Really, I haven't posted since October...2016. Gah, shame. So much shame.

Since it has been NEARLY A YEAR since I last posted...I am not going to do what I usually do which is a picture heavy post going month by month.  I'll just have to move on and maybe do some "Throw Back Thursday"shmuck that seems so popular.  

So...

this week...

What the crap did I do this week?  Ok, maybe I should do what I have done since returning from Jordan on June...15th...nope 17th.  Gosh, it has only been about 3 weeks.

It feels much longer.

I run now.  Truly.  I did a 5k training program before I left for Jordan in an effort to get a little bit fit to hike and dig for 6 weeks.  It really helped and I felt REALLY good.  So, in an effort to deal with the inevitable post-fieldwork crash, I started the running program again - about 6 hours after I got home from the airport.  On top of that I registered for the Durham City 5k on July 19th.  We'll see how that madness goes.

Morning after I got back to Durham run.  I am tired...and sweaty...and surprisingly happy.

DURHAM IS SO GREEN!!!  I am having a slight environmental shock.

In other environmental shocks: HUMIDITY.  Jordan was SUPER HOT, especially near the end.  Durham is...warm?  Sometimes?  The temperature change was not too bad.  This was mostly because  I had a coat that I put on as soon as I walked out of the airport.  I was pretty cold.  The weirdness is the humidity because I am FREEZING and POURING sweat at the same time.  My body was pretty confused until I acclimated to the humidity.

It took me about 2 weeks before I didn't have to sleep in a hoodie, wool socks, and under 2 duvets.

The first thing I did (well the next day because I got home after midnight) when I got home was go for a run, unpack, and then EAT LIKE THE MANIAC I AM!!!

Cravings in the field are always insane but this year, for reasons that shall not be named, was particularly bad.  

I needed protein.  

I needed raw fruit and veggies.  

I have had ridiculous amounts of both.

First post-fieldwork meal.
Not shown: the 20 pounds (currency not weight) of produce I bought and ate in...5 days.

SO DELICIOUS!

My first post-Jordan Thursday Take Off was to go to Metrocentre, get used to being around large groups of people, and see Wonder Woman.

The Wonder Woman bit was actually a spontaneous and very good decision.

So that is kind of it for post-Jordan stuff.

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As for this week - the 4th of July.

Independence Day is HUGE for my family.

We have many, many traditions and I miss them more on this day than probably any day of the year.

Ergo, it is difficult to be away from home.

I actually only have 1 picture from this day because it was POURING rain ALL DAY LONG.

I like to think that poor Britain was mourning the loss of America.

Not likely, we are often referred to as the "wayward colonies".

What utter bull.

ANYWAYS...

Family traditions kept:

1. I started the morning with a swimming workout.  Granted, it wasn't the family fun swimming at an outdoor pool but it was the 4th, and I swam.  Tradition check.
2.  I spent some time relaxing.  In fact, I read an entire book.  We always do this after the 5k and the parade.  We just hang out together, read, nap, and joke around.  Tradition check.
3. I (tried) to walk the 5k route for my race on the 19th.  I got lost near the end (shoddy hand-drawn map) but ended up doing a bit more than a 5k finding may way back.  Tradition check.
4. Ordered nachos and a hamburger from Tango.  Granted, it is not the family barbecue BUT you do the best with what you have.  Tradition check.
5. While eating my delicious American-like meal, I watched Independence Day (the original you sillies).  I actually got emotional.  Not from the movie itself but from the tradition of it.  Tradition check.
6. Obviously, real fireworks were completely out of the question so I turned on my Christmas lights that are wrapped around the visible beam in my ceiling.  They substituted for actual 4th of July fireworks pretty well.  Tradition check.

New traditions:

1. On my way home from my 4th of July 5k, I may or may not have poured my tea in the river from a bridge or from a dock or both.  I realize that the Boston Tea Party was in December of 1773 but I kind of felt like rebelling in my own way as I celebrated my country's independence "behind enemy lines" as I am.  Thank you Step-On-Me for this hilarious suggestion.

So, even away from my familia, I still felt close to them.

♥♥♥