Home again, home again... and reflections

After about 40 hours of travelling, I finally made it home. It was a long trip, but I had a fantastic sendoff in San Luis and a great welcoming committee in Saranac Lake. The other people on the plane (all 5 of them) were amazed to see my family (including the dog) all decked out in red, white, and blue with welcome home signs. 

Despedida with friends

Settling in at home wasn't as easy as i expected it to be. For one thing, it took a me a while to get used to using English again. That means I was definitely immersed when I was in Argentina, but it has been a little bit challenging to get my brain to work in this mode again. I also dove right back in to parenthood, but things have changed a lot since I left! That certainly took some getting used to. I've also been surprised by cultural things- I miss some things about Argentina, like frankness, the greetings, and some of the other customs. And the hot dogs here have nothing on choripan!

People have asked me some interesting questions since I left San Luis. Here are the most common:
-Was it worth it?
-What will you miss the most about San Luis? Argentina?
-Was it hard being away from your family?
-What seems the strangest to you now that you're home?

For the record, my answers are (in order):
-Yes. Different from what I expected, but one of the most meaningful experiences I have ever had.
-My friends. Cortados in blocke cuatro. Speaking Spanish all the time. Alfajores!
-Incredibly.
-Only shaking hands when you meet someone. In Argentina it's always more- usually a kiss on the cheek.

I'm hoping to keep up with this blog now that I'm back, but given the demands of parenting, the report I'm working on for Fulbright, getting ready for next year, and relaxing a bit, my posts will probably be less frequent. Thanks to everyone who has followed along, I hope you've gotten as much out of reading my entries as I did by writing them.

Proof!

Last week, on the spur of the moment during a visit to Santa Maria, Guillermo invited me to help introduce the topic of free-fall.

Action Shot

Below is a video that shows me in action, bumbling Spanish and all!

(I know the camera starts out sideways, but it switches soon after, so bear with it)

Farewells!

So I have officially started saying goodbye and tying up loose ends before I leave on Wednesday night. This includes packing (ugh) and finishing up the data collection for my project. I only have one school left, and should finish on Wednesday morning, leaving me just enough time to enter the data before I leave that evening. Earlier this week I went back to a school to observe a class, but Emiliano ended up letting me help run part of the class. It was challenging, but a really good experience in the end.

Emiliano showing off his parting gift

The exceptional students of San Luis Gonzaga

This was actually the second time he's given me the same type of chance, and I really appreciate it. Not teaching every day is actually one of the things I miss most about being here- watching from the sidelines just isn't the same!

Aleluya 4th year students

Their teacher Daniel with his new shirt

Aleluya 6th year students

And finally, here is an awesome video that I recently saw. It has some of the coolest footage of the northern-southern lights I've ever seen. Well worth the 2 minutes of your time.
http://vimeo.com/44801709