"I'll be home for Christmas"

My sister randomly played this on the way to the airport...admist Britney Spears...and "Come fly with me."  She is the designated deejay.

We have made it home!  Strange...very strange to say that.

We are jet lagged, weary, ready to eat, sleep and be merry.  

It's weird being here...one would think.. "oh you ve only been gone 4 months."  Yeah, well that doesnt change anything...it's still weird being here.  I feel like I am living a double life right now. My mind (and heart?) is still in Africa but my body is in America....America in the middle of Christmas that is.  

The trip over was interesting from start to finish.  I spent the first 20 minutes or so of the flight from Jo-burg writing out all that had happened.  Rachel and I were very disruptive as we laughed our way through each event and quote.  I went from hysterically laughing to crying...talk about feeling bipolar.  We were beyond delirium.  

It all began with trying to load the car with 4 trunks and two large suitcases admist the two campus Christmas turkeys running around our feet.  There is no other car that would have fit our luggage...thanks to Danny!  Then came the Lilongwe airport...I was very anxious...in rachel's words "on edge."  It was everything from being frisked in the Lilongwe airport...I wish you could have seen Rachel's face and she went first and had no idea what was coming...i had tears streaming down my face I was laughing so hard... o our roommate Michelle saying from the airplane window (we flew together to SA) "you know Africa is not that different than any other place in the world, it has trees and dirt" to which I said "Yeah...everything looks the same from 10 000 feet in the air" to spending 7 hours in the joburg airport followed by 4 hours sitting at the gate...to upon arrival in Atlanta having the trajectory path of customs, toilet, starbucks...talk about providential...the Starbucks was across from our gate...to seeing your mother pseudo-prancing around in her high heels at the Jackson airport with her blinking reindeer antlers upon your arrival....to hearing your sweet nephews voice over the phone just after you arrive home...to emails from friends and students back in Malawi... to many tears and hugs and telling stories about living in Africa...

Merry Christmas!