I'm Back!

I arrived home at 8 something pm on Saturday evening.

There were two short-term missionaries, Nancy and Dave, staying at our apartment for two weeks and leaving at the same time I was, so Vova drove as all to the airport at 4 am. Nancy and I stayed up to sleep on the plane. My first flight, to Munich, there was nobody next to me and I slept.

My second flight there was a woman next to me and I asked her "do you speak English" and she said, "no." So I figured she was German. Except when all the German flight attendants came by she just pointed, so I didn't know what she was. She pulled out a magazine with some Russian letters, though it wasn't Russian, and I asked, "Russki?" and she said, "No, Bulgarski." Then they gave us customs declarations form and she asked me if I could write it for her, and the Bulgarian word for "write" was the same as the Russian. She gave me her passport and a letter from her daughter explaining that her mother was traveling to visit her in Florida and what kind of visa she had and etc. Of course the customs form wanted to know the value of her property and whether she was bringing livestock and other intersesting questions that I just guessed on. She understood the Russian word "money" and "birth day" and I felt very smart that I could speak Bulgarian too, ha ha.

In Chicago I made my first purchase with American money in 3.5 monthes. I got dried mango - isn't that random? It was snowing but we boarded on time and then waited over an hour for freezing rain and I figured my parents were panicking but there was nothing I could do to tell them so I went to sleep. The captain was coming on saying "thank you for your patience, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature," so I just said, "Father... you know better than that. Please get me home." And He did.

At home I have been in this time warp, it's so weird. They left my dresser untouched and on the top of it was my last minute packing list to leave for Russia! I noticed everything that is different in the house since August 16 - "oh, you got a new frying pan!" and they're like, "we did?"

I think the biggest shock was how differently they responded to gifts then the orphans like Katya that I'd been getting used to. On my last week I took Katya and developed 50 of the photos she'd taken of herself on my laptop so she'd have them, which she really really wanted, and then we went to another movie. My last night I asked Vera, "Katya has been nice to me for over a week now - is it because she knows she's getting rid of me?" Vera said, "You developed her pictures and took her to a movie, you could live here in peace for another year. You've showed her that she matters to you. It's the psychology of children without a mother. They have no security inside and you have to prove that you care about them, because nobody needs them. Now that you have, she'll stand up for you if anyone speaks against you." Katya had even said, when returning my earrings, "I wish you wouldn't leave, who will I borrow earrings from?" and when I bought Kristina a birthday present, "I wish you would be here until my birthday!" I was glad of what Vera said because sometimes it felt like buying love. Gulia too, I would wonder if she loved me or just my things. Katya did also say however that she wants me to visit when she has her own place someday, and she wants me to email her.

Then I had bought all sorts of presents and souvenirs for my family, and they didn't even want to open my suitcase! My sisters pinned me down on the sofa and said, "give us presents later, first we just want to talk to you and hug you and kiss you and see that you're real!" I'm thinking, you love me just for who I am without giving you anything? and then, why is that so strange and amazing to me now?

Then I was talking to my mother and I said something like, "I'm getting a drink of water would you tozhe like some?" and she said "what?" and I said "also, also also! would you also like some? I can't believe I said that!" And when I was alone with my dog I started speaking Russian to him.

For my first breakfast I couldn't pick what kind of cereal. I ended up eating three little bowls instead of one big one so I could have all of them. My sisters thought I was nuts.

I can still drive, praise the Lord.

I feel very loved.