So now that summer is almost over, let me recap my vacation home. Now people said that I would get bored since I took such an extensive vacation home (three weeks) and that I would regret going home for so long, but that is not true at all. I was so eager to get home and see my family that I didn’t really mind the 10 hour bus ride to the Bucharest airport. Lucky for me, there was another volunteer who was taking a bus to Bucharest later than me and when he heard that I was leaving that night too, he switched his ticket to go at the same time I was. He had been to the airport before and was familiar with the trip, so that was comforting to me.
When I bought the ticket, I asked if the bus goes to the airport because I didn’t want to hassle with getting dropped off at the bus station and trying to find my way to the airport with my luggage. They said yes, so I bought the ticket. Now, I wouldn’t have ever imagined that the bus would have dropped us off on a freeway overpass and I would be scrambling across lanes of traffic, with said luggage, down the street from the airport…but Raymond, the other volunteer with this knowledge, was able to assist me with my bags and knew the routine, so I am ever grateful to him.
I landed at S.F.O. around 4pm and picked up my luggage and waited outside by the curb. Brooke was picking me up and bringing along Bebe, so I waited patiently. I didn’t have a cell phone that worked in the states, so it was not like I could call her. She knew what time I got in but she had bought a new car since I had been gone and I wasn’t sure what to look out for. Well she surprised me for sure because she had parked the car and came into the airport to get me. There I was, expecting her to pull up curbside, and instead she sneak attacked me from behind. Before I even knew she was there, I felt a little cold wet nose on the back of my leg and was wondering, “what the heck was that?” After we embraced and I picked up Bebe, we got on the freeway and headed home. Brooke asked if I wanted to stop and get something to eat, since I had been missing good old fashioned American cuisine but I said no, I was sure my mom had cooked something fabulous and I didn’t want to spoil my appetite. (Talk about willpower!) We did stop off at a gas station, where I bought a Dr. Pepper and some chips (road food) and the funniest thing happened. Upon seeing an African American man ask for change and a crazy looking Asian lady rummage through the trash, I told Brooke that I missed America and my people. She said something funny to the fact that I related to the homeless people and the deranged as my people and I explained to her that it had been weird, living in a country for a year where there is little diversity. I stick out like a sore thumb back in Moldova, but here at home, I fit in. It was a nice feeling that I had as I sipped on my Dr. Pepper, holding my little rat in my lap as we drove along the freeway towards home.
I was right of course, when I got home, my mom had made her famous Spanish rice, beans and chicken. I devoured my plate like I hadn’t tasted this beautiful combination in over a year….it was heavenly. I unpacked my bags and gave my mom and dad the house wine that my host family in Moldova had given me and the rest of the souvenirs that I had acquired. It was so nice to be home, to see my parents, to sleep in my own bed and everything felt as it should.
Now three weeks flew by quickly and there were some things that I did not get a chance to do but many things that I had wanted to do and did accomplish. Instead of writing tons of paragraphs about them, I will
just write a list and then show you some pictures.
Things I accomplished:
Get a slurpee (Got two)
Get a pedicure
Go to a movie (Went four times!)
Go to Taco Bell (Not sure why, but I miss this a lot)
Go to a grocery store
Eat my dad's bbq
Hang out with my family/friends
Eat my mommas rice and flautas (By far the best accomplishment)
Go shopping at Wal-Mart and Target
Go swimming (Thanks Renee!)
Get pizza (Did this twice)
Drive my car
Eat a regular breakfast with bacon and eggs
Go to Chipotle
Go to La Bou (did this twice!)
Spend the Fourth of July with family (including Bebe)
Things I didn't get around to:
Get a turkey sandwich from Subway or Togos
See everyone (Sorry Dana, Forrest and Jen, Stacy's parents, Anne and anyone else who wanted to see me).
Get sushi at Wasabis.
Take Bebe to the dog park (We did take her to Tahoe though)
