Welcome to America...

I don't really know what else to title this post, except for that.
I am going through so many experiences right now that I just felt it necessary and appropriate to blog.
I am currently sitting in a Marriot hotel in Houston, Texas. Apparently there is a snowstorm? And all flights to Minneapolis are canceled until tomorrow. Hopefully at 8am the conditions will have improved. (question mark)

Anyways, slightly frustrating to arrive in Texas and find out that you have to stay in a hotel or sleep in an airport in the arrival lobby for 12 hours. After some pondering, I chose the hotel option. COULDN'T BE HAPPIER THAT I DID.
The fifty dollars was the BEST investment in my personal well-being that I have ever made. Here I am, showered, rested, in a king sized bed, with a flatscreen t.v., wireless, and all the necessary hotel-y things to make me so so so relaxed and excited for a good nights sleep.
Speaking of which, however, the above listed are some of the first things that have been part of this culture shock I am experiencing.
The following is a list of the WEIRD things that are, I suppose, what you would call culture shock.

1) This hotel room is the size of my Guatemalan bedroom, and living room, and bathroom, put together

2) The water pressure in the shower.....well, there are really no words. After 6 months of a trickle, I feel like my skin is being sandblasted clean by what is probably regular shower water pressure.

3) There is a T.V. in my hotel room. A large one. A flatscreen one. (wtf?)

4) All the channels are in English. (Even weirder than having a T.v.!)

4) You can drink the water out of the faucet. (I had to call Dad on this one, to check, because for some reason my Guatemalan mindset was like NO, you can't drink water out of this faucet, its Texas! And the have bottled water for sale! But then Dad reminded me of U.S. regulations and health codes and stuff. Um duh. I guess I forget about such luxuries...

5) Unrelated to the hotel...but still a luxury...I can call anyone from my cell phone! ANYone, and it is free! And you don't run out of minutes! (I am always running out of minutes in Guatemala) Wow how nice it is to be on a phone plan...

Anyways, those are the first initial thoughts running through my head as I am in this extremely extravagant, beautiful, relaxing hotel. I kinda wish I had more time here, actually! But at 6am tomorrow, the shuttle is arriving to bring me to the good ol' aeropuerto.
It feels really good to be back in the states, though somewhat strange.
The worst part is that the physical shock has yet to set it. I am QUITE worried for the cold of what tomorrow is going to bring.
Why does it have to blizzard on the day I am scheduled to arrive home?? Like, seriously, it can't wait a few days?!?
ARGH.
I better start mentally preparing now.

Love too all, see most of you very soon! xoxo

¿Diciembre ya?

I can´t believe its December already.
(I do realize that I start quite a few blog posts this way. ¨I can believe its already...such and such month¨)
Part of this is a fault of my blogging; I hardly have been at it lately. Its been almost 3 weeks since my last post! Oops.
Part of it is also that time has, literally, (no matter how much I say it, and I know I do a lot,) flown.
Where did the months go? Is it possible that I am actually going on my 7th month in Guatemala?
Is it possible that I am going home to MN in FOUR DAYS?!?
It´s really weird to think that soon I will be blogging from Minnesota. In my house. In my room. (Do I still have a room?) With wireless, free, internet. (That will be weird. Not paying for internet from a cafe? Being able to download things quickly? STRANGE.)
Regardless, despite how much culture shock I will be going through, I am SO EXCITED.
I can´t imagine Christmas anywhere but Minnesota, and for the first time in my life, the songs ¨I´ll be home for Christmas¨ and ¨I´m dreaming of a white Christmas¨ actually have meaning for me.
(They never did before; I was always like, psh, of course I´ll be home for Christmas! Where else would I be??)
Speaking of which--I can´t wait until I am on the plane to MN so that I can start listening more frequently to my Christmas music. I tried a few weeks ago, the weekend after Thanksgiving, but it was just too weird. I was sweating, wearing flip flops, running around the house cleaning, windows wide open, blue sky. With Michael Buble busting out the ¨Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow¨
Did NOT work for me. I (sadly) had to turn Michael off. It felt like listening to Christmas music in July. It just doesn´t have the same feeling!
So, that said, as of right now, I only listen to Christmas music at night, when its dark outside, and sometimes in the morning when its actually chilly getting ready for work. Then its easier to deceive my senses.

Anyway, Christmas music aside, I can´t wait to be on the plane.

I have quite a bit to do between now and Saturday am however, so sitting at work all day handing out Christmas baskets and gifts to the Antigua villages (as fun as it is to see their happiness) gets a little mentally challenging. When its not busy, my mind always starts to wander, thinking of all the things I could be doing on my mental to-do list.
At the same time however, it is really nice to sit around, relax, wish all the families Merry Christmas as they come in one by one, and chat with the other hospitality girls as we get excited for MN and everything Christmas.

And eat delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies courtesy of Louise. SO. GOOD!
(Where´d she get the pumpkin? Yep you guessed it. My industrial sized can is STILL goin strong.)
(I think Kevin is sick of eating pumpkin. We´ve had pumpkin pies, pumpkin soup, pumpkin shakes, and now pumpkin cookies. MMM.)
I think maybe the pumpkin soup was pushing it for poor Kevin. After a week of eating pumpkin. The shakes, however, (inspired by my years at Culvers, and my favorite shake of all time,) are quite delicious.
I still have to take a picture of the big can to post for all to see. It is quite impressive.
Maybe next post!
I have to get back to Christmas baskets for now.

Love to all, hope to write soon, and if not, I´ll be home in 4 short days :)