigned reading for my Tolkien and Medieval Literature class. Of course.

I will always and forever be home-away-from-homesick. Bottom line. My senior seminar professor asked us, as an exercise, where we would go if we could go somewhere 1) for 4-6 weeks, 2) for 6 months to 1 year, and 3) to serve our fellow humans. My answers were all to places I've already been and I've already fallen in love with. 1) South Africa, 2) England, 3) South Africa. I kind of surprised myself for narrowing down my answers to places I've already been and eliminating different places like Argentina, France, or New Zealand (to name just a few). As a response to the second question, my professor asked me why I would choose to live in Europe and in England specifically. My answer was that four long months just wasn't enough. There are plenty of places in this country -- in this region, even -- that I would be fine with calling home, but if you gave me a million dollars and half a chance, I would be right back in York in a heartbeat. I'm pretty sure that means that my reverse culture shock or reverse homesickness or whatever I'm supposed to have had hasn't quite worn off yet.

I love this world, but distance is a cruel, cruel thing.

"In Britain's land across the seas
the spring is merry in the trees;
the birds in Britain's woodlands pair
when leaves are long and flowers are fair."

-- J.R.R. Tolkien