Inauguration Day From Abroad: An American Celebrates in Asia

Four years ago, I emerged from my "Year of No News" right before the election in 2016.

Part of my mental health challenge to live a healthier life with news in moderation, my "Year of No News" meant that I wasn't allowed to watch anything news related on television, hoping that it would decrease my anxiety levels.

No political debates, no local news, and no CNN (a favorite, and addiction.) Since my personal choice (Bernie Sanders) had been eliminated in the Primaries, I had made it through what I believed would be the toughest temptation, and was able to resume about a week prior to Election Day.

My parents, staunch Republicans from the Bible belt of Lancaster, Pennsylvania were not originally Trump fans. They simply towed the party line, and had a deep hate for Hilary Clinton. They believed that whatever was on her private email server was something terrible, though I'm not sure that at the time, they believed in the conspiracy theories that were to surface later through QAnon. They weren't "pro" Trump, rather they were "anti" Clinton, and both Baby Boomers who were unhappy at the government, for their personal failure to achieve the riches of the American Dream that had been promised to them, by their parents generation.

"I can't believe that you...someone with Christian values and fairly socially liberal beliefs, would vote for that man. You raised us (my sisters and I), to be kind and loving people. He's the opposite of that, mom. He's the opposite of anything good." I pleaded to reason with my mother, "He can't even form full sentences."

"He's going to win." She replied, with a confident smirk.

I don't think anything could've prepared me for her to be right, come election night. I sat stunned, with my roommate, for hours. I cried. Everyone was in shock. I remained glued to the tv for at least one or two weeks, believing that surely some adult would step in and take control of this farce.

But they didn't come. And so, for the first time in my life...I exercised my right to demonstrate, beginning with the night before the Inauguration protest in NYC. We gathered in Columbus Circle on the Eve of the despised day, along with Mayor Bill De Blasio, Alec Baldwin, and many other guests. Then, we took to the streets of Fifth Avenue, and marched to Trump Tower. It was a wake up call, and also a moment of unity. I didn't feel so alone, and I knew there were other Americans that felt just like me. Angry and horrified enough to get out and make a statement.

It was such an impactful moment, I was ready to join my sisters in the 1st Women's March on Washington, the following weekend. That too, was such a powerful moment in my life. Sharing the day with so many women, men and children. We were all speaking in ONE VOICE, united against misogyny, against racism, and against HATE. We were all peaceful. I remember seeing Senator John Kerry walk past me in the crowd, and thinking that this was truly a moment in history, for so many to come out against the rising defense of the man who we knew would be a stain on the office of the Presidency. We thanked each officer that we passed on the parade route, grateful for their presence to keep the peace. There were no pepper spray cans deployed, batons raised or arrests made that day. After being a military wife for 15 years and sending my husband to war in Iraq twice, I cried multiple times that day, just overcome with emotion.

But nothing changed. There was no magical ending. Donald J. Trump was still to remain the President for his four year term. He defended the white supremacist, anarchists, and anti-LGTBQ+, focused on hateful rhetoric against immigration, with only a sprinkle of ethical Republican leaders to speak against him, such as Senator Mitt Romney and the late Senator John McCain. Despite two Impeachments in the House, a Pandemic with hundreds of thousands of needless deaths, a crashed job market (including my whole teams layoff this summer, after almost eight years of employment), and thousands of protests...Trump remained.

In May of 2017, I gave away the majority of my belongings and headed to live as a digital nomad in Bali, Indonesia. Its peaceful magic was a respite to my soul. I spent the next two years traveling abroad, living in Thailand, Portugal, France, Italy, Croatia, Amsterdam, London and Edinburgh. I watched a lot of terrible things happen back at home, from my laptop screen, such as the white supremacists marching on Charlottesville. And then I had to return in late 2019 to deal with some administrative tasks and spend time with family and friends, and travel with my sons while waiting to be sure that I was present to make my vote count in my birth state of Pennsylvania.

With each year of his Presidency, relationships with pro-Trump friends and family became more and more strained, including my parents. With Conservative media spouting Trumps lies, it altered the way they thought, and changed their personalities, making them become more bitter by the day. When we finally reached Election Day 2020, my sisters and I were not speaking at all to my mother, (a college educated woman) who had become a conspiracy theorist. My son and I went to the polls together, optimistically blue in a sea of red. We voted, we waited and we watched.

Not long after the election was called for President Elect Biden, I booked my ticket to go overseas again. While it's true that we are in a pandemic and travel is frowned upon, I knew that I couldn't afford to stay in the US, and at 41, I was no longer covered by health insurance...for the first time in my life. Unfortunately, I needed medical treatment for a chronic condition and I needed to go somewhere that I could afford to live as a human being, rather than a second-class citizen. After remaining responsibly in isolation since last February, when friends in China alerted me to the spreading virus, I knew I couldn't remain locked inside for the winter. With remote work culture becoming mainstream last year, there was no reason to remain in a place that I couldn't receive affordable treatment.

So taking all available precautions for safety, I returned back to Bali before Christmas, spending the last month in a peaceful respite, knowing that my country was about to return to a state of responsible government. I was shocked to watch the attack on our nations Capitol building, as Donald Trump stoked the fires of sedition, but I knew by that point, that righteousness would prevail.

I sit here today (already January 20th in Indonesia) with CNN playing in the background as I write this, remembering the fear, the anger, and the horror that the last four years of a Trump Presidency has caused. I left my own country for the majority of four years, as a result. It wasn't the only factor in my decision, however it was definitely a contributing one.

I spent Christmas and New Years Eve, alone in my villa in Ubud- a small, peaceful jungle village in Bali. As we were under a curfew, partial lockdown and now, a border closure, it didn't feel like I celebrating anything. But today I woke up feeling the excitement of a child on Christmas morning, knowing that within twelve hours, former Vice President Joseph Biden will be our 46th President. Like Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Barack Obama, President-Elect Biden is coming into office during a crucial period of reconstruction in our country's history. I have full faith that with our country back in the hands of a mature adult, Mr. Biden will have much work to do in regards to repairing America's relationships and reputation on the world's stage, but he is up to the task. I know as he takes the Oath of Office in a few hours, I will shed tears of joy, as I keep myself awake into the early morning hours to watch. I will also be celebrating Senator Kamala Harris becoming our first female Vice President, and hope there will even be a few random fireworks here in Bali, from my fellow American nomads.

This feels more like the New Years Eve we needed, and the hope of a new year to come.