Today, I felt… Homesick?

Today, while standing in the aisle of a small import store in rural Japan, I was overcome with a deep feeling of homesickness. It felt like a punch to the stomach – this overwhelming desire to suddenly be back in a city where everything was in English and you’re never more than a fifteen minute drive from an excellent Tex-Mex restaurant. I know homesickness is normal for people who move (or settle) abroad… but I never struggled with it. The choice seemed very black and white – you either wanted to live abroad (in whatever country you’re currently calling “home”) or you want to live in the country you grew up in.