Return Home

It's hard to believe that I've been gone almost half a year and nothing much has changed back home. I had been so worried about feeling disconnected coming back but the whole process has been much easier than expected, granted I did only come home to San Francisco and still have yet to return to Minnesota, which may be an entirely different experience. 

When I came back last Friday it was really hard to believe I had been gone so long. As cliché as it sounds, it really did feel like I had just left. It just didn't feel real to think that when I left Buenos Aires 3 weeks ago I wouldn't be returning after my trips to Peru and El Salvador like I had when I went on all my other trips. My home was no longer in Argentina, rather in the United States. 

I thought the first thing I would be obsessed with would be American (well San Franciscan) food when I got back, but surprisingly I haven't ate out often and haven't been completely "wow"-ed by anything I've eaten. The only thing I have noticed is my spice tolerance has gone way down since I tried a chimol with serrano peppers and nearly started crying; that would not have happened a few months ago. 

The two hardest habits to break have been how I greet people and how I apologize for bumping into someone. I had been conditioned to say hello with the cheek kiss, which was fine when I came back to my dad's party which had mostly Salvadoran immigrants who also cheek kiss, but has been awkward otherwise. I also keep on bumping into people in the street and saying "perdón" rather than "sorry." I realize that people probably think I'm just rude or foreign. 

I am pretty worried about returning to Minnesota; I have been here with family and friends but have already seen that I am a little more brash with strangers since I have somewhat forgotten how to be polite in English (i.e. yelling "hey" to get the attention of a delivery guy at the wrong house, and saying "hey" to a museum worker to get him to turn around to ask a question). Perhaps my suaveness will return to me soon, but I have a feeling that this brash nature won't mix well with the norm of "Minnesota nice" out in St. Peter. 

I'm also afraid that I may feel rushed in school as the education system in Argentina is much more relaxed and exam-based. I'll have to get back into the swing of deadlines and regular homework and projects to turn in. I'm hoping maybe I can bring my relaxed attitude back from Argentina to school but I may just return to being plain old stressed out Amanda. Only time will tell.

Right now I can't say I don't miss Latin America (besides having to throw toilet paper in the trash can; I keep doing that anyways by accident, habit I guess), but I am quite happy to be home. For now I'll just hope that I can return back to South and Central America someday soon.