Being home

It's interesting that I wrote a blog post almost every day of my trip, but now that I am home, I have writer's block. It was hard getting motivated to write this one.

Being back is nice, but strange. It's so easy to feel at home in your own house when everything is so nice. But at the same time, I'm not completely comfortable being back. It's hard not to want to talk about Africa all the time. It's probably the most important thing to happen to me, and it's always on my mind. It feels like since my family already read my blog, they don't feel the need to ask me about my semester. I'm not upset about this, but my return is very much out-shadowed by the preparations for my adopted brother who comes home next Tuesday. I'm so excited for him to come, and there is a lot to do to get ready, so my trip is kind of on the back burner and I will continue processing on my own.

I love getting to see my friends. I am always leaving them to go to school, or abroad. It's nice to know I will be here this summer and able to see them. Church on Sunday was great. I love seeing everyone there, and I got a lot of hugs. I also enjoy that the service is not three hours long, or outside in the heat.

Speaking of heat, I am cold! It is SO COLD here. I am living in sweatpants and sweaters. I just spent a semester being too hot all the time; where just laying down could make me sweat. And now I am in Massachusetts shivering.

I've noticed that I am no longer such a germaphobe. I walked into a Denny's bathroom with my friend and she said "this bathroom is so gross!". I looked around thinking the exact opposite. I remembered one latrine I used where I had to hold my breath, and I couldn't even see the floor because it was crawling with flies. Our public bathrooms are like paradise, and I do not mind using them at all.

It was Mom's last Mother's Day with only two kids, since Auguste comes next week from Haiti. We picked up Dad at the airport Monday night, after his Africa trip. Now we have less than a week as a family of four. Now I think we are all getting a bit nervous about the new addition to the family. We have always been incredibly excited, but it's going to be so new having a teenage brother in the house. We aren't sure what to expect.