Holiday Inn Cleveland-Airport, Oh

ahhh! It's been so long since I've written something.
I had been really busy with work. Everyday from 8-5:30. And I was still teaching English classes some nights.
I'm finally back in the states. Visiting for a month. Then it's back to Costa Rica January 4th.
Completely in reverse culture shock! I can't believe I'm back. Everyone speaks English. I keep accidentally kissing people on the cheek when ...

... ll be a whole new life! I am just glad I don't have any kids at home, or a hubby to deal with - makes the situation a lot easier!

Surprise 50th Birthday party was a BLAST! Cannot believe Karen G. was able to surprise me! Thanks to all my friends who showed up with booze, gifts, and $$ for the Alaska trip!

Saga continues....

For those of you who haven't heard yet, I am going back to Mexico for a week in December. Rather than staying in Irapuato, I will be staying with two missionaries in Leon. I'll visit with them and their friends for most of the time, however I will head to Irapuato for a day or two to visit my friends there as well!

This is such a great opportunity. I've really missed so many of these wonderful people, and so decided it would be great to ...

... So you'r from the Netherlands? Where? Sweden?"... tja... wat moet ik daar nou weer op antwoorden? Maar 21-jarige volledig ongeschoolde Eric (geloof ik, maar het kan ook Chris geweest zijn... iets te veel mensen ontmoet) had een interessante vraag (oke, het moet je interesseren, maar toch): "Isn't the Dutch flag Red, white and blue?" -"yes". "Then why does your national soccer team play in orange".... Kijk, hoger opgeleide Amerikanen: zo kan het dus ...

... smoothly. With a box of white cheddar cheez-its in hand I didn't feel the need to order a lunch break!

That being said so far I'm finding life on the road relatively boring. I'm actually debating the genius behind deciding to bring back the travel blog. Not much happens and the trip isn't that long. I can hardly be expected to entertain my minions in such a fashion! There's just nothing exciting to report. Dad's ...

... road - coffee, bagels and cream cheese for breakfast whilst looking down Broadway from the 19th floor. Great stuff. Packed and ready, we got the subway to Penn Station then onto the overground train to Newark airport. Despite our initial fears that, despite booking a Mustang, they'd only have a robin reliant, the nice Kenyan lady handed over the keys to the beast and we were ready to press on. Top down, blazing sunshine and powering along ...

... on election day:
Some voters presented national ID cards that had been manufactured by a private company (not government issued).
Voter rolls still contained the names of people who had died up to seven years before.
Some precinct officials had been trained by political parties rather than by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, as required by law.

But all in all the observers saw a fair and ...

... diese Mischung aus Erfahrungsweit**gabe als auch eigenv**antwortlichem Handeln kann man bei IRTF sich**lich sehr viel üb** die Arbeit in ein** Nichtregi**ungsorganisation l**nen. Das Leben besteht ja nicht nur aus Arbeit!... Leben in ein** Wohngemeinschaft: Das Whitmanhaus: Zwei Minuten Fußweg vom IRTF Büro, das in einem Nebengebäude d** St. Patricks Kirche unt**gebracht ist, steht das Whitmanhaus. Das Whitmanhaus ist ein Haus d** "Catholic Work ...

... immediately followed by a Sunday church meeting at the hotel. The meeting consisted of partaking of the sacrament (communion), special music (a hymn arrangement presented by the viola section of the Orchestra) and inspirational talks, in this case by Elder W. Craig Zwick of the Church’s First Quorum of Seventy and his wife, Janet. The viola number is worth a special mention since it’s not often that one hears an ensemble comprised entirely of violas (with piano ...

... Michael hates to fly. The Airport Crossing: The Philadelphia International Airport is H U G E! We arrived at gate F21, and departed from A25, literally one end of the airport to the other (which is approximately 286 thousand miles long). Our journey across the terminals began with a bus ride from F10 to the C terminal, gate 16.... imagine playing chicken with airplanes in an RTA bus..... We broke up our ...