Thursday, December 29, 2005

So on December 15, we actually came home from Guatemala for ten days. Michael's sister Mary was graduating from Radford and then Christmas was just a few days later, so why not stay for that too?

US Customs and Immigration was quite an ordeal, especially since we had to switch planes in Houston, which meant we had to collect our checked luggage, then go through customs, then check it again... knowing it was full of assorted Guatemalan machetes and knives (intended for Christmas presents). But no one cared about the knives, they just wanted to know if we were carrying any meat products.

Being home after so long was a bit weird at first, but not bad at all. The reverse culture shock was mainly toilet-related and passed extremely quickly. Example: In a bathroom stall at the airport I looked all over for the garbage bin and even got a little annoyed before I remembered that in the US you can just throw toilet paper right into the toilet and flush it away.

After the graduation we visited our cat, Max, at his Aunt Mary's, where he's staying while we travel. He didn't remember us. Either that or he's pissed at us for leaving him (in the lap of luxury, I might add). After six months of different bath products and a completely different diet, I imagine we smell different, so maybe that was part of his confusion, but it was not a good feeling when he sniffed us and walked away. He was hiding under the bed when we left, so we didn't even get to say goodbye properly. That was bad too.

After a few days at the Simons' I left Michael there and flew up to NYC... just in time for the transit strike. Which meant I didn't do half the things or see half the people I had planned on doing with my time in the city. I don't know enough about the situation to know if the strike was warranted on the part of the majority of MTA employees but I can say with 100% certainty that as far as I am concerned, the token booth people can just go ahead and stay on strike with their angry, useless, grunting, sighing selves.

Anyway, we spent lots of time with our families and reveled in sushi and Indian buffet and al dente pasta and mussels and watched way too much television. It was great. Our "vacation" only lasted the amount of time as a standard vacation, and it was not enough! We have really gotten used to the freedom we have on this trip and are going to put a lot of work into making sure we can maintain this level of freedom in our lives. Which I guess means I have to quit being so lazy and start writing more. Anyway, as much as we wanted to spend more time at home, we also wanted to get back to Guatemala and resume the trip. And as much as I missed good sushi in Central America, while I was home I really started to miss having refried black beans for breakfast.

We fly back tomorrow. Remember, it's not cheating because we're flying back into the same point we flew out of! But with less stuff. Can you tell me why I had an abdominal compress in my first aid kit? Well it's staying home this time, so lets hope no one gets stabbed. Many thanks to our families for making our trip home so great and for making it happen in the first place.

 

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