A busy December

December was an incredibly busy month for me, and for that reason, I haven't posted a blog in over a month. I spent the last days of November celebrating Thanksgiving with a super cool couple from the US Embassy, then visited my old site in Sarapiquí and said many goodbyes, as well as stopped by the office in San José to do some paperwork and medical check-ups to get me ready to be cleared to end service. I started the month off with a week visit from Dave, Cassie, Greg, and Sally, four really good friends from college. I was only with them for some of the time, as I officially closed my Peace Corps service on December 7th, and then met up quickly with Sally and Cassie before they flew back to Texas. The next day, just after Dave and Greg left, my younger brother Peter arrived for a week long visit. As part of his visit, I said my goodbyes to the teachers, students, and my host family in Liverpool. After his visit, I scrambled around San José for four days, buying gifts, saying goodbye to volunteer friends as they left, visiting my training community and saying goodbye to my old host family and friends there, and making sure I had everything packed and organized. It takes a bit of planning to get over two years of one's life into one big duffel bag and a backpack. 

Then, I had the (unplanned) opportunity to spend two days in Atlanta, as Des Moines got hit by 13 inches of snow on the day I flew back. So, I took advantage and saw some of the best Atlanta had to offer (due the graciousness of Elisa-a friend from the Peace Corps). Finally, I was able to spend the first Christmas in Des Moines with my family in five years (photo above). I haven't been all that busy in the past two weeks, but was in vacation mode for the first week back. But, updates from my trip to Nicaragua back in September, the trips mentioned above, and some reflections on my two years in the Peace Corps and the Peace Corps in general should be fairly regular from now on. I did keep my tumblr blog much better updated, so if you haven't, check that out for pictures from the past month and more.Thanks again for following and Happy 2013!