Back home after being home

For 15 days I was in Crystal Lake, IL, to celebrate my brother and new sister-in-law’s wedding.

I LOVED being home. There were so many things I had missed that I got to experience:

• Public transportation that wasn’t a death-defying bus or van trip: Chicago Metra trains are AWESOME.
• Driving: While I would never want to commute hours to work by car or even drive to have to get to a grocery store, getting away in a private vehicle was a great thing.
• Eavesdropping: My Shqip is good but not so good that I can pick up tidbits of conversation when I walk down the street which can be isolating. I got to be as nosy as I wanted in America!
• Feeling 1000% comfortable: I got to be back in my Midwestern America culture with the people I care about the most. In connection with the point above, it felt great to completely understand everything that was going on around me.
• Calling on the telephone and not worrying how much Leke I had on it
• Food! I had 3 chicken salad sandwiches on a plain bagel from Panera because I could. I ate some real cheeseburgers and enough Hersey’s Kisses to last a while (thanks, Mom!). Sadly, Taco Bell didn’t do much for my stomach, but I’ll build my resistance back soon.
• HGTV: LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of watching people buy and rent houses...loved it!
• Target: ‘nuf said

And while CL felt exceptionally and oddly normal, there were still a few moments when I realized how long I had been away and where I had been:

• I almost asked Alia if I could throw toilet paper in her toilet. I got half-way back down the hall to ask her when I realized that question didn’t apply in the city of Chicago.
• I was asked a yes/no question, and I sat there paralyzed, not remembering which way I should shake my head. (Remember, in Albania, a “no” shake is an American “yes.”)
• People spoke to me in Spanish, and I replied in Albanian…sure, like that helps.
• One of the groomsmen gave me a kiss on the cheek, and I turned it into a double-kiss, Albanian style. And that was the one trait I did NOT want to pick up! (See blog post 10-Jan-11, point 5)

While I can’t say yet that I’m LOVING being back in Albania, I’m sure after a few days of a regular schedule I will be fine. It has been nice to see Albanian friends, and I am looking forward to seeing my American PCVs friends, too!

I have less than one year left, and I am determined to enjoy my Albanian home as much as possible before I go!