Home Sweet Home

Hello everyone in TV land!

I'm happy to say that I blogging this from a real computer at my Katy-home in Katy, Texas. (Hopefully I won't have as many typos thanks to autocorrect and lack of sleep)

It's good to be home. Our travel schedule on the way back was pretty tough.We had wake-up calls at 6 AM and left the hotel by 7 to head to the airport. Our flight left around 10 am to Barcelona, then a 2 pm flight to Miami. After 10 hours on the second plane we dealt with customs (which was pretty simple) and after a 3 our layover, flew to Houston. At this point we had been up for over 24 hours with plane-sleep. I got to see Rio on the long flight, and we were fed well, aside from the fact that most of the food was ham and cheese sandwiches. My dad picked up me up at the airport so I wouldn't endure the bus ride back to San Antonio and we went home to Katy so I could see Momma.

It's so nice to be "home" even though I'm still not in Austin. I showed them some of my souveniers and shared some stories and the gifts I had brought them. I said hi to the dogs and cats and then somehow made it upstairs to sleep for over 10 hours. I got up today and had eggs and refried beans for breakfast (YES!!!) and went to the gym for a proper workout. Lunch was a huge salad with greens. Oh, how I missed my spinach and broccoli.

What a trip. I am glad to be taking the rest of the week off to get back to my life. Laundry, cleaning my apartment, grocery shopping, etc. is a must. Life is going to come back to me like a slap in the face with a busy week of 20-somethings events and starting work again on Monday. The trip was the perfect amount of time. I was able to completely let go (and let God) of everything and focus on His call. I will appreciate everything that I have now and know what I can live without. I will be more patient, tolerant and see God in more things than ever. I won't miss the bread, the walking or my luggage, but I will miss the spirit, the Malagenos and the freedom.

I'm inspired now to continue to travel around the world. I think I'll mainly want to go on Catholic pilgrimages or vacations. I might even consider a work camp or a mission trip. I want to learn more languages and about more cultures. I realized that my geography stinks. I want to read more and do less. I hope my life doesn't come back and whisk me away so quickly that I'll forget to stop and thank God for everything He has done for me, my family and my friends.

While WYD may be over, I know it's only the beginning.