Back in the U.S.A.!

I'm back! Brian and I officially finished our Peace Corps Service on November 19, 2010. Then we went to Mafia Island off the coast of Tanzania to relax, swim with whale sharks and snorkel for a few days. Just before Thanksgiving we flew to Cairo, and spent 12 days traveling in Egypt! I've been reading about Ancient Egypt since elementary school, so I was in heaven :) We saw Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Luxor and a few temples in between. I'll post pictures soon...

We flew into Philly December 6 and my parents and Alyssa picked us up at the airport with flowers, hugs, kisses and exciting news -- that Alyssa and Isaiah got engaged just 2 days before! Brian spent almost two weeks on the east coast and we spent a lot of time just hanging out in Merion, though we also visited NYC for a few days. It's been so wonderful to see and spend time with family and friends, but there are so many people who I want to spend lots of time with that it's tough to make a schedule that includes everything!

After Brian flew back to Minnesota on December 17, I continued hanging out, organizing my room and all the things I had sent home over the past 2 years, seeing friends and family, and adjusting back into American culture. Alyssa and Isaiah came home for Christmas, which was lots of fun and full of incredible food! My parents offered to get me a flight out to visit Brian for the holidays, and I couldn't resist :) I wanted to surprise him, so I talked with his family and they generously went along with it, keeping him in the dark and concocting an elaborate story to get him to the airport! I spent a week there in Minnesota, staying with Brian's family for the first part, celebrating New Years, and visiting Minneapolis for 2 days at the end. It was a wonderful trip and so much fun!

Now I'm back in Merion, organizing and adjusting and thinking. It can still be overwhelming, I still miss things about and from Tanzania, and there are some things that I just don't like about being back. I'm not sure what I'll do next, but for now I'm taking it slow and enjoying the hot water that comes out the tap!

Thanks for reading all about my time in Tanzania, and I'll try to post pictures soon!