Over the ocean and through Chicago..it's home to Hillsdale we go.....

2,000 miles can be a big difference temperature wise. It’s weird for me to imagine warm, tropical Dominican Republic as I’m huddled under a blanket in “see your breath outside” weather Michigan. On the bright side, it finally feels and looks like winter and of course there are freckles of snow outside so perhaps we will have a white Christmas. Probably the best part of coming home was rediscovering my mom’s homemade bread, being able to get water from the faucet (my parents laughed at my enthusiasm on this one) and of course seeing the Christmas decorations up around the house…the stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

Getting to the United States was actually more eventful than normal. When I arrived in Atlanta, I went through security and they did a hand swipe on me for “explosives.” Apparently, my hands tested positive for something, so I spent the next half hour as TSA went through my things and I got patted down. I was actually most nervous about getting thrown into an interrogation room as you see in the movies with bright lights, but after discovering that all I was hiding in my book bag were pencil shavings and my shoes really weren’t bombs ready to go off, they released me.  

On the flight to Chicago, apparently Toto was found by the row behind us. After several radio calls asking for the owner…and walking up and down the aisles with the little white dog…..everyone thought it must have been a stow away and wondered how it could’ve possibly gotten on the plane and if the owners were looking desperately for it back in Atlanta. About a half hour later, the owners were found and apparently had slept through all of the announcements. I pity their alarm clock.

Being back home in Hillsdale is a very strange phenomena. It’s strange how different and yet how familiar everything feels. Sitting here eating soup and watching football with my parents makes it easy to feel as if the entire Dominican Republic experience was a dream, but at least I have the cuts, scrapes and bruises from my many adventures in the Dominican Republic to prove it really happened. Now, I get to go decorate the tree. My dad thinks it is done, but obviously all of my homemade ornaments from my elementary school years are missing. Tradition is tradition, and the tree is not complete without the angel with my second grade face on it that my dad lovingly named “napkin head” is on the top. It’s good to be home :D

I'm coming home...tell the world that I'm coming home!

14 days, 6 hours, 48 minutes and 11 seconds until I see my family, but hey who's counting? In all honestly...I truly believe that as the day draw nearer..I get more and more excited. Talking to friends and family on the computer makes me want to pull them from the screen and give them a huge hug. I think though being back in the states will be a little of a culture shock after getting accustomed to life here. Here are 10 things that I'm going to need to get reused to

1. There is such a thing as cold snowy weather- After having 4 months straight of sun and t-shirt weather... I'm sure it will be a shock to be donning the winter coat once more, but I am excited to have a white christmas. 2 weeks of snow is perfect to get sledding, skiing and snowballs fights in and then return to the tropical weather.

2. I will be considered normal- Perhaps the tannest Hillsdale resident...but still I I will lose my celebrity status as "americana" "rubia" and "gringa because everyone will look just like me. It will be strange walking down the streets without hearing "Dios mio, you are boot-i-ful...o hola rubia...  I feel like I will constantly be looking around, but it will be nice to be part of the background again.

3. English will be the only language- It will be strange to not hear Spanish on the streets anymore . I will be able to understand 100% of what people at stores, on the street and at restaurants are saying and they won't be able to switch languages to talk about that clumsy American.....but I know I will miss being able to use my Spanish and I'm sure I will accidently try to ask strangers questions in Spanish

4. There will be lots of cars- After living in a world of motos for four months...seeing a plethora of cars sounds outrageous.  It will be strange not seeing motos lining the streets or zipping in and out of traffic.

5. I can drink water from the faucet- This will definitely be hard to get used to. To think that if I want to I can stick my head under the faucet and take a big drink sounds outlandish after buying water from the colmado a couple times a week and pumping it into water bottles.

6. American money-I know this seems strange...but I found a $20 dollar bill that I hid in a book back from August...and I just stared at it for a while and thought how weird it looked. I have been handling Dominican pesos so long that American money looks ridiculous to me. Also Dominican pesos are worth a lot less. It will seem strange to go from spending $1,000 Dominican pesos at the supermercado to spending something like $25 dollars. What a big difference!

7. I will not have to light the stove- It seems such a ridiculous notion that to turn on the stove all I will have to do is push a button. I don't think I will feel quite as accomplished fixing supper in America without using a flame to light the stove...where's the thrill in that?

8. Laundry- Laundry machines!? What are those? I don't think I'll remember how to use a dryer after hanging my clothes on the line for the past four months

9. No more waterfalls, mountains or palm trees-I have gotten accustomed to seeing the mountains lining the outskirts of Jarabacoa that it will be strange to see the corn fields and evergreen trees of Hillsdale. Not that Hillsdale doesn't have its own comforting beauty...but it doesn't quite compare.


10. Talking to my friends and family without a computer screen between us- This is the greatest Christmas gift I could've asked for. I will wager that  I will cry when I see my family again because they have supported me so much here and they are home to me.