Saturday, August 14, 2010

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig or Observations Upon Returning Home

So we changed our flight out of Miami from 6:30 in the morning to 3:15 in the afternoon on August 12.  The kids had gone to bed late and we wouldn't have been able to have breakfast before our flight.  This was a necessity as we were taking two "shorter" flights and we knew we would not get food from the airline, plus our stopover was short so we wouldn't have even been able to buy food in the airport.  So in the morning we ate as much as possible of the continental breakfast, as well as an extra apple and some fruit loops for the ride, then we walked to the nearest "grocery store," a gas station convenient store, which is where we stocked up on snacks and baby wipes.  It was hotter in Miami than in Brazil and we were sweating during our walk, especially since we had left our stroller behind in Maragogi and had to carry Lyla.  Then we went back to the hotel and had a relaxing swim in the pool.  Made it to the airport just in time as our shuttle took forever, but we made it to the plane on time.  Hazel and Lyla were asleep before we even took off.  That flight and the next went well, but as we were descending into Seattle, Seth freaked out in his sleep for around 25 minutes.  We could not wake him up and when we landed we had trouble getting off the plane, seeing as he usually walks and even helps with his own carry-ons.  However, that was the only glitch in the day, really, so we were happy.  Mom and Dad Grim came to pick us up and it was so great to see their smiling faces.  Then off we drove home, arriving at around midnight (which was 4 in the morning Brazil time).  The kids slept the whole night and woke up at quarter to seven, and last night the same thing, so it seems they have already adjusted to the time zone!

Things that we noticed from the time we reached Miami:
- From the sky, Miami is organized and neat, with proper streets, blocks, houses all nice and straight....what a contrast to the streets that go every which way and the houses that seem to be placed on top of each other of Brazil.
- The amount of swearing people do in North America.  We had honestly not heard one swear word (at least that we understood) in Brazil, except when watching English movies.  What is interesting is that when watching English movies when there was swearing the subtitle always said the word "Droga" which literally means Drug.  No one seemed to know why that was the "swear word" of Brazil.
- I keep looking for a garbage can to throw my toilet paper in :)
- It is wonderful to have warm showers with pressure!

There's been more, I know, but I really don't remember them all without writing it down immediately!

So it's great to be home, after the 4 days of traveling (or lack therof) and we even made it home for my brother Bryan's 33 and 1/3 birthday shaker!  We got to meet our new little neice/cousin Emily, and today for Seth's birthday Shaun and Bryan are taking Seth, Adam and Dylan to the airshow.  So it's a fabulous weekend to end the torturous lengthy trip and now all I have to do is.....UNPACK!

Stay tuned for more world traveling coming up in September!

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