Quick trip to the US

First of all, I want to say thanks to everyone that reads my blog! While I was home I had so many people, including people I don't even know say they really enjoy reading it. I had no idea I had such a following...how cool! I'll start putting a bit more effort into it :)

Anyway, about my trip back to the States.

I left my house in Kitwe at 8:30 on a Tuesday morning and arrived in Pinedale, WY late Thursday evening. Considering the 8 hour time difference that's quite a journey. It was a 6 hour bus ride (plus the hour I sat in the bus waiting for it to fill up and take off) and 45 hours in airplanes and airports. I arrived at the airport in WY in flip flops, a skirt, and T-shirt only to find that they still have snow on the ground. Welcome back!

It was really nice to be back home in Pinedale for a while. I got to see lots of friends and family and eat all of the foods on my "must eat" list plus some that I forgot to put on the list. My first week was spent in Pinedale where I spent time catching up on movies, chilling with my kitties, running (when it wasn't snowing of course). Its amazing the little things that I missed most- movies, Billie & Holiday, and running. Strange. I think I did my laundry three times just to be good and sure that I wouldn't have to do it again for a while! I repacked my bags with a different selection of clothes, signed a bunch of paperwork waiting for me, played technical assistance for the entire town, and finally I was ready to go.

Next I flew off to Sacramento to see the girls and get ready for the Castro wedding! It was fantastic to see the girls. There was so much catching up to do, unfortunately Facebook just can't keep you updated on everything. We may have opened one or fifteen bottles of wine in the days leading up to the wedding. The wedding was fabulous, everyone looked fabulous, no logistical problems, really quite perfect.

Those couple weeks were exactly what I needed to recharge the batteries and feel ready to head back. Of course over the span of my time back I spent quite a bit of time telling my story and showing photos to family, friends of the family, friends of friends, people at church, people at the grocery store. Honestly I'm glad to be back in Zambia so I don't have to talk about Zambia anymore! Just kidding, but not really :)

One thing that struck me while I was back in the US was the information overload. I had gotten so used to either ignoring or not seeing advertisements/announcements/anything in neon (from being both in non-English speaking countries and Zambia) that being back in the states was kind of a shocker. All of a sudden the announcements in the airport were in English so I had to pay attention, I was reading the signs, I noticed the flashing lights that I hadn't paid attention to in years. It was very strange to realize what I had learned to tune out and all of a sudden now I'm aware of again. It was a bit overwhelming.

The next thing that was shocking to me was the state of my stomach for the first 10 days back. Now, if any of you know me you know that I have a stomach of steel. I can eat anything, anywhere, anytime and not have any problems. Well, turns out that there is something that can take me down, eating the junk American food again after so long. Zambians essentially don't eat anything that you don't pull from the ground or can't kill. All natural, no preservatives, no chemicals, no processing, just all goodness. Bland but very cleansing as it turns out. So, here I am, back in the States and for the first time in my life have to consider whether I should really eat that delicious looking battered shrimp. Don't anyone worry, 10 days later I was back at it, eating In-N-Out with the best of them.

I think what hit me most while I was back was my realization of our disposable income. While in California I was more aware of how everyone spends money, myself included. Going to Starbucks, gossip magazines, pedicures, hotels. I guess that before, I had never considered that these truly are luxuries. Of course I knew that I didn't need them, but since I've been financially independent I haven't been in a position that I couldn't buy one of these if I really wanted to. Don't get me wrong I love all these things and I'm just as much of a Starbucks junkie as anyone else, but I guess I never considered what a huge amount of extra, disposable income I really have. In Zambia I've tried to embrace their ways and save whenever possible. Now that doesn't mean that I walk 4 miles to town rather than take the bus, but I do shop at the black markets rather than the convenience of the supermarket, turn off the hot water heater after every use, reuse empty yogurt containers as a toothbrush holder, etc. Most of the Zambians are even more thrifty and ingenuitive than me, and yet most wouldn't have enough at the end of the month to stay in a hotel for their brother's wedding. I suppose you have to consider the difference that most of these luxuries aren't available. A woman couldn't go out for a massage and pedicure even if she wanted to. Instead, a luxury here is to take a $5, 15 minute taxi rather than the 50 cent, 2 hour bus ride home from visiting a friend.

With this new realization I'm really reconsidering my thoughts about Americans and our wealth. Previously, when I was in a conversation with a Zambian and they made a statement about how wealthy Americans are I used to say that most Americans aren't really THAT wealthy, you just think they are because of what you see on TV. Now when I think about it, we really are that wealthy. Even the lower class. Things like renting a movie, owning a different outfit for every day of the week, having enough gas to get home are a given, we don't know what life would be like without these things. Here, about half the time you get into a cab they will ask for the fare up front so they can put enough gas into the car to get you to your destination, that's how close they cut it every single day. The wonderful thing is that they're truly happy, joyful people. They sing and sit around and laugh and are less stressed than any Americans I know. Its really amazing. I think we could learn a thing or two from them.

On the way back to Zambia I stopped in Amsterdam for a night. Its amazing what a different experience Amsterdam is when you're there for fun rather than a work trip. Awesome city. Since it is Springtime in Amsterdam naturally I went to the Keukenhof to see all the tulips. Absolutely stunning. I barely made it out of Amsterdam. My flight was one of the last ones out of Europe before the airspace was closed down due to the volcano. If my flight would have been 3 hours later I would have been stuck there for days. Not that Amsterdam is a horrible place to be stranded but I was excited to get home!


Our first night in Chico. Scotty's 21st birthday!
















Gus looking dapper in his tux.


















The girls at the Bradley's house before the wedding.








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I love this photo and the people in it :)



















I think this captures Amsterdam pretty well.














Tulips as far as you can see.


















Amongst the tulips at the Keukenhof