There's no place like home

The last time I was in Honduras was about a year and a half ago, for Christmas of ’08. Yet, despite my prolonged absence, it feels like I’ve never been gone – everything is exactly the same as I left it. Sometimes, I feel that there is no such thing as “the passage of time” here… But more on that a little bit later. I don’t want this to turn into a contemplative/philosophical entry…

My last few days in Miami were somewhat frustrating. I’m used to having my freedom and the ability to do whatever I want, whenever I want to do it. However, not having a valid driver’s license made things REALLY difficult for me. I was left at the mercy of my family and friends, and depended on them to rescue me from my house arrest. The first days without a license were like death. I felt like a princess looked up in a tower, or worse, a dungeon – just waiting on prince charming to come rescue me. And as those of you who know me well could confirm, I’m not really the kind of girl who can just sit around and do nothing, at least not for prolonged periods of time…

The last couple of days there were not so bad, though. A few of my friends finally felt sorry for me, and decided to make the LOOOOONG trip to come pick me up. Either way, saying goodbye to them was bittersweet. These last months were jam-packed with drama and lots of conflicting emotions. And so, it was hard to say farewell to those who’ve stood by me through it all. I’m still not sure where I’ll be the next couple of months, and as someone who is used to packing up and moving away, I’ve learned that friends come and go, and that you can always make new ones. However, I really do hope that those that I’m close to now will be in my support system for some time to come.

Now, to relate to you a little bit about my journey… My flight got delayed for 2 hours!!! It was scheduled to leave at 7:30pm and didn’t end up leaving until 9:30. I got home at around 11pm, Honduran time (1am Miami time.) It was quite tiring. On the plane, I was seated next to a young Christian couple from California who were coming to Honduras to do some charity/mission work. They were really quite nice and were very interested in my life story. We spent most of the flight talking and they ended up telling me that my parents should be quite proud of me and everything I’ve accomplished at such a young age. I went ahead and gave them my contact information if they needed any help during their stay in Honduras and they went ahead and did the same, as well as offered to show me around Los Angeles if I ever want to visit.

My bags were one of the first to come out (and since they’re pink – they’re VERY easily recognized) and so I was able to clear the baggage claim quite rapidly. All of my family was waiting for me at the airport. It was so good to see everyone together again. However, since my flight got in so late, we weren’t able to go have some Italian food as we’d originally planned. Besides, everyone was pretty tired so we decided to just come back home. I tried to sleep relatively early, but (surprise, surprise) was unable to, so I just decided to finish unpacking.

I spent most of today sleeping and resting up, but my mother did prepare a delicious meal for lunch and we were able to eat as a complete family for the first time in almost 1.5 years! I went to visit some family members in the late afternoon and spent most of the evening chatting up with my brothers (Michael and Erick) and my cousin (more like adopted brother, Jorge.) We also smoked some hookah as we listened to Buddha Bar, which reminded me of how much I want to explore my Middle Eastern roots (but again, more on that later.) Right now, I’m listening to Andrea Bocelli and am feeling VERY relaxed. I guess it’s true what they say: there’s no place like home…