Home, Sweet, Home

Can I just say I love my family, I love my friends, and I love North Carolina? But I do love my life here in Mexico a ton, too.

Last weekend I had the awesome opportunity to dash home for a few days. It was so wonderful to see my family and several friends. It was not too surprising that it was somewhat odd jetting back into my old NC life for a hot second. I had few moments of reverse culture shock that were kinda fun. Everything seemed easier in some way back home.

Some things that really stook out to me were: flushing toilet paper, drinking from water fountains, speaking English, seeing white/black/Asian/Indian (insert any other race besides Mexican) people, driving my car, eating American food, and shopping in US stores besides Wal Mart.

Some things that had changed in my absence were: the trees were the beautiful reds and oranges of fall, a Bojangles popped up down the street from my house, my mom got some pretty new flowers for our front porch, and now there's a Krispy Kreme on Franklin St., not to mention my brother currently has a low-functioning leg :( (is that nicer than calling you a gimp, Matt?).

Some of the things that haven't changed really caught my attention including my dog Grace, flipping out upon seeing me again and the fact that walking into my bedroom at home was like time-travelling. There was all my stuff just sitting there, lots of which I had forgotten about and realize I don't really need (but I like, but I forgot about, but I still like...it made me feel a little guilty, if you catch my drift).

My weekend was jam-packed and lots of fun!! Here's what I did:

I got in at 5 pm on Thursday night. My mom and Matt picked me up from the airport and we went directly to my favorite restaurant, La Shish, for delicious Greek food. After that, we went and did a little shopping for things to bring back to Mexico. We went home and I got to see my Dad and the dog. We talked for a while, I showed them some pictures, and we watched a goofey show before heading to bed. I was exhausted because I had woken up at 3:45 that morning (4:45 EST, but still) to take a taxi to take a bus to get to the airport.

Friday was my crazy day. I was slightly concerned when planning Friday because of how many different people I wanted to see, but it went really smoothly! I got to go see my grandma that morning, which was great. I grabbed lunch with Matt and my dad then went over to Brier Creek for some quick shopping for the kids. I got coffee with Jennifer and then booked it over to Chapel Hill to see Katie and grab dinner with Allison. Later, we met up with several friends at Yo-Po and ended up heading over to Allison, Priya, and Sue's apartment to talk and play a game. It was awesome to get to see everyone!!

Saturday I accidentally slept in and we just got ready for the wedding and headed to Greensboro. Laura and Stephen's wedding was beautiful and it was so great to see all the Winslows!! I'm excited for the next family wedding at New Years (Jenny & Dee's).

I will post pictures from my trip later on when I'm writing from my laptop (I'm on my work computer right now).

The best thing about going home was getting to spend time with my family.

I was so excited about coming home but was a bit worried that it would make me sad about leaving again and going back to Mexico after three days. It was sad and not fun to have to say goodbye to my family again. But coming back to Mexico was nothing like leaving the first time, and as soon as I got back, I got to hug the people I missed and jump right back into all the crazy activities that make up my life down here.

It was good to realize that when I got back to my apartment here in Mexico and saw my roommates and the kids, I felt the "home, sweet, home" feeling again...yep, I have a good life, regardless of what country I'm in.