In Ecuador this morning, in LA tonight,
That makes this my last foreign post on the site.
As I gather my things for flight 71,
I realize with shock that the end has begun.

While friends made dorms their second home,
I had a pack on my back and a ticket to roam.
Every few nights I was in a new place,
Every few months a familiar face.

My lifestyle changed as the trip proceeded,
I learned just how little I actually needed.
A guidebook or map will no longer do,
Being back home will take getting used to.

Back to English and home-cooked meals,
Back to my bed and my own set of wheels.
Back to pressure in my shower,
Back to days of the week, the date, the hour.
Back to water from the tap,
Back to Dasher in my lap.
Back to a drinking age over eighteen,
Back to the movies I haven’t seen.
Back to stoplights where people stop,
Back to the dentist and barbershop.
Back to dryers and back to drawers,
Those are the Backtos, now for the Nomores:
No more bargaining on the street,
No more mosquito bites on my feet.
No more TP in a bin,
No more adaptors that won’t fit in.
No more rides on crowded buses,
No more internet or phone card fusses.
No more bootleg DVDs,
No more markets of oddities.
No more fear of being mugged,
No more baggage to be lugged.
No more peeing where you please,
No more entry and exit fees.

After 280 days of being away,
There’s a challenge in going back to LA.
A life is waiting that was put on hold,
But who I am now won’t fit into that mold.
A change occurs during this kind of trip,
A result of travel one cannot skip.
I may not remember which town, which kid,
Which moments had impact, I just know they did.

I’ve tried to be diligent with the site,
And record my stories every night.
My journal never left my side,
My camera ‘round my wrist was tied.
But understand nevertheless
Those impossibles to express:
The hands I shook, the eyes I met,
The thousands of memories I’ll never forget.

My favorite place? Q number one.
It’s already been asked a ton.
The truth is it’s too hard to say,
Favorite – favorite in what way?
I say a name to satisfy,
Though it pains me so to simplify.
The countries big, the countries small –
The answer is I loved them all.

It’s nearing noon as I post this rhyme,
Miss my flight – now’s not the time.
I can’t decide just how I feel,
My life right now is so surreal:
The final stamp in my passport,
The In ’n’ Out by the airport.
Most of you I soon will see,
Thanks for sharing this year with me.