Back in Arizona-bis jetzt;

I'm back in Arizona, and man has it been bittersweet. Being back in your home city while having been in a foreign country for an extended period of time definitely can change your mind set. Right when I arrived home, I was picked up by one of my best friends and her man where they drove me home, had delivered my car to me that I had kept at their house for the time I was gone, and then they even took me out to smoke some Sheesha. These friends are so very rare to find and this is the number one reason why I am thankful to be on my home turf again(that and being able to cuddle my cat). I have always been one to look at a relationship, friendship or other, to be merely a matter of loyalty and love, regardless of distance. My mom and I always say "I don't know what you're doing, I don't know where you are...There are oceans in between us, but that's not very far."(Thank you for this Puddle of Mud). Other than that, I do now believe that the term "Reverse Culture Shock" is a thing. I never believed in these things, I just thought people were exaggerating symptoms of rough travel circumstances but this is probably because I have never been out of the country or my city for over a month. Reverse Culture Shock, it's when you're longing to be elsewhere, and everything at 'home' suddenly seems out of place and foreign. Being at home, I have realized how much we drive as Americans, like we get in our vehicles on a regular basis to drive .3 miles to pick up some fast-food, wtf? This doesn't make sense to me. I mean, I never really thought about this as a problem until I was in Germany walking everywhere, everyday. Although we are so fortunate to have simple day-to-day luxuries as Americans, we also use/waste almost a quarter of the worlds resources...and something as simple as choosing to walk as opposed to drive, could change that statistic quite a bit, plus it would make us more healthy and increase our Vitamin D levels, too! Next point, our food products. Before leaving for Germany I was fairly aware of the major issues with the Food Industry in the States(and otherwise) but I still would eat meat every once in awhile and didn't so much focus on eating exclusively organic foods. Well, being in Germany changed my food consumption outlook completely. Not only do I not eat meat anymore, except for Organic wild-caught Fish, (officially as of January 1) due to environmental and ethical reasons, but I am also buying more organic products such as organic cheese, organic apples and peppers, and organic skin care products as well. I think that some people think that these actions are extreme(and that you're just fulfilling a trend) but the chemicals in our foods and daily products today are outrageous and contribute to so many health ailments that were once not-so-prevelant until the volume change in these production industries. In Germany, organic products are EVERYWHERE, they're labeled as 'BIO' and they can be found at an incredibly affordable price, where unfortunately, healthy foods in the States, especially organic foods, are outrageously expensive. Now, this turned into a rant, mostly, but I did say that being back has been bitter sweet. The sweetness in being back in Arizona comes from my friends, being able to embrace the sunshine on a daily basis as well as being able to enjoy our scenic mountains here in AZ. Life here in Arizona is beautiful but life can be made beautiful anywhere you go with the right outlook. I have always said to myself that Arizona has never been a 'home' for me, but it has because I've grown so much as a person here. I need to except and appreciate Arizona, but on that note, I'm ready to move on.