Back in America and life is grand.

The past three days have been filled with family time and good food and the best weather I could've asked for after returning from the stifling humidity of Vietnam. I had visions of arriving home and being completely lost and discombobulated from the jet lag and time change and subsequently out of my mind from the culture shock or at least yearning for some piece of Asia once being back but I think I was more than ready to find myself in this familiar environment.

Of course, now that I'm home I have more appreciation for my time in those cultures and am seeing everything here in a whole new light- a renewed perspective if you will.

Really, no joke, just walking around my dad's neighborhood brings me this giddiness and I feel like a spoiled princess just observing the trees, the sky, the breeze, it all seems like something out of the Truman show after being immersed in an entirely opposite atmosphere for the past three months.

The lifestyle differences are starkly contrasting and it is almost bizarre to have gone from that to this, but I find both uniquely beautiful.

It makes sense to me now how very important it is to seek out and acknowledge the existence of other cultural environments, take the time to understand them, and allow ourselves to internalize the core aspects of what it means to be a part of such realities, to better view and contribute to our own with a refreshing sense of purpose.

I am more proud than ever to call this place home.

I will go back to Asia as much as I can because there is still so much I haven't seen, and because Tokyo is already calling my name!

P.S. I have a huge backlog of photos from Asia that I am dying to upload so I guess I'll do that now even though I am home and already snapping photos of life over here.

It's an addiction, really.

this kind of bliss.

the hills are on fire.

I normally don't make it a point to wake up at 5:30 AM, but for this sunrise it is well worth it.

c'est la vie.

It is easy to while away the hours here in Saigon. Something nostalgic hangs in the air, like a secret perfume that seeps into my step as I walk and creates a feeling of appreciation. Everything becomes illuminated in a soft light and the harsh edges lose shape and meld together with the hum of the city to create a picture of a radiating street scene.

And suddenly, everything seems like it is going to be alright.

This city can feel like a time warp in an instant, where the trivialities and circumstances of modern day don't exist. There is no formula for satisfaction here. Nothing is black and white or right or wrong, rather the people just seem to find solace in their roughly defined roles and make a living matter of factly.

In fact, trying to divulge more emotion out of this place is a lost cause. The people are who they are, they live how they see fit, days come and go, the sun rises and falls, and every moment doesn't tilt the axis with its weight, but merely presents itself and is fulfilled with ease.

fotos.

random.

Today's post is a bit random, but I'm nearing the end of my Asian adventure and I am slowly reacquainting myself with the Western world so the thought process is a little frantic. This includes making plans for the days following my return home, shopping on Urban Outfitters.com for must haves for Fall, lamenting my (still) undetermined exact plan of action for money-making, and reading NYTimes online (it's been too long), all while suspiciously observing these Vietnamese people around me for their utter ignorance of any, I don't know, stress. Errands. Things To Do.

I won't go so far as to say they are lazy, because that would be judgmental and inaccurate but, boy, do they sure know how to maximize their relaxation time. Everywhere I go, people sleep. Not just in the afternoons, as they do in Italy and Spain and many other parts of the world during siesta, but literally at all hours of the day, people are napping in or on whatever space they can find. I have witnessed some of the most uncomfortable sleeping arrangements I have ever seen, but to these people jamming yourself under the hood of your greasy street food cart for a midday nap or parking your bike in the middle of a busy sidewalk so that you can lay yourself out on it and snooze are just the norm. I've seen babies asleep on lawn chairs and old men passed out on straw mats on the busiest streets in Ho Chi Minh, but these aren't even the weird ones. And beyond their insatiable need for sleep, there is also the entirely unhurried, exaggerated slowness with which they conduct business or any type of work, as if today is Sunday and they are being forced to come in on their day off. It's not that they are bad workers, because they're not- they are good at what they do and take their jobs seriously, but they do everything with an air of indifference, as if this job is insignificant to their actual lives and only must get done so that they can say they have done it, regardless of how long it takes.

I digress.

The point is, I'm resentful of these people in the most flattering way one can possibly resent a cultural anomaly.

I guess, seeing as I am about to enter back into a world of workaholics, over achievers, competitive job markets, expensive food and shiny cars, I feel as if I'm being screwed back into unhappiness by my own decision to live in America.

For months I have observed these people and their everyday existences, and it suddenly has dawned on me that perhaps I have been underestimating the beauty of this lifestyle. Yes, maybe I crave some aspects of my home environment invariably, but when it comes to way of life, genuine levels of happiness, the social expectations that exist, there is absolutely no way I can look forward to returning to the United States without lamenting the languid lifestyle I am currently basking in.

Maybe I am assuming that life would be easier if the Americans got a little more laxe about time schedules and to-do lists and learned that taking four hours and a long nap for lunch are not counter productive, but essential!

I wouldn't ever want to be the one producing that argument in a room full of Americans, because where would we be today if our forefathers had that kind of attitude, but still, these people smile so damn much I'm beginning to think there is something in the water.

color-coded.

fotografia Asia:

And last but not least, a bit of sweetness...

Before:

After: