teco/teca: USA

While we have only been back in the States for roughly two weeks, we have thus far managed to pack in some great time with great friends! We saw James' parents and attended our friend Emily's wedding our first day back (a hearty congrats to Emily and Scott Smith!) but we'll post pics of that later when they're available.

We've been enjoying catching up with people we have missed dearly, friends and family alike.

Our friend Cara came to Neosho from Lawrence to visit.

We went to visit our friends in Lawrence for a fun evening. We played Bocci ball and had a BBQ. Thanks for hosting, Kim and Chad!

Our friends Jake and Amber ('The Jamber') visited from D.C.

If only they were moving back, too!

More from the BBQ...

We were actually here in person for Dad's birthday!

We celebrated by playing pool and playing music

Mom with her dog, Mitzi

We hosted a Pyper Party in West Plains, MO

Stan, Genevieve, and Will Pyper came to visit us.

Thanks to all for the warm welcome back to the States!

Now that James and I are officially living in the U.S. again (though we have no official living residence), we are feeling pretty spoiled by the normalities and banalities of life. I feel a bit like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when she sings her song "I Want it Now" because it all seems so--possible! You can ask for--and find--just about anything you want in America. The availability of choices is staggering.

There are luxuries that we never really appreciated until having lived a developing country, and we both still have the feeling that everything is so temporary, like it has been over the last two short Christmas breaks. We are trying to break ourselves of the mentality that we have to "stock up" on things, or that "this is the last time" we eat certain foods, etc.

Happy to be Home!

Some of the small stuff we've been loving:

Air Conditioning
Healthy food options at the supermarket
Using a dishwasher (this one is short-lived. We won't have one in Lawrence come August...)
Watching English-only TV with muchos channels
Walking around outdoors and feeling 100% safe (and hot -- it's humid in Missouri!)
Quickly filling up the coffee pot from the sink
Going to a gym where people are polite and clean, with cold water from the water fountains
Driving on wide roads with other rule-abiding citizens. No window-tint needed! No locked doors!
The long, sunny summer days. No sunset until after 8pm! (instead of 6 pm year-round in Guate)
Wearing our wedding bands and my engagement ring. We've missed our nice jewelery that means so much to us.
Understanding every interaction we partake in (in English) and understanding what others around us are saying, too!
The predictability and orderliness of life in America. People stand in a line. They wait their turn. They drive in one lane. Imagine!
Having the family cats to help us grieve giving away Rafa: Gabby, Dooley, and our cat, Mia
Making phone calls to friends and family that are domestic (read: cheap) instead of international.
Going shopping without wondering how much everything is going to weigh in a suitcase!!

For now, it still seems like this is "vacation" instead of just what life will be like from now on...Either way, we will take it!

If you are wondering, the blog will go on, but it will likely take the form of our friend Kim's LuceChatter, a blog more about daily life and State-side observations and MUCH less about Guatemala.