Happy 2008

I know that you all miss me. I haven't written in over a month. But the truth is that I've busy, sick or travelling. I'll recap.

I left for the U.S. on Dec. 19th to visit family and friends for Christmas. I was super excited to see everyone and hang out at home. But, to be honest, when I was taking off from Nicaragua, I was thinking, "Thank goodness I'm not leaving here for good!" It was a good feeling to have, knowing that I wanted to come back to my life here in Nicaragua. A lot of Peace Corps Volunteers go home for a visit and say they don't want to come back to Nicaragua. That being said, after spending a great 10 days with friends and family, I could have used another 10 days more. Home is home for a reason, you just feel comfortable there. I did a whirlwind visit of everyone in 10 days and really enjoyed myself. But, I could have used another 10 days to just chill at home.

Many people told me that it would be wierd for me to visit home. But the reality was that I felt like I had never left! Although a couple of things did strike me when I arrived in the Houston airport on my way to Chicago. First would be hostpitality. I bought a bagel and cream cheese in the airport (delicious). When I walked up to the counter I was greeted with "Hello Sir! How are you doing today! What can I help you with!!!!!!" I literally had to take a step back from the woman for a second. I have not recieved that friendly of service in over a year! That continued to strike me throughout the trip with waitresses and everyone. I would think, "Is this waitress interested in me?" Then I would quickly realize, "Of course not you fool, she is just nice so you give her a tip!" The other thing that struck me in the Houston airport was accents. Everyone had a Texan accent. And then I stood in line for the flight to Chicago and heard Chicago accents, and embarassingly, I got a little emotional. Thinking emotionally, I said to myself, "These are my people!" Luckily I snapped out of that emotional state pretty quickly. Anyways, other than that it was pretty normal being at home. I enjoyed every meal, every moment on a couch, and every moment with friends and family. Thanks to everyone that made time to see me and made my visit great!

When I got back to Nicaragua I went for 3 days to the beach town of San Juan del Sur. I met up with 15 Peace Corps friends there and we rung in the new years on the beach. It was a really fun and relaxing trip and great to catch up with those friends. On Jan 2nd I headed back to Corinto. I thought that it would be tough for me to adjust back but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Although I did have a tough time motivating myself to get back into work. But it was great to see all my neighbors and friends here. And now after 3 weeks of work I have my motivation back!

Anyways, I have some pictures and stories to share that I will try to post this weekend. One involving my new cat and one involving a random swelling of my lips. Stay tuned...