I was having a beer the other night with some friends when The Other Mike asked me if I ever “returned” from S. America. It seems like an odd question, given that he and I were sitting across the table from each other at a bar in Minneapolis. However, after a moment of hesitation, I realized that no, I had not “returned” from S. America on CamachoWatcho. I automatically felt the urge to go home and do a little writing, but realized there was probably a reason why I have not “returned”. I think I’m in denial. No offense to anyone, but let’s just tally the pro’s of when I was living South of the Equator…here is the short list.
- Living in a hotel - This might seem to be a pro AND a con, however I’m focusing on the pro’s…someone did my laundry and cleaned my room twice per day. And there was an on-sight health club. Very nice.
- Fantastic food - Yes, we have wonderful food here, and again this may seem like a con because I couldn’t cook. However, I also love to eat out and that was fun to be forced to go out and eat at new places all the time.
- Healthy food - Going along with the last comment, the food there that I was tempted to eat was very healthy…grilled meats and vegetables, homemade light pastas, natural and fresh salads. Good to eat and good for me! I am tempted by food here, but the only thing I crave when I eat out are cheeseburgers, buffalo sauce and fries…that is a problem.
- Daylight - Let’s just say that walking to and from work in the dark is killing me!
And, I know there’s one more reason….what could that be? OH YES!…the WEATHER! Last night I was driving home and my car thermometer registered -8F. That is air temp…not factoring wind chill, so I don’t even want to know what the wind chill temp was. Needless to say, thinking about all those Uruguayans vacationing in Punta del Este right now is pretty tough.
I obviously love being back and am definitely enjoying hanging out with my friends again (especially my husband!). I have to say, however, that although my body has been here, but my mind is still speaking Spanish and living in a warm climate.
That being said, I’m ready to come out of denial and “return” fully to the US. What does this mean? It means that tomorrow I will “return”. Some people might ask, “Why not today?” The weather right now is -14F (feels like -26F with wind chill) and tomorrow has a high of up to 5F. It might be wise to stay in warm weather just one more day…
Posted on January 19th, 2008 by katiejocannon
Filed under: Travel
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