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| Ready to leave the hotel at 4:00 am in the morning! |
The Gringo is Home!!!
Well, my flight from San Pedro Sula was uneventful. I had really complained about that airport and it had actually been renovated since the last time I was there. I had been a little worried about being the last person to fly out, but I just sat and waited for the Continental desk to open. After I got checked in, I went ahead and went through security and was one of the first people to get to my gate. After several hours of reading my book, the gate started filling up.
Waiting at Cafe Americana with my two huge suitcases. I was at the Continental desk whenever the opened. Continental did a little switcheroo. We were allowed 50 lbs. on the way down, but only 40 lbs. on the way back. Luckily, I had pretty much emptied one of my suitcases because I carried supplies down in it.
I was a little concerned about getting through customs in 2 hours in Houston, since I had trouble making my connection in 45 min. on the way down. I actually made it with thirty minutes to spare before boarding.
I'm the first one at the gates.
My flight to Nashville went well also. I think I may have slept, or at least I dozed. We got the okay to unbuckle and my ears weren’t back to normal and I swore I heard someone saying “Mrs. Patty”. I thought I was hearing things, well, come to find out it was Katy Gooch. She went on the Torch trip last year and this year she came down on the 3rd and went in a different direction with another group. We got to chat on the way to luggage claim and I even met her mother who was there to pick her up.
I had to go out into the garage for the Parking Spot to pick me up. Wow, it was about 8:00 pm and the heat and humidity hit me like I had put my head in an oven. It is definitely hotter in Tennessee than Central America.
The house was quiet because Nick was traveling with work and Taylor had gone back to Freed to work. The dog was even gone to spend the night at the dog sitter’s house. I guess it was a good thing because I was beat and needed to decompress. My status update for Facebook was “Wow, I just realized that I live in a mansion!” and that was the truth.
I spent all day Tuesday sitting at home. I did unpack and try to put things away. I did some laundry and I finally left the house around 4:30 pm. The heat was still oppressive and I felt like I was swimming in a fog. I think it was part of the “decompressing” that comes with the reverse culture shock. I do have to say that there are many things I have to be thankful for. Here’s a list of a few things that you might take for granted:
1. Free clean water
2. Hot showers
3. Safe neighborhoods where you don’t have to worry about your things getting stolen
4. Just and honest police officers
5. Good roads
6. Central heat & air
7. Good plumbing (being able to flush toilet paper)
The list isn’t complete by any means, but you don’t realize how much you appreciate the simplest things.
Well, things are almost back to normal. I have gone to a couple of Zumba classes and survived. I have jumped back into board meetings with both feet and have already been busy with that. Next week, I have VBS and a day of inservice. Schools starts at the beginning of August. I WILL NOT count the actual number of days until it starts!! There is no rest for the weary.
(The dog was brought home by the dogsitter on Tue. I guess because Cocoa had been gone, she had forgotten that I had been gone. I'm even underappreciated by the dog!! :0) )
(There is something wrong with these pictures! Many people get very upset when they see the dogs in Honduras, but the human need far surpasses that of the animals!!)
This year’s trip was awesome. I got to do everything that I wanted to and more. I particularly enjoyed seeing and working in Santa Rosa de Copan and it was especially nice to work in a small group with the interns. We ended it all with a wonderful visit to the Mayan ruins in Copan. I couldn’t ask for more. Now, it’s time to start making money for next year’s trip!!! J
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