Readjustment.

Dear Readers,
It has been two weeks since I returned to the US from a very moving and life changing foreign exchange trip, and I have learned about the distinctive culture that is the Latin America of which I will not go into here (some of it is found in the other blogs and some of it one will have to experience for himself).
I returned to Miami International Airport at 4:30 in the morning on the 29th and was exhausted, but excited to see my family that day. Due to storms, I paid to schedule an earlier flight and left for Houston at 8:00 AM. As I was waiting in the airport I felt it strange to hear all of the news in English, and I even had a hard time understanding when people muttered in English, and every single time that someone bumped into me I would reflexively say perdon instead of excuse me, and I would begin to ask for directions in Spanish only to stop myself and start again in English.

We immediately went to eat after I arrived in Dallas at about 2:30 PM, and then called all of my friends to say that I was home. Two days later my sister came to stay with us, so that she would have time to spend with me before and after the family reunion which was the 1st and 2nd. We drove down to Houston that weekend for a family reunion, and I got comments such as "I traveled abroad for two weeks" from my cousins and "That must have been a wonderful trip visting all of those sites". I realized that in their way they were trying to welcome me back although my trip was not quite as they perceived or would describe it. I had a series of meetings with friends to talk about my trip and meet them before I leave for college and all in all it has been a fairly interesting two weeks, even as supposedly I return to "normalcy".

I have to get back to having responsibilities in a country that is a lot less laid back, and that is a lot more high stress. There are somethings now that I used to think were normal that appeared to me upon my return as unecessary worries, but then again I cannot say this is a bad thing or good thing, because I am a worrier, and in that way I fit right back in. I have run into some discrimination against Latino culture here in the US that I had known of before, but now hit me with more force. Several things include, the unwillingness of some Texans to learn Spanish, thinking that all Latin countries are the same, and thinking the music is the same. I have noticed that the Spanish speakers in Texas pick up easily on my Argentine accent and not so much my Yankee accent, I guess showing a little progress in the WAY (not just vocabulary) that I speak Spanish. I am also suprised at their suprise that I speak Spanish, in Texas that should not be THAT suprising, but maybe it seems odd due to my background (gringo etc.).

Right now I am moving to the University, and our family has sold its house and is moving also, therefore I do not have all of the time in the world simply to reflect on my experiences, but enough time I do have, and maybe that is for the best to move quickly into the next chapter to quickly apply lessons and shorten the inevitable period of nostalgia. This being said I will always keep my friends (and not so friendly people as well) in my prayers, and thank everyone for giving me a real home, with kindness, conflict, culture, and conflict. One grows through the full experience of the dynamic of a country, and looking back I would not take any moment back.
Sincerely,
Fellow Citizen of the World,
Travis Knoll

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Part of trip: Readjustment and Reflections

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