Do you ever get homesick?

I had some interesting questions from some people staying at the hostel yesterday about traveling, loneliness, and homesickness, on this trip and others I've taken.  My trip to Spain/the rest of Europe was one giant party, with a few classes during the week.  I was with the same group of Americans pretty much the whole time, and it was only for a few months, and I was having way too much fun to get lonely or homesick.  My experience living in Mozambique was quite a different one, but much like living here, there I was just a normal person, and since I had friends, a job, secondary activities, and a boyfriend, there wasn't much reason to be homesick or lonely.  Also, the vast majority of my friends had moved away from Raleigh, and the job I left in Conference Services wasn't one that I would be going back to, so I didn't have anything specific to miss (other than electricity, AC, chocolate, honesty, monogamy, cheese, and things like that...). 

Here I also have a job and friends and a normal life, so I'm not lonely, and I'm perfectly happy here, but there have been various times where I ALSO would like to be back home in Raleigh (aka where I've been homesick).  And it has nothing to do with being in San Ignacio, it's all about NOT being in Raleigh.  Or to put this quantitatively, I'd say my level of satisfaction with both San Ignacio and Nacaroa would be about a 7-8, but my level of dissatisfaction due to NOT being in the US was about 0 when I was in Moz, and about a 3 now.  I think this is due mostly to the fact that I have a much clearer definition of where I want my life to go now.  My core group of friends have all moved back to Raleigh (or nearby), I had a job that I would love to go back to, Emily moved to Raleigh, I wouldn't mind having a relationship without an expiration date for once, I had various hobbies and activities that I enjoyed - basically I had the life that I would currently like for my future.

So why would I give all that up to come to an unfamiliar continent with no specific plans where I didn't know anyone all by myself?  Well, I always wanted to do something like this - buy a plane ticket and just let life fall in to place.  (Because life DOES just fall in to place if let it.)  SO was it worth it giving up a very happy life to pursue a crazy adventure?  The answer is YES, because this crazy adventure was something I always dreamed of doing, and I always would have regretted it if I had been content to just be happy.  Pursuing your dreams, if they really are your dreams, is always worth it.