After a looong day of driving from Denver to Kansas City, Missouri and then another long day of driving we ended up in Columbus, Ohio. I spent about two and a half years studying at Ohio State so it is always fun to go back and see everyone and just be immersed in the buckeye mania.
This was a particularly busy trip to Columbus as I had a lot of people I wanted to see, professors to meet with and Sean was going to help me move my stuff out of storage. We stayed with one of my most favorite families of all time - the Hawkins. I don't know if you Ohioans remember the crazy serial rapist that was loose in Grandview awhile back, but I remember all too well. Kristin Hawkins, not only my peer mentor for teaching but also an awesome friend, offered to let me stay with her, her husband, Brian and her cute little son, Xander. So for a few months I got to be a permanent member of the Hawk's nest and I loved it! Going back is always a treat because I get to be a member of the family all over again and we just pick up where we left off. We especially had a good time going out for an awesome steak dinner and seeing a movie. I can't believe how much Xander has grown in just one year and I know I am going to be shocked again as another year goes by. I think you would have to agree that he is pretty much the cutest little guy ever!
Sean only stayed in Columbus for one day and one night and we spent most of the day renting a truck, driving to the storage place and then packing it up with my furniture that I had stored after graduate school. Sean and I think we might be abroad for a little bit more so the thought of continually paying $50/month wasn't exactly that exciting. Since our parents graciously offered to house some of my stuff, Sean drove the truck back to Michigan and then unloaded the stuff into various basements while I stayed and hung out in Columbus (thanks Sean!).
My second night in Columbus was spent with Daniela who is a friend from graduate school but is also who worked in Ecuador with me as a fellow resident director. We went to have drinks and dinner at an adorable little bistro in Victorian Village called Basi. We caught up over wine, fresh fish and risotto and I quickly realized that my Spanish is going down the tubes due to a severe lack of practice. Así que la Dani habló en español y yo en inglés. Sigh.
The next day was spent on campus and I felt like I was a graduate student again - it was a good feeling I have to admit. Dani and I headed to Starbucks to work on some projects. I had planned to meet with a professor later in the day about an Ohio elementary curriculum program that we were working together on called "Artifact Boxes." Basically, teachers can rent out a box of items (clothes, music, money, flag etc.) that are actually from different Spanish-speaking countries to help teach culture in the classroom. My job was to write up the notebook which contained a guide to each item in the box. The current country I was working on was Paraguay and Daniel managed to procure a native Paraguayan to talk with me all morning. I had an absolute blast hanging out with Ale and she even brought me some things from her country. The coolest thing that she brought was her terere - a water cooler which held her guampa of mate (a kind of tea).
After hanging out at OSU, a few of us from our original graduate group got together at a bar in Grandview. I had such a good time catching up with everyone - I miss you guys!
It was fun to see you too! :) Have a great trip back to China!