Okay, so it’s been quite some time since I last blogged and I figured I’d go ahead and end all the impatient waiting (I’m just that kind of popular) and write something new.
So I just got back to Guatemala after my first trip back to the States. Home was awesome. Seeing my family and friends and eating all of the delicious food was exactly what I needed, although two weeks definitely did not seem like enough. While home I was able to make it out in Philly with my sfield friends, North Jersey with my school friends, a Phillies game (dollar dog night, duh), Zeta alumni lunch, multiple family dinners (not to mention lunch dates with my sisters), pedicure with my mom and sisters, and much more. I was all over the place during my time at home but did still manage to lay around on my couch (which just so happens to be the world’s most comfortable couch) for a few hours here and there and be a bum. A lot of PCV’s warned me that going home for the first time would be tough and that I would experience some culture shock so I tried to mentally prepare myself for that only to find that it was absolutely unnecessary. Being home felt so normal, almost as if I never lived in Guatemala at all. Even though a lot has changed since I left and a lot of people are doing different things with their lives, I kinda just picked up where I left off. Because of this, I was pretty scared to come back to Guatemala, thinking that it was going to be so tough and that I’d just want to be back home. Weirdly enough, Guatemala kinda feels like home now too. Despite a little snafu at the airport (I’ll explain later), finally getting back to my little casita in San Jacinto was comforting and nice. Admittedly, I have not done an ounce of work since I got back, or left my house really but it is still nice to just be here. Hopefully this feeling will last… fingers crossed.
Okay so the airport snafu… I left for the airport in Atlantic City (which is an hour and a half from my house) at 4 am and had a fine flight down to Ft. Lauderdale, where I met up with Emily and we caught our flight back to Guatemala. Our seats weren’t together but were only two rows apart and we were both in the aisle so I’m sure we successfully annoyed many of the people around us, as usual. Upon arriving in Guatemala, we headed to the baggage reclaim where I made an offhand comment about how the airline was going to lose my luggage… seems I spoke too soon. As we sat there and watched bag after bag after bag go by, it became clear that mine was not among them. Next, we waited in line for 20 minutes only to find out that the line was for Continental and not Spirit and that Spirit, in fact, had nobody at their kiosk,, or anywhere in site, to help with lost luggage. Now, if you know me at all then you know I am not a crier (seriously don’t think I’ve cried in like 5 years). Well the lucky guy at customs has probably never sent someone through so quick cause I was sobbing like a baby as I passed through his line. The thing I was most upset about losing surprisingly was not all of my clothes, shoes, toiletries and electronics but instead, a beautiful new frying pan that my mom bought for me (silly, right?) I felt bad for Emily cause she was trying to calm me down as best she could but I just wanted that darn frying pan. Like a great friend, Emily stayed with me the whole time and we decided to take a little extra trip to Panajachel (Lake Atitlan… google it, it’s awesome) to try and wait it out and see if Spirit found my bag (which they did, thank goodness). We spent the extra time hanging around and reading by the lake and it was really enjoyable!
After I got my bag back, I headed back to San Jacinto where Lexi was waiting for me with my house keys and some chopped veggies for dinner. My landlord is the man so my house was all nice and clean and everything was just as I left it, which made me very happy. Today my house was fumigated (at least I think that is what the man in the gas mask, holding what looked like a snow blower told me before he asked me to wait outside for 15-20 minutes) so hopefully the mosquitoes won’t be as bad for the next couple weeks. Emily is coming tomorrow for her birthday celebration and I think we are gonna have a pool picnic to try and escape this terrible heat and get a nice little tan going on. I hope everyone at home is doing well and I will see you all again in another 8 months (woah, that’s a long time… anyone interested in starting a bring-kristen-home-for-another-visit fund? Let me know.) Miss sfield already, talk to you all soon!
