A journey's end

In utter style, I might add...

It is done. I have left Turkey for greener (?) pastures... actually I have left Turkey for a small dose of reality. A 1 hour flight, a night in a bunk bed, and 14 hours on a bus later I am in Thessaloniki, Greece with ThunderGod, the Norwegian Goddess, and Svingy - the gang from Kosovo. We all had a hell day traveling yesterday and have rightly checked ourselves into the Hyatt Regency (at the special UN rate) for some serious luxury and R&R. After sleeping with 25 other people in the same room for the past 5 weeks, I don't particularly care what it costs per night. After a late night sushi feast, I awoke this morning surrounded in a cloud of down comforters and pillows... couldn't have been happier. The bathroom itself is a glass shrouded palace - bigger than most people's apartments in Prishtina, and the pool area a lush garden replete with waterfalls and poolside massage tent. There are some advantages to having a bit of cash I suppose, and it's a real treat to splurge every once in a while even when you don't.

I do promise you all that I will complete the story of my trip once sagely home and at the comfort of my own keyboard. There are some things that really just cannot be explained with out the pictures. I only have about 400 to post (no, that's not an exaggeration)... so be patient with me.

So in 10 days I will set foot on American soil for the first time in a year. I am terribly excited to see everyone, and at the same time I'm having trepidations about being back in the land of convenience. It's a hard adjustment to make sometimes. Even in Turkey I was overwhelmed everytime I walked into a grocery store. I felt like I needed to buy things because who knew when I'd ever see it again... silly. I hope that impulse doesn't hit me when I go into Central Market or I'll be the proud but poor owner of a large selection of rare fruits and vegetables and jars of exotic condiments. I'll be flat broke in my first week home. My true fear is that I will try to satisfy all urges and cravings for fast food in a matter of minutes and will explode quite like the guy at the end of The Meaning of Life. It could happen. Taco Bell beware!!!