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I'm often asked at this point in my fellowship whether or not I've become homesick. Alternatively, are there things in Canada that I miss terribly? My answer, perhaps disappointingly, is: no, actually. And, maybe that merits some explanation. It's not that I'm an emotionally indifferent person, with all countries and contexts alike in meaning. I've previously had plenty periods of intense homesickness while living in new places, which I've weathered both well and poorly.[1] I was even feeling a little that way inclined after a hurry-up-and-wait situation between the time when I took possession of my apartment here in Bochum and when my fellowship actually started at CAIS. But, once work began, I have been an utterly happy camper. How strange! Even stranger is the analogy I'm about to spin for you. In searching for an explanation, I keep coming back to some drafts I read of one of my PhD student's dissertation. She's a former Veterans' Affairs off...