My heart's homebase...and my first visitors!

As I sit here (with a mind of mush after little sleep upon returning to this place of high altitude--sleeplessness is a side affect of being 9,350 feet above sea level) pondering the past couple of weeks, it almost feels like Christmas didn't happen. Or it did happen, but in some parallel universe. It often feels something like I am living two lives. When I was home for Christmas, it felt like the past 4 months in Ecuador had been a dream, as if I would be returning to Jefferson to teach the following week. Sometimes so much of life seems surreal I question what is real. Maybe a topic for a night of philosophizing...

Being home was pretty unbeatable. Some highlights:
*Hanging with my little chicas bonitas

Exhibit A: Big smiles on our way to see Cinderella at the Children's Theatre Company

*Hanging out at Mom and Dad's new house: sauna, comfy bed, my puppy...Yes, please!
*Daily kick-boxing/dance workouts with Linds (beachbody.com)
*Being able to attend Cass's wedding dress shopping (she said yes to the dress!)
*Drinking, dining, and chatting with some of my favorite people (life is so easy when I just get to play)
*Everbodydancing on the PS3 with my awesome familia (shout out to Matthias and the Timster...and Gram, next time you are going to shake your booty too!)
*Movie with my NieNie (Philomena has my endorsement)
*Family.Time.

Exhibit B: Sporting their Alpaca ponchos from Otavalo. 

Yes, my Christmas break was quite lovely. It had me reflecting, once again, on how I will spend my whole life working on a compromise between my desire to travel and explore and my desire to be where I feel so grounded, near my family and many friends.

I'm feeling a little Dr. Seuss coming on here...
You have brains in your head. 
You have feet in your shoes. 
You can steer yourself any direction you choose. 
You're on your own. And you know what you know. 
And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...

So be sure when you step, 
Step with care and great tact. 
And remember that life's 
A Great Balancing Act. 
And will you succeed? 
Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) 
Kid, you'll move mountains.

Dad used to read us Dr. Seuss. Little nostalgic. Even as an adult, I can appreciate this brilliant author's wisdom...perhaps more so than I did when I was young. 

So, my transition back to the Southern Hemisphere (where I may boast it is 70+ degrees right now) was eased as I am fortunate enough to have Mr. Eric Antonson and Mrs. Hannah Julien in Ecuador now, helping to bridge my two worlds. I am loving being a hostess and tour guide. As I write, the duo is currently at the beach in Canoa soaking up some coastal sun, but we've had a blast hanging out in Quito so far. I know one of my favorite things thus far about their visit is that I have had people to cook for...and someone else does the dishes! Eric is ready to move to Ecuador as he is a big biker--the mountain biking culture thrives here. Hannah, well Hannah's favorite thing about Ecuador (besides me, she says) is Guitig, which is naturally carbonated water, a miracle of nature for certain. 

My apartment feels a bit lonely without their presence tonight, but I look forward to their return as I am sure they will have plenty of stories to tell. I'm going to ask them to be guest writers on the next blog entry, so stay tuned...

Love you. Miss you. Think of you often.

Feliz año nuevo a todos,

Jame