V for Vaseline.

I'm back in the US, and it's so nice to be in a country where I speak the language and know how things work [public transportation, restaurants, money, internet access...]. But a lot of the time I get confused and have to think for a second to remember what country I'm in, what language I should say "thanks" in, etc.

Three items of note so far:
1. The passport control guy asked, "Is your middle name Vaseline?" I laughed and said no, and he said, "That's not a joke - they actually put Vaseline as your middle name in the system!" [For those of you who don't know my middle name, it is somewhat similar, but it is not Vaseline.] Oh geez. He corrected it and then waved me on, saying, "Welcome home."
2. The first piece of news I heard was on the radio on the SuperShuttle to Long Beach: Brett Favre reportedly, possible, allegedly is retiring. Oh, who cares anymore?!?
3. My first meal back was delicious Mexican food! I'd been waiting so long...and it was so good.

The traveling isn't over, though - I'm in Long Beach now, heading to Los Angeles tomorrow for a week and a half, then San Francisco for a few days, Portland, and Montana before heading back to the Midwest, where I still won't be staying in one place for very long - the Twin Cities, various cities in Wisconsin, Chicago, maybe some Michigan...

Now that it's easier to get some internet, I'll work on catching up here. Next up: Cambodia [after a quick layover in Bangkok - shoutout to Ella!]. I went to hang out with my mom, who got a Freeman grant to take five UW-Eau Claire students to do research on biological diversity in the ride paddies, especially looking at the differences between paddies that use pesticides and those that don't.

That group is also doing a blog, so feel free to follow their hijinks [especially if you’re a Cricket – Brian Pauley is one of The Five].