Finally Home!

Although I am very sad to have left Peru, it is nice to be typing this with a full belly of deep dish Chicago pizza and wet hair from a very warm, nicely pressurized shower. For my last morning in Cusco, I awoke to people shooting off yellow confetti in the streets. I am unsure why; I was getting mixed responses (plus some that I honestly just could not understand). However, I got out and walked around one final time. I had wanted to try to get to Mass this weekend, but it was not possible. So, I wandered around the plethora of churches again and just took in the mountain air and beautiful sunshine that was unavailable most of the time in Lima.

Thus began my horrific trip home. I felt like I was acting out scenes from various movies such as "The Terminal" and "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" but without the humor of John Candy and Steve Martin or the soothing charisma of Tom Hanks. Anyway, my flight from Cusco landed at 1 pm. I was scheduled to leave Lima at 11. I could not, however, check in my luggage again until about 7:30. So, my many hours were spent going through my pictures, dealing with the WiFi issues at Starbucks, fixing Mo's frozen Nook that I had borrowed, and befriending tons of strangers.

Everyone I met who was a Peruvian thanked me for how I chose to spend my time in Peru. I don't need their gratitude, but it feels wonderful to know I have it. This is a country in great need, and I so wish I could have done more. Other times, I feel helpless and overwhelmed with the dire reality for many of these wonderful people. And, I feel utterly pathetic this instant that I am relishing in the aftermath of a warm shower after returning from a country in which running water is often a luxury. I always tell my students that their actions are like tiny pebbles that can start ripples that will spread beyond their wildest imaginations or intentions, and this can be for good or bad. I know that I can take what I have experienced and share it with others. My students will call it yet again one of Miss Kahl's "life lessons." But, although I am daunted by the insurmountable work yet to be done in Peru and in so, so many other places around the world, I feel that it only takes me to get one other person to go out and try volunteering for themselves. From there, the ripples will spread. I talked at great length with a college student from Florida I met on the train back from Machu Picchu. She was excited about my experience, and she wrote down CCS's website. That's a start, and trust me when I say this will be carried into every class I teach at Pekin High. Fellow teachers, instead of academic trips maybe we need to be doing more missionary work??? Who's with me?

I hate that I am about to sound whiny after going on an altruistic kick to just turn it around to selfish complaints. However, after amusing myself in the Lima airport for 10 hours, I boarded a very uncomfortable plane for the 5 1/2 flight to Fort Lauderdale. Upon arrival in Florida, we realized we were one of several flights in at the same time. So, I had 55 minutes before my plane left. I spent 15 minutes in the line for customs, another 15 looking for my bag to be told they switched half of our flight's luggage to the other carousel, then came another agonizing 10 minutes in line with border control. So, I had 15 minutes to recheck my luggage, get through security, and run like hell to my gate. Sadly, because I was "looking antsy" as the Homeland Security agent told me, I was pulled aside for a body scan and a wand-down. I guess it never occurred to him that it could be because my flight was going to be leaving without me that I might look physically upset. As I ran to the gate, I approached just in time to see the door of the plane close. A Spirit Air employee came out and looked at me and another girl (Emily from Chicago) who had just run up and said, "Sorry. Once the door is closed, it's closed." We watched for 5 full minutes as the plane sat there before backing up to get to the runway. I wanted to cry.

So, thus started the very long line at the Spirit Airlines counter. There were at least 30 of us in line, and the lady got a call that they were sending up 17 more who missed their connections. She was unsympathetic. When a woman from a Baptist missions trip looked at all of us and told us that this too had a purpose in life and pointed to heaven, the Peruvian man behind me yelled, "Jesus Christ! The purpose is obviously that we never fly Spirit again!" It was chaos. The lady put Emily and I on standby for a 4 pm flight but confirmed us on an 8:15 pm flight. When we asked her what our chances were, she replied, "I would say 50/50. I mean we do seem to have alot of misconnections." Duh... I looked at my watch that read 6:15 am Florida time, and I knew I was in for a long day. An elderly couple who had taught at Princeton befriended me and gave me the idea to go the art museum downtown. But, I just couldn't muster any enthusiasm for even that (I love any museum!). So, I found an outlet and said a prayer of gratitude that I had my laptop, the Nook, and my iPod with me. I sat there all day, making new friends, getting my pictures uploaded and ordered (thank you Walgreens), soothing unaccompanied minors who were nervous about their flights (honestly, I had no idea this many children were sent on planes by themselves. The one girl was only 6 for crying out loud!), and called my family members. I finally got to talk to Dad! The elusive man had me worried as my phone calls went unheeded before. He talked at length about how he has been fixing my shed and about how much he truly loves my cats. Okay, so I say he loves them, but come on..he talked about them for five minutes, and we all know he's a sucker for pets although he has a funny way of showing it.

Finally, the boarding for the 4 pm flight was called. I positioned myself by the desk and shamelessly flirted with the young man working there. He smiled at me (with very long eyelashes and dimples) and put me at the top of the standby list. There were about 10 of us total, and only 4 of us got on. I did feel selfish, especially after being in Peru in the first place for something so selfless, but I am truly glad to be home. Well, actually I'm not quite there yet. I'm crashing at Monica's tonight, and I'm heading home at 6:30 am. And yes, family members, I come bearing gifts. I have such mixed feelings. I am glad to be home, and I cannot wait to see my nieces and nephews. However, I am sad to leave Peru and its people behind. I have made so many new friends, here in the States and abroad, and I have gained so many memorable experiences that have changed me and will continue to do so. So, when is everyone else signing up? Count me in!