all the weird things

Okay, I've been home for over a week now. Life is getting...normal-er? I guess. I don't really know what that means, but whatever.

Real life is so bizarre.

1. Since when did every single person on the planet carry a smartphone, ipad, and laptop with them all the time?
2. Why did everyone from high school marry each other?
3. And how is it possible that they already have kids?
4. How am I supposed to greet people here? High five? Handshake? Side hug? Nod of the head? Everything seems so unnecessarily awkward. Life was so much easier when I just had to kiss everyone on the cheek.
5. When am I going to not sound like an idiot in english anymore?
6. Why are the keys on this keyboard all out of order? I can never find the apostrophe.

Also I am training for a marathon, so that's hilarious. You can all come and make signs and cheer me on as I pant for the first mile and walk the rest of the way.

I miss everything that has to do with Ecuador. Even the times when we were walking down the street and the smell of dead animal almost killed us. I miss wearing a missionary tag and talking to people about Christ and eating mangoes with them on their front porch. I even miss the sun that was so hot it could cook an egg and the dogs that all teamed up against me to bite my leg off and the guy that stole my camera. I miss it all so much sometimes my heart feels like it's not even inside of me at all.

But I'm making progress. I finally brought myself to change my BYU class schedule for the fall and go run menial errands like buying new clothes. I'm working through this phase I refer to as "real life seems so pointless." I'm learning how to talk myself out of thinking watching a soccer game is a sin and not feeling bad if I sleep in until 8am. I still do a lot of weird things and avoid a lot of things that I've been deprived of for a long time...not in a self-righteous sort of way, they just aren't that interesting to me anymore. And that's okay. I am happy to be an awkward returned missionary.

Maybe I'll run my marathon in a calf-length skirt.