Homes as I hop

Well here I am. Me, the one who never intended on blogging, me the one who used to wonder who ever had the time to blog!?! and post their life for others to read? Yes, it is I.

But come on, moving to Afghanistan has got to be blog-worthy, definately one of the accredited reasons to blog, and so I must.
The last month has been a tornado of directions and emotions.
Leaving Vietnam on July 9th was the hardest thing I have ever done.
My grieving is not done. It's a like a cookie I keep biting into now and then, always leaving some for later.

My heart is still there.
Suddenly I have become very aware of being homeless. My life there was my home. Never had I felt so much a sense of home in my adult-life. Now, I'll have to adjust to temporary homes... transient housing here and there, changing homes along as I go.
After Hanoi my first stop was Philadelphia.
There was a big new someone to meet: Dahlia, Karla's second daughter, and now officially one of my favorite people on earth.
Lovely, calm, smooth, satisfied, happily grunting through life. That's how she spends her time.

After 5 days I flew to Honduras. Amidst the many guests my mom houses at the bed and breakfast(July being her high season) I got to spend day in and day out for 2 weeks with my mom, dad, Laura, my Gonzi, Tia Pia and Tia Marta, plus my closest friend, Belkis.
Time simply jumped from arrival day to departure day. The last 3 days I spent with angst...every time I remembered I was about to leave I'd get a pang in my stomach.
Leaving my mom was the hardest. She is the best flavour of home.
Despite the short time we sure enjoyed away the days. I got all the tortillas con queso I could eat. I got all the time with my 2 tias, all the afternoons by the hammock with my mom, all the time to sit and admiringly watch my nephew in action, awestruck at who he is, at his manner of expression.
My favorite is how he says: Me encanta or No me encanta referring to things he likes or doesn't like. These, he either adores or doesn't adore, and this very well describes how intense he is about life.
I'd forgotten how wonderful it is to live in a place full of garden, full of green and the space to just sit and stare away at leaves, petals, turtles lurking around.
On my return to Philly I was to just stay a day before flying to Dubai.
This didn't happen. The night before flying I started getting sick with fever, shivers, body-ache, and a very upset stomach. We feared dengue fever, as Honduras is full of it as I type.
My flight was changed, and I stayed with Karla for an extra 4 days. It wasn't dengue fever, maybe the flu, not sure what.

Philly is another one of those places I easily call home. I always look forward to spending a few days there and enjoy Karla's homey home and homey neighborhood.
Karla had had gall bladder stones removed the day I arrived. But despite me being sick, and her coming out of the hospital the day after, we got to spend great time together along with Dahlia, Emilia and the compadre, Dan.
I got 2 days to walk through the farmer's market, eat all the blueberries and peaches I craved, have breakfast at 2 of the Green Line cafes, even got a whole afternoon shopping at Target....

Again, a couple of days before flying I got anxious, and didn't feel ready to leave.

As quickly as I had decided to move on and retake my passion of working with artisans by moving to Afghanistan, I have not really had a good enough break to just relax before the big move. So a teaspoon of Honduras and a bit less of Philly had me feeling so emotional and anxious. I wonder if this is why I got sick.
Within a deep breath I suddenly found myself on the Atlanta-Dubai direct flight, then suddenly walking the hallways at the Dubai airport.
I arrived last night, getting a hotel and Dubai visa quite smoothly compared to my first time going to Kabul in May. But, but, but my luggage did not arrive.
About a dozen people on my flight didn't either, we were assured it would be delivered at our hotels by tonight.
It better because I fly to Kabul tomorrow at noon, where I shall begin to scoop out sand and plant a new home.

UPDATE: My luggage did not arrive on today's Atlanta-Dubai flight. I fly to Kabul at noon tomorrow. Am waiting for the reception to call and let me talk to the airline. Am trying not to panic....but am panicking.
Will let you know how this ends.
2nd UPDATE: My luggage arrived at 5am on the day I was to fly to Kabul as 12 noon. I had already shopped, was planning to move with 4 new outfits, basic toilettries and the faith that somehow, one fine day my luggage would appear. But that didn't happen. I flew to Kabul with my 2 70 pound, 32 kilo bags plus the 4 new outfits and toilettires I got in Dubai...