Visiting America
After 836 days in the jungle of Panama, (yea, I counted) the lost wanderer returned to the heartland of America, my hometown of Omaha, NE. I was expecting it to be really weird and foreign. I was expecting it to be like going to a brand new country. Therefore, it was definitely more familiar than I expected...but it was still kinda weird. I felt like a tourist in my own city, which while at first was strange, I also enjoyed because I observed and learned a lot about my home town and former life before Peace Corps.
It goes without saying that the best part of my trip was seeing my family friends for the first time in years, but I am going to repeat it just so everyone knows how important they are to me. Thank you so much to my family and friends to made time to see me last week! The people were the best, however the food was a close second. Some of my old favorites aren't anymore (diet coke and french fries are meh) but other things I never appreciated before were an amazing surprise. (Cupcakes! Carnitas at Chipotle! Coffee shops!)
I spent most of my time catching up with friends and family members, and then running errands with my parents looking for a few items that would make my PC life just a little bit better- a carabiner to support the porch hammock so it doesn't fall down, a 'cap cap' for my nalgene so that I don't bathe myself trying to take a drink on the bus, and running shoes so that I don't have to play ultimate barefoot anymore.
After several days in Omaha and a night in Lincoln, I went to Chicago to continue my 10 days of gluttony with Chicago style deep dish, more amazing beer, and fried cheese. So delicious. Also, THEATRE. I spent 3 days talking about theatre, with theatre people, and seeing theatre. Though I've never lived in Chicago, it was familiar from my several visits there. I rode the public transportation system effortlessly- street signs, stop announcements, and Google maps make it a piece of cake after Panama. Many of my college friends welcomed me to the city and most of us picked up right where we left off a few years ago.
It was a 10 day blur, so much so that I barely took any photos, but an enjoyable blur at that. The purpose for the blur, I mean, vacation, was for my little brother's college graduation and so I must give a shout out to Nate for his great accomplishment. You rock bro.
I loved my visit, but as with any vacation, by the end you are typically exhausted and ready for the comforts of home and your own bed. It turns out, that at least for now, those things for me are located in Panama. Landing at the Panama City airport and being greeted with atrocious customer service at the customs desk made me smile. Panama, you are a dirty, smelly, hot, buggy, and mind-numbly inefficient country, but for now, you're home.
It goes without saying that the best part of my trip was seeing my family friends for the first time in years, but I am going to repeat it just so everyone knows how important they are to me. Thank you so much to my family and friends to made time to see me last week! The people were the best, however the food was a close second. Some of my old favorites aren't anymore (diet coke and french fries are meh) but other things I never appreciated before were an amazing surprise. (Cupcakes! Carnitas at Chipotle! Coffee shops!)
I spent most of my time catching up with friends and family members, and then running errands with my parents looking for a few items that would make my PC life just a little bit better- a carabiner to support the porch hammock so it doesn't fall down, a 'cap cap' for my nalgene so that I don't bathe myself trying to take a drink on the bus, and running shoes so that I don't have to play ultimate barefoot anymore.
After several days in Omaha and a night in Lincoln, I went to Chicago to continue my 10 days of gluttony with Chicago style deep dish, more amazing beer, and fried cheese. So delicious. Also, THEATRE. I spent 3 days talking about theatre, with theatre people, and seeing theatre. Though I've never lived in Chicago, it was familiar from my several visits there. I rode the public transportation system effortlessly- street signs, stop announcements, and Google maps make it a piece of cake after Panama. Many of my college friends welcomed me to the city and most of us picked up right where we left off a few years ago.
It was a 10 day blur, so much so that I barely took any photos, but an enjoyable blur at that. The purpose for the blur, I mean, vacation, was for my little brother's college graduation and so I must give a shout out to Nate for his great accomplishment. You rock bro.
I loved my visit, but as with any vacation, by the end you are typically exhausted and ready for the comforts of home and your own bed. It turns out, that at least for now, those things for me are located in Panama. Landing at the Panama City airport and being greeted with atrocious customer service at the customs desk made me smile. Panama, you are a dirty, smelly, hot, buggy, and mind-numbly inefficient country, but for now, you're home.
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