"What ever happened to Nick and Alison?" I'm sure you have been wondering. In a sense, so have we. Here is a little bit of the story to help you along:
On July 14th we pulled heavy suitcases down the stairs for the last time from our little apartment in Tianshui, with the help of many students. Our friends gathered to see us off, and a few even rode the 20 minutes to the train station with us. We knew it would be strange, not calling that place and those people home, but we were so excited for our upcoming trip, celebrating the end of service, and finally arriving back in the US.
On July 17th at 11:59PM we concluded our Peace Corps service, absolutely overcome with wanderlust.
On July 19th we had the great privilege of attending our host sister's wedding in Chengdu. It was fantastical, with beautiful decorations, indoor fireworks/flowers, and plentiful food. Our host family welcomed us as though we had never left them back in 2007, and they expected us to stay from noon until 8 pm, which we respectfully declined. As an added bonus, they are friends and neighbors of other host families, so we were able to meet a few of the incoming Peace Corps volunteers.
On July 21st, we started the epic flights to Rome: Chengdu -> Guangzhou -> Bangkok -> Cairo -> Rome. The north coast of Africa is some of the most scenic ocean I have ever seen from a plane window. Egyptian currency is pretty cool too, especially when you accidentally leave your US dollars locked in the checked-through luggage.
Upon arrival in Rome, we were tired but so excited to walk around in the bright Roman sun and satiate our senses with coffee, pizza, and gelato. We checked into the hostel in Rome right across from the main train station, on the edge of the immigrant quarter. The nice Chinese hosts at the hostel tried to speak to us in English, but it just wasn't working. When we said a few words of Chinese and looked confused, the older lady spoke in surprisingly fluent Italian, at which point we looked even more confused. We said a few more words in Chinese until she finally realized what we were doing, and then all the information got across pretty quickly. We were lucky that they had come from Fujian Province, so they spoke Mandarin rather than Cantonese. Rome is enchanting, even in the blazing sun, and especially after 2 years in the Orient.
On July 25th, we rented a small car and Nick got his gearshift arm (think "sea legs") back quickly on our tour through Tuscany. For a week we stayed on a quaint 16th-century farm run by our now good friend, Carlo. Please visit his website, and be sure to stay there if you are ever in Tuscany. We were welcomed, well fed, and assisted in finding great day trips which included a vineyard and the secret swimming hole on the Farma river.
On August 3rd, we drove to Pisa quite early to the small airport (seriously, it's smaller than a Sam's Club). We took our flight to Paris, took the train to the central station, picked up our TGV tickets to Bordeaux, and had lunch in a cafe. We arrived in Bordeaux around 6:30 PM and were met by my extended relatives, Patrick and Kathy. We communicated with quite a bit of pointing and basic words, but the sentiment of family was unmistakable. Over the next two days, they planned for us quite the vacation: steak dinner, day on the boat in the Bassin d'Arcachon, seafood feast, tour of Bordeaux, and nice sendoff. We couldn't have been happier.
On August 7th just before midnight, we arrived in Jacksonville to be surprised by some of our best friends from Gainesville driving up to meet us, along with the planned meeting by Nick's sister Krissy. We didn't fall down and kiss the ground or anything, but we did breathe deeply and take our time.
Since then, we have had the great opportunity to see many relatives and friends, though it continues to cause us to miss the ones we haven't seen. And also causes us to miss the friends we made in China, who still influence us every day. We drove down to Gainesville a few times in order to find a nice house to rent, set ourselves up, and get Nick a job.
He was very fortunate to have the recommendation for a job at Sweetwater Organic Coffee, which he did his best to fulfill. However, some internal conflicts at the small business did not allow Nick to integrate as his duties dictated, and he is now available to find a better employment fit. He fills his days with enjoying the weather, meeting with friends, going to the gym, serving others, learning, and running errands.
Alison started class on August 24th as part of her PhD program. She's working in "the lab" again for Dr. Sawyer, studying friction and sometimes leaving early to take in all the recent changes.
We've taken a sabbatical from documenting our lives so much, but we'll eventually build it back up and post photos of us regularly. And what is on the horizon, you say? Working hard, using our new back deck, cooking some great food, and re-acclimating to the US. We also plan to help our Peace Corps recruiter on campus by speaking at some events and sharing our enthusiasm.
For those of you reading this from China, Europe, or not in the Gainesville area, we truly miss you! We talk about you often. We leave you tonight with the newest member of our family:
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