I'm HOME!!!!

Okay, I realize this is a bit overdue since I have now been home for over a week... but late is better than never, right?

Well, my flight on the 9th went pretty well except for the initial checking in. Because of that $75 fee that I went to the airport to pay a bazillion times (and they never knew how much to charge me), there were problems in checking in. I ended up having to pay a $200 "penalty fee" for not paying the changing fee before the day of my flight! Needless to say, I have already filed a complaint with Air France and am waiting for a response so that I get my money back. After yelling at the Air France lady for about 30 minutes at 5 in the morning I finally just paid the money and checked in. My flight to Paris from Barcelona was not very pleasant because there was a loud child sitting behind me who thought it was really fun to kick my seat. However, once I got to Paris, I walked quickly through the airport and found my gate for the long flight. After getting through the passport check and security, I really only had about 20 minutes until they started boarding my long flight. While waiting to board, I realized that there weren't a whole lot of people sitting in our area, meaning our flight may not be full. Once I got on, I asked a flight attendant and he told me that the flight was only about half full, maybe even less. YAY!!!! So, I was in a window seat with the seat next to me open, meaning I got to stretch and have a very relaxing 9 hour flight! I watched two movies, tried to sleep a bit, and just sort of stared off into space for a while during the flight, the whole time trying to convince myself that I would not cry when I saw my family in the airport. Once we landed in Detroit, I quickly got off the plane, got through immigration, luggage claim, and customs. It really only took about 45 minutes to get through all of that, which surprised me. As soon as I walked out, I saw my mom and Meghan (my older sister) and immediately started crying! Yeah, it was just a dream to think that after so long I wouldn't cry!! We left the airport pretty quickly and got on the road for the 4 or 5 hour drive back home from Detroit. By the time I got home, I was pretty tired since I was going on 20ish hours without sleep. I said hi to Emily (my little sister) and my dad, ate some pizza, took Meghan to her boyfriend's house, and then came home and attempted to watch a movie with everyone. It was a great first night back!

Since then, I have been searching for a job, catching up with people (I feel like my phone has not stopped ringing), and trying to adjust back from the time difference as fast as possible. I've been driving my sisters around to school and work, which has been fun, and spending lunch breaks with my mom. This weekend I went up to Manchester to see some of my friends and to be there for graduation. It is still sort of unreal to be back, and hard to believe that I've really been gone for so long. So many people have said to me, "You haven't changed a bit...," and I think that may be true. Yes, I have had a lot of new experiences and lived for 9 months in another country, but I am still the same 5-year-old Melissa who loves Disney and junk food. As time goes on I'm sure I'll see more changes in myself from my time abroad, but as of right now it seems that I'm no different than I was when I left at the end of August. The hard part about this going to be seeing how others have changed while I've been away and how that might factor into my return to Manchester. It will all be fine, I know it will, but I just can't help but think about everything... especially after watching graduation yesterday and realizing that it will be me next year up there!

Anyhow, so now I am back to Noblesville, looking for a job for the summer. The good thing is that I have two very real possibilities! Last week I started calling around to counseling centers in Hamilton County to ask if they might need any sort of summer help in the office. One of them said it was a very real possibility and had me fax my resume in. He said they have team meetings on Tuesday mornings and they would discuss the possibility of hiring me at the next one. So, I am waiting to hear back from them tomorrow after their meeting. The other wonderful thing is that I received an email this morning from a family that I nannied for two summers in a row during high school. She asked if I had found a summer job yet, and if not might I be willing to nanny for their family again this summer. Yay again!! I don't particularly love nannying, but it pays well and every once in a while you see the angelic sides of the children. So, we'll see what all comes of this and maybe I'll be able to do both jobs (if I get offered both) and make enough money for my Hawaii trip next January! Alright, this has become super long, so I'll spare you all anymore details from the last week and a half of my life. I'll try and write again soon because I really would like to keep this going at least through the summer... Okay, bye for now!