Homecoming

 Coming home from Korea was... interesting to say the least.  When E dropped me off at the airport, it was like the zombie apocalypse had already hit.  The place was EMPTY - where you usually see a ton of people loading and unloading their bags, saying goodbye, etc, there was only the 2 of us and maybe one other car.  We said goodbye and I headed inside.   When I went to check in, I found out that my flights were not Seoul-San Francisco-Dallas as I had booked, now they were Seoul-San Francisco-Denver-Dallas.  I was going to arrive in Dallas not at 645 on March 4, but at 851 on March 4th.  That had me annoyed.  Then one of my bags was too heavy, so I opened it up and starting taking stuff out.  The lady asked if I could re-pack it and I said at that point I didn't care anymore, so show me where to throw it away and I'd do that.  She then told me that I'd have to pick up my checked bags in San Fran and take them thru customs then re-check them and go back thru security.  At this point, I was SUPER annoyed, stressed to the max, and over it.  I did try repacking Little Buddy, and then went to the area where they screen the checked bags.  I also started stressing because I had forgotten about my laptop being in my checked bag and wasn't sure if I was going to get in trouble or have to leave it or what, when the lady who checked my bag in came out with a battery and gave it to me.  I told her thanks, put it in my carry on and made my way thru security.  Security was quite quick and I gave my ARC to the immigration guy there.  I made my way to my gate and tried to relax.  While I was charging my phone, I went to get my kindle and... couldn't find it anywhere.  Somewhere in all the packing, repacking, getting things situated stress I had left it on a bench.  Naturally I freaked and tried to see what I could do, found a lady and was told I couldn't go back.

It was at this point that I lost it.  I was texting Todd, sitting on the bench by my gate, and crying.  The kind of crying you do with one hand up on your face so that no one can really tell you are crying.  I don't know how long I cried, but I'll forever be grateful to Todd for his encouragement - "A significant chapter in your life is closing.  You don't just need to close it, you need to process it.  You will need to grieve for some of these changes.  That's natural.  Let yourself be human.  Damnit."  I have come to the conclusion that a lost kindle isn't the end of the world.  I can register it with the airport as being lost, cross my fingers, and hope that it's turned in.  I can also get a new one to replace it and hope that the book I bought for the FSOT is compatible with the newest version of the Kindle.  I believe this is the route I will take.  Just at that moment everything that I had been repressing just came thru.  The stress of leaving, the worry about if I cleaned my apt out enough, knowing that I would miss E, having to change my dinner plans with Ana (Anamia's closes at 930 on Thursdays), having an extra flight that I hadn't counted on, it all just needed to come out.  For those who were worried about my entertainment on the flight since I didn't have my kindle, let me reassure you that my carry on had books in it.  I finally read "Under the Same Sky" by Joseph Kim about him growing up in North Korea during the famine and how he escaped to China and eventually came to the US.  It's a good (tho emotional) read so I cried reading that book, too.  I finished the book on the Denver to Dallas leg of the trip.  In San Francisco I got thru Customs just fine, then back through security again, and stopped to use the bathroom.  In the bathroom I realized that I had lost my boarding pass for this flight somewhere around security.  I had to ask and was told I could get another printed at the gate.  This was true.  They also offered to check my carry on at the gate, which I gladly took advantage of.  My memories of the Denver airport include a lot of running thru to get to my plane on time, so the less luggage I'd have for that the better.  Turned out, no running was necessary, but it was still nice not to have to mess with it. 

Then I landed in Dallas.  I did a happy dance when they announced that we had begun our final descent.  Ana found me at the baggage claim and after initial hugs she said we definitely needed to go shopping cuz my outfit wasn't supposed to be THAT loose.  We went to dinner at 54th Street and decided to just have margaritas and appetizers.

We so cute!

Proper NACHOS!!!  I really missed those.

Then we went to the hotel and I slept on the most comfy bed ever.  Tru by Hilton has pillow top mattresses, down pillows, and fluffy comforters.  The only down side was I thought the shower didn't get hot enough.  The next day we went to Target where I was reminded how expensive bras are.  The fitting rooms were closed, so I bought a few things with the intention of taking them back if they didn't fit.  They didn't have any jeans that were boot cut (all skinny, smh), so we went to Ross where I found some that could work.  After shopping, we went to get pedicures and so my toes are pretty now.  Then we decided it was time for lunch/dinner and went to Anamias.

The balloon Ana got me.

Pretty toes!

My happy place

So good

SO GOOD

We got our favorite waitresses who remembered us!!  They are so sweet.

Table side guacamole.

Since it was Friday, I went with a shrimp-stuffed poblano a la parilla.  It was AMAZING.

Seriously, so good!

After lunch/dinner we went back to the hotel and had wine and pie.  I also tried on all the clothes that I bought and put the ones aside that we needed to return.  We then went to bed after a few phone calls.

The next day we got up, went back to Target and Ross to return the things that didn't fit (I'm a 14 or a 12 depending on the cut of the jeans), went to the Mexican bakery to get the empenadas, sweet bread, ginger pigs, and cookies that Ana's family requested, and headed back to Eastland.  When we got here we ran to Wal-Mart for some last min stuff, unloaded the car (while Cake freaked out having Ana back), started cooking, and later enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner of brisket, potato salad, green salad, jalapeno poppers, chips and queso, and an ice cream b-day cake for Ana's brother AD (who made the brisket).

The helper under the table.

Ana making the jalapeno poppers.  Half a jalapeno, then put in cream cheese and wrap in bacon!

The queso we made - standard queso and rotel.  We pretty well devoured this stuff.

A spoiled, happy dog this morning.  The cats are outside, and I am happy to report that I have been fully adopted by Dusty.

So I stayed on the hide-a-bed in the living room last night.  The same sofa bed that I'd slept on many times when Ana had her apt and house.  It's been an incredible feeling, being back in TX.  It's almost like she just picked me up from a weekend away.  We know it's been 2 years, but it doesn't really feel like it for either of us.  It's good to be home, and since I'm home I'm starting to realize just how stressful this last year of living in Korea was.  As I told Mo, I knew I was miserable, but I'm starting to realize the DEPTH of that misery.  I'll post about that at another time.  I am fighting the jet lag still - seems like no matter what happens at night I'm still exhausted all the next day.  Guess it's just going to take some time.  

Today Ana is going to make biscuits and sausage gravy and I will be making my gooey butter cookies.  We'll head to Wal-Mart for the ingredients we need and also for road trip snacks as tomorrow we are going to head to NM and my aunt's house (via a national park).  Ana has to be back in TX by Thurs, but I don't so I'll spend some time with my aunt before heading to San Antonio.  Looks like San Antonio will be my base to run to Gbury and GRose to see people there before I head out of TX and on to the next part of the journey (OK City for those who are wondering).  It has been wonderful to be back in the States - to be home, surrounded by my Mexican family.  It's been nice having conversations with our servers at restaurants and being able to tell the check-out people "have a good day."  I still bowed to a few people (causing Ana to wonder what the heck was wrong with me), and neither of us have had a problem leaving our masks on in stores and such.  I fully expect the reverse culture shock to hit eventually but right now I'm just enjoying being able to be here with people who love me.  I really, really missed 'my' humans... I fully intend to soak up all of the loving vibes that are not deluded by time and distance.  

Much love, my dear readers, and see you soon(ish)!  MUAH! :*