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I had an overnight flight from Lima, Peru to Newark, NJ. It was delayed an hour, so it didn't take off until 11:30 PM (12:30 AM Eastern Standard Time). I discovered that I do not sleep well on an airplane :( I only got about 2 hours of sleep. At least movies are free on international flights, so I watched a couple.

Because of the delay, I had enough time in Newark, but not much extra before the quick flight to Boston. My friend Deb picked me up & we went to lunch. It was so nice to see and hang out with a friend right away!

She dropped me off at Keith's house soon after I was feeling ill from exhaustion & I slept for a couple hours. That first night, my body was in shock from the heat & humidity, so I didn't sleep very well. Last night was good sleeping weather. I am still very tired today, so I look forward to my own bed & a good night's sleep!

It was nice to ease back into being home with Keith. We had fun & I didn't have to deal with all the responsibilities of being home quite yet :) Although, it is nice to be home. My cats have been super-loving. Seeing and eating out of my garden was wonderful, too.

It is definitely different being back in the States. I appreciate many things that I took for granted before I was in Peru. Here are just some of those things:

toilet paper in public restrooms
toilet seat in public restrooms
being able to flush toilet paper (although, I am having a hard time remembering :))
drivers who are soooo much safer!
English spoken all around me
hot water in the shower (although, with the heat, it is still a cool shower)
home-cooked food
running!!!
computer keyboard that I'm used to
not worrying so much about being safe
being able to drink the tap water
being able to use tap water to brush my teeth
being able to use my phone
having a car
a refrigerator
a comfy bed & pillows
and, especially, friends and family right here!

I am so happy that I had the wonderful opportunity to go on this trip! I feel so lucky! It is nice to go outside of my comfort zone once in awhile so I appreciate what I have at home.

I will post some pictures on facebook over the next few days or so (I have about 1250 to weed through!). Be sure to check there. If you're not my facebook friend, friend request me! If you are someone I do not know directly, include a message. I will put together a physical album for those of you I will see, but it'll take a little while.

Thank you for following my blog! It was fun to reflect on my experiences here (and in my journal). I hope you enjoyed it!