Back home from home: final reflections

SO... I'm back at college, starting class, and loving every second of it.
Except for one thing.
I'm still obsessed with learning more about all things Middle Eastern. It wasn't enough for me to just go to Israel and Palestine, no. I have to go and take an entire class on Jewish history, from Genesis all the way to the Medieval Period. It wasn't enough for me to just hear the complex sounds of Arabic in a busy market, no. I have to start teaching myself the Arabic alphabet and practice writing sentences in Arabic, even if I have no idea how to say them. It wasn't enough for me to just revel in the memory of the amazing food I had there, no. I have to start googling every kosher or Arabic restaurant within 50 miles of Charlottesville.

I'm starting to see a trend here.

I just don't know what it is about that place. It's allure goes far beyond mere tourist attractions or exotic shopping. It's not just the food; it's not just the language; it's not just the architecture. It's like the entire place is a living, breathing entity that I can't get out of my head or heart. It's like it's calling to me, begging me to come back. And I would in a heartbeat, if it wasn't for the fact that I don't exactly have access to a travel portal right at the moment. :/

It's crazy, but I think of Jerusalem and Bethlehem almost like they are actual people, not places. I long to go back, as though I were mourning the loss of a beloved friend. I mean, it literally has taken me almost a solid month to stop dreaming about Israel whenever I go to sleep. I'm serious.

Everything makes more sense there. The stupid things I used to worry about before I left all just came into the light to be seen for what they really are--stupid. In a place where God and family come before anything else, I got to see with my own eyes the futility of the "American Dream"--that my life is not about me and what I can achieve for myself. It's about serving God with everything I have and everything I am. And it's about serving others in His name, no matter what it costs me.

I saw life for what it really is: short, fragile, beautiful, and far less complicated than I tend to make it.

I have to go back. I just have to.