Back in Sioux Center

    Living in Sioux Center again has been quite different than the past few months when we were gone.  The weather is very cold here compared to Mexico.  A lot of the snow has melted now, but huge piles of snow covered the ground when we got back in February.  No more going for long walks in the afternoon to Spanish tutoring, restaurants, or the grocery store.
It's also a big change that we can speak English to people in restaurants, stores, and church.  It's a relief to just hear English and understand it instead of hearing Spanish and always having to mentally translate.  We miss the market places in Mexico and being able to buy the handmade items such as bracelets, necklaces, and belts.  We also miss the tortillerias where we could get fresh tortillas everyday, and being able to buy homemade tamales every Saturday night.

For the five months we were traveling with my dad, we did not have a car.  So we got very used to traveling by buses, taxis, and combis (mini buses).  The picture is of me waiting in a combi to go back to San Cristobal.  Most of the buses we rode were very comfortable with movies, snacks, restrooms, and three or four reclining seats in a row.  The bus rides we took varied from one hour in length to six hours.  That gave us lots of chances to watch Spanish movies!  Now we drive our car to get to different places, and we don't have to depend on public transportation.
While we were gone, I mostly just talked with my mom and dad and a few other missionaries.  But now since we've been back, I've been able to spend time with people my age again.  It's been fun hanging out with them at our house or at church or school activities. 

Even though we're back in Sioux Center, my mom is still home-schooling me.  Sometimes when we were traveling, we didn't have a desk to study at, so we studied on the bed, like the picture of us in Oaxaca.  Now we have a big table in my bedroom where we study.  Homeschooling is fun and everything we do is related to school. :) My mom and I are reading The Little House books together; we are on The Little Town on the Prairie  right now.  One reason I'm not attending the local school is that for some of the classes, we're using different textbooks than they are.  So it would be hard to transition into the books they're using.  And for the books that are the same, we're at a different place than they are.  Another reason is that we plan to travel again soon, and this way we don't miss any schoolwork.
I got started with my school's band, since homeschoolers can go too.  Last week we had a band concert that I got to participate in.  I am also taking piano lessons again while we're here.  That way I don't lose a whole year of practicing.
So all in all, it's been great to be home, even though we loved the traveling.  We look forward to going back to Alaska next month as well as Mexico in May.    Rachel