That's right...the countdown has ended and I've safely made it back to my home state. I really love you folks here at home because I went through a lot to get here. First of all, I woke up at 4 am to take a bus at 5 am to Managua. I stood on the side of the highway and watched the sunrise while I waited, waited and waited until the bus finally arrived at 6 am. I made it to the airport, dodging four lanes of traffic with my huge suitcase to go from the bus stop to the airport. I was already tired and hungry and then I was met by an uncooperative employee who didn't want to check in my luggage because I was 5 minutes early...I tell ya. But, all was well and I safely arrived in Houston, that's where the trouble began. The line for customs was about a mile long, no exaggeration and only three windows were open to help people. I only had an hour to get through and make it to my connecting flight, so it's no surprise that I missed it. After choosing the wrong line to stand in (the slowest one) and seeing people that were behind me pass through before, just about brought me to tears. Of course, I was thinking worst case scenarios, I'd be stuck there overnight and it would throw a wrench into all of my plans; but the nice lady at the ticketing counter booked me a flight an hour later, but when I saw the line for security my heart sank just a little bit. I didn't think I would make it through, but someone must have been praying for me because I made it through in the nick of time and even better there was a bit of delay, so I had time to eat something, the first thing for the day because I only have Nicaraguan cordobas - FYI they don't work in the US. Finally, I touched down in Chicago and practically ran to baggage claim. As I was approaching I saw a woman that looked like my mom, but was too blonde to be true, wrong! It was her - I almost didn't recognize her. We picked up my bag and drove for home.
And that's my story. I'll be zipping about the US, visiting family and friends; eating anything that isn't rice and/or beans; enjoying the joys of home that I don't quite get in my Nicaraguan home.
A bit of an update on the Nicaraguan home front:
My dear, dear friend and fellow volunteer decided to leave early and ditch me to survive alone; but as a consolation she gave me her puppy. It's a girl! and her name is Rupert, I like to call her Rue. She's adorable and I've fallen in love with her, except when she poops and pees in the house and bites me. I've had her for two weeks and was sad to leave her behind and am really trusting that they're taking good care of her back in Nicaragua. I bought her a collar and leash, I was so excited to have a dog to go walking with, but Rue had other thoughts. I saddled her up and she dug her paws into the ground and refused to move. I tried again the next day, we were able to walk through the house to my front yard before she lost interest again. Finally, third time is a charm, we successfully walked up and down my street. Little by little, we'll get there.
I feel like I'm slowly becoming a Nicaraguan housewife minus the husband part and with a dog as my child. My days are becoming more and more routine. I have acquired an internal alarm clock which is set for about 5 am and Rue has the same one. I have my classes, I clean the house about ten times a day due to Rue, I sort beans (picking out stones, bad beans), I cook, I wash clothes if there's an ounce of sunshine (lately it's been lots and lots of rain and my laundry basket is quite full, a nice little treat for when I return), and I visit neighbors to watch my telenovelas and go to bed pretty consistently around 9 pm.
Other than my new addition of Rue I don't really have anything exciting to share. I'm glad to be home and to blend in a little more with the crowd and to not feel like a giant in a sea of munchkins. Hopefully I won't lose all of my Spanish skills, and right now I'm rocking a pretty awesome Spanglish dialect when chatting about everything. Well, I've got places to go and people to see, my next update will be when I'm back in Nicaragua. Adios!
