Back in America

In case you haven't figured it out I've been in the good ol' US of A for the past few weeks. I came home for my 30 day leave in-between my service in Mali and Senegal. I've had a great time visiting people, but it definitely wasn't long enough. I haven't got to do a lot of the stuff I wanted to do but I'm thankful for the time I have had here.
I flew into Raleigh and spent a weekend with my mom before heading out to Omaha to visit my older brother Luke. In NC, mom took me to do some things I deemed necessary as part of my re-entry into America: pedicure, buying new contacts and a little shopping. In Omaha Luke and I went and saw The Dark Knight on the IMAX screen- one word: Awesome, and we also saw Pineapple Express- really funny. He let me cook some yummy food, we went to the commissary on base to buy a few things (that place was amazing) and he helped me with my computer.
In California I spent some time in Tahoe, Burney, Mt. Shasta, and Valley Springs. Tahoe was beautiful, most of my family on my dad's side was there so we had a great visit. It was great to be back in Burney-wish it could have been longer, ate some of Dad's good cooking, visited some great friends, and got some relaxing time in the hot tub Dad and Kathy put in after all the kids left home... Emily and I went to a G. Love concert in Jacksonville, OR (near Medford).





I had a great time with her. I also stayed with Aunt Ty and hung out with my mom's side of the fam, also got to visit with my lil bro Kenny.
I'm writing to you from mom's house in NC. We spent several days at the beach in Emerald Isle and now I'm trying to get ready to go back to Senegal on Saturday.
I'm getting kind of nervous, but still excited. I hope that my new position works out, but I love Senegal and am excited to get back. I'll post more soon!