The Departure

1:30 am Omaha time and my body is still telling me it's a sleepy 6:30 pm.  Tomorrow when it's time to get up I'll be about as lively as a tranquilized polar bear in the heat of the equator.  For those of you have have not hugged hello or goodbye, I have now left New Zealand and have arrived safe and sweaty in Omaha.  When did 78 degrees (roughly 25 for you Centigrade users) get to feel so hot?  Maybe it was when I shivered my self to sleep in my bed in NZ.  My departure was bitter and my arrival was sweet.  Only in that manner was my leaving New Zealand bitter-sweet.  It didn't really hit me at the time of the goodbyes how large the distance and time between me and my new friends might grow but locking my room for the last time sure nailed it in to me.  If that didn't work the sight of the hills around Dunedin growing smaller and smaller as the plane climbed did.  I probably wasn't as ready to come home on June 23rd as I was on May 4th.  Fresh off my trip to Australia with two papers staring me in the face and two cold and wet months of Dunedin ahead of me, I was starting to realize how long four months can seem.   June had me reminded me how short four months can be when surrounded by the right people.  Special shout out to the flat next door (numba 6) for occupying my time, lending me power for my laptop, and donating prime real estate for our study fort.  I think May and June went by faster than any previous month in NZ because of how much closer I felt to the people I met there.  I'm not going to get all wishy washy so things aren't awkward next time I talk to one of these people who's mention is implied, but I really enjoyed getting to know these people.  If you are one of "these people" you really mean a lot to me. Some people were very different from friends I have in Omaha or Ames, and some people would blend right into my usual crowd.  But I cherish everyone and they all taught me as much as they've made me laugh. Which was a lot.   I believe we have a reunion already planned in Brazil at some point.  Pinky promised it so you know it's real.