Sunday, October 24, 2010

More Human Than Human

It's been quite some time since I took the time to let my readers know what has been happening. It boils down to being in Toubabadou. Let me tell you it is AMAZING!

I know a lot of our fellow volunteers end up prolonging their Peace Corps experience and serving the people they stay another year or even longer. We aren't going to be those people. We had a lot of good times, but nothing significant enough that I would trade more time away from friends, family, and my native culture.

The British Isles were a true pleasure. This leg of our journey home was overwhelming at times, so much diversity and so many people and choices at stores. We stayed with some friends of a friend in London and it was everything I had hoped it would be. The British Museum is officially one of my favorite places in the world. We lost and found our luggage and moved on to the cruise ship.

The cruise ship was another world, we have never experienced such luxury and the contrast between our cruise and our PC service was staggering. We ate a lot, visited loads of places, took a pilates class, and met some interesting people along the way. Due to weather we were not able to visit Northern Ireland or Iceland but it was a great trip none the less.

We docked in NYC, NY. We came in at 4 in the morning and seen the Manhattan skyline and cruised right past the Statue of Liberty all lit up. It felt like the perfect way to come home. We were able to hook up with some former PC RIM friends and stayed with one of their families it was great.

My dad came and got us in NYC and took us to Philly. We reconnected with part of my family and were showered with gifts and spent some good quality time off and on for a couple weeks. We went to South Carolina to visit Kristy's father and found more PC RIM friends over the week we were around. Over a week ago we came back to Ohio gathering things we left behind with beloved friends and family here and there. Soon we shall go Toledo back to where we started, to catch up and move on to the western part of these here United Sates.

In the few short weeks I have been back we have had high and low swings for serious and silly reasons. I have noticed how much people have and how much is wasted without much of a thought. I have noticed both inspired and uninspired individuals living the best they can manage. I have remembered what I was looking for when we left for Africa and why we wanted to relocated out of Ohio. I have realized how much we left behind and how much there is left for us yet to do.