Traveling again

We are on the road again! After a few days in Ferrysburg, MI, unpacking  and doing laundry and visiting with both sets of grandparents, we set out for a family reunion in Colorado. The kids have traveled well and we've been listening to lots of books on CD and enjoying the varying countryside.

I think we've had more return culture shock than we anticipated. We are, of course, missing our friends in San Cristobal and also many of the sights and sounds and tastes of Mexico. We are continuing to try to practice our Spanish, and Peter especially continues to chatter away in Spanglish.  It took a few days for us to stop greeting folks with hola and trying to order in Spanish in restaurants. We are both missing where we were and also grateful to be back in the States. I think we have a deeper appreciation of our 'first' language (this morning we were on a rafting trip and both commented how different it felt to be able to understand everything the guide was saying effortlessly!) and a deeper respect for folks who live day to day in a 'second' language.

We are appreciating the wild beauty of Colorado and the time with extended family, and next week we'll be visiting a few of the sights the youth from Boston Square visited on their way to New Mexico - Great Sands and Mesa Verde - before heading back toward Michigan. We are so grateful for this time, and looking forward to coming home to Boston Square again in a few weeks.