It’s been just over one week since I returned back to the United States and the grand state of Connecticut to my parents’ house after six months of travel through Southeast Asia and the Middle East. It’s not an excuse for being absent on She’s in Love with the World, but well…I’m going to try and use it as a pass for one.

The adjustment to coming back to the United States has been easier than I anticipated. Though I didn’t make it back in time for the hoards of travel bloggers descending into New York for the second annual TBEX conference (I am already registered for the 2011 conference in Vancouver!), I’ve still had the opportunity to swap stories with travel bloggers, friends and family alike, all eager to hear and see what I brought back from Asia. I had heard horror stories of those travelers who felt out of place or unwelcome back in the Western world and I initially feared that could have been me as well.

To ease into the transition from East to West and the travel to the more stationary, I’ve made sure I’m taking little trips to keep me occupied while on the job hunt. I’ve “traveled” to places in my neighborhood I’ve never been before: the Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest  at Coney Island in Brooklyn on July 4 and some upcoming networking events in Fairfield County and New York City. And of course, I’ve visited some old favorites like my favorite bar and my favorite baseball team’s stadium (twice in one week…Let’s Go Mets!). In addition, I have a weeklong trip to California coming up at the end of August for a friend’s engagement party.

Because of all that’s keeping me busy (I’ve also already been freelance writing and babysitting my favorite little girl tons!), I’ve made a fairly seamless transition — the heat wave in the Northeast has made sure I’m not cold back in New England, that’s for sure — though there are certain aspects of Western culture where I certainly find myself looking in from the outside. The worst of it probably comes from sticker shock and food etiquettes. I was slowly reintroduced into it with my month-long stint in the Middle East, though once out of Israel, I was back to eating on the street at standing tables and shoving my face full of falafel twice a day. If I were to eat the way I did in Bangkok back in New York and Connecticut, I’d be [even more] broke in a heartbeat. A plate full of noodles or a seafood curry with rice in Bangkok cost me a mere 40 baht (roughly $1.20), allowing me to sample the culinary greatness of Southeast Asia at my leisure.

I’m actually really happy to be back home, though slightly intimidated by my impending job hunt. I have the goal of being back on the road before I turn 25 (as of October I’ll have two years to reach that), and in the meantime I’m trying to make my way back into the journalism or nonprofit worlds. Right now though — more than anything — I find myself longing for a nice 5 baht pork skewer and 10 baht packet of sticky rice with some toilet paper napkins and flimsy forks with spoons instead of knives, or chopsticks as my utensils.