Here goes...

Hello.

Pardon me for my brief hiatus.

Remember 6 weeks ago? That huge trip that I was about to leave for? When I was an anxiety-ridden mess and crying about everything?

Well, I'm back.

Of course, it was incredible.

Incredible.

I'm sitting in a cafe in White River Junction, VT, drinking and iced latte, and eating a falafel sandwich.

All for the affordable price of $13.

*winces*

I must say, being back in America is not all bad.

I enjoy the creature comforts.

Being lazy on my couch, eating whatever I want, going to lots of yoga classes, playing with my dog, ...speaking English, etc.

But backpacking through South America sure made me appreciate the comforts of home a hell of a lot more than I did.

All of this being said, I now need to list the things I miss about South America:

Cheap food, fresh fruit, warmth, my sister and Amanda, the daily experiences, my sad attempts at both speaking and understanding Spanish, my lack of cell phone service and constant connection to the internet and social media, part of me even kind of misses the long sweaty, smelly bus rides..... part of me, not all of me.

Just under a week before I flew back to the United States, Amanda, Maggie, and I arrived in Puno, Peru.

Puno is a city on the edge of Lake Titicaca (possibly one of the most tremendously beautiful places I've ever been).  We arrived at the cheapest hostel we could find around 11pm and promptly went to sleep.

Early the next morning, we booked a two day tour of Lake Titicaca which departed shortly after.

At some point that day, Amanda and I found ourselves on the boat that took us to the tour's different stopping points on the vast lake discussing all of the American food that we missed -- namely, Snickers and cheesecake.

I kid you not, the conversation lasted at least an hour... at least.

Miraculously, while hiking to a hilltop temple on one of the islands later that day, a member of one of the local communities was selling American candy bars for the Peruvian equivalent of about $2.50 on the side of the trail.  Amanda and I bought one and split it.

It was as good as we'd imagined.

The craving didn't really subside for the rest of the trip. I think I bought more Snickers in South America than I ever have in the United States. And do you think I've indulged since I've been back?

Not even once.

I guess it's the weird thing about being away from home.  You miss the convenience of things.

You know what I mean?

I only wanted a Snickers because I couldn't have one.

Now that I'm home, minutes away from places where I can buy a candy bar for $1.09, I don't crave one in the slightest.

And this philosophy applies to most things that I longed for during my five weeks away from home.

But the creature comforts are nice... I'll just keep reminding myself of that.

Silver lining or something.

Thinking about all the South American things that I miss -- most of all.... South America -- makes me want to relive the trip, the memories.

So bear with me in this endeavor as I transfer my jumbled memories from the pages of my journal to the computer screen for your reading pleasure.

But, naturally, I must start from the beginning.

Hold that thought ----