Happy New Year!

Welcome back loyal readers! I’m ready to take 2012 by storm and post every week. I made it a New Year’s resolution and tattooed it on my leg so there’s a pretty good chance it will happen.

I’d like to start by thanking all of you who made my trip home incredible- and a shout out to those I couldn’t see but would have made it incredible if I did. I think I missed some people and I’m quite sorry if it was you but I’ll catch you next time I’m stateside.

A special thanks to all the people (Edith, Gedo, Mom, Mr. Evans, Aunt Debbie & Uncle Larry especially) who fed me the delicious foods that I had been missing so much. Thanks as well for all the hugs, beers, champagne, cheese, meats, Friday Night Lights, real coffee, warm wishes, requests for my return to the US and good sportsmanship in absurd Hanukkah competitions. You made it hard to leave again.

Luckily Dominica made it very easy to return. I got off the plane and ran across the runway into the tiny two-room airport thrilled to be done with my 13 hours of flights. My friend was waiting for me outside the airport to take me back to Salisbury and after I climbed in the wrong side of the car, reached for the non-existent seatbelt and ripped the shoes off my already sweating feet I knew I was home. As we stopped by a roadside bar for a quick beer to “free-up the ride home” (which is an incredibly long ride and many thanks to Chris for driving me) I remembered how confusing and hilarious it is to live here.

Dominica phrase book: I’m going to give you a two-fer because you’ve waited so patiently.

In the alphabet the letter “z” is called “zed”. I tried to bring this back to the states with me to avoid having to say “z as in zebra” but no matter how many times I angrily said “ZED!” to people they didn’t seem to understand.

Another phrase I had great trouble not using at home was “good night”. Many of you are thinking, we say good night in the US, you faux-worldly Peace Corps! But in the states good night is not a greeting. At least two dozen times I saw someone and greeted him/her with a cheerful “Good night!” and then caught myself. When you come to Dominica plan on having people say “good night” as a greeting all the time.

My neighbor's goat got loose. She's a good goat though and dragging her rope with her.

A rainbow for my homecoming!

Just kidding, there are rainbows every day here.