Two trees

The top picture is of my American Christmas tree.  It is old (my family has had it for as long as I can remember) and I love it.  It's absolutely covered with ornaments, each one holding a memory.  It's big and shiny and amazingly beautiful.  The bottom picture is of my Hungarian Christmas tree.  Each year my tree is different, because I get to choose live trees here.  The decorations are a bit slapped together, it's a bit messy, and I still haven't quite figured out how to keep it alive, but it's an adventure every year, especially the midnight run to throw it away.

People here in Hungary often ask me how I could give up America to live here.  How it is that I gave up a big car, a big apartment, and an easy life in my own language to come and ride a bike while struggling in Hungarian.  Most importantly, they don't understand how it is that I'm not paralyzed with longing for my home.

But the amazing thing is, I didn't give up America.  It's there waiting for me if I want to go back.  I could go back next week if I wanted to, but for now I'm good on the adventure.  Plus, with the power of the internet and jet engines, I don't have to choose between the one and the other.  I can have two countries that I call "home" at the moment, and I can have two Christmas trees, too.  They couldn't be more different, but I think they're both pretty special.