My turn

It is my turn to blog, and I am afraid I don't have much to report this week... I guess I will catch you up to the workings of my recent life...
I spent my last day in Buenos Aires touring the U.S. Embassy, meeting the Church Area Presidency, and going to the Buenos Aires Temple before hopping on our plane to come home. It was very good to be back, although I miss the many friends we made. There are a few things that I have really come to appreciate, which I know I took largely for granted. Those things are:
-Five star bathrooms (flushing toilet with a seat, has toilet paper, has running water, soap and something to dry hands with... none of those things could be taken for granted... you might be lucky enough to find a bathroom with TP, but you can bet you had to pay if you wanted some!)
-Carpet (you never realize how lovely carpet is until you don't see it for a while. I was so excited to see our industrial grade carpet when I got home!)
-Heating/ cooling systems (We experienced the coldest week on record for the last 40 years or so in Argentina- freezing temperatures, and of course we didn't think it would be so cold, so we had brought no coats... needless to say, it was sort of.. well.. cold in the unheated hostels we lived in.)
-Fruits and vegetables (we ate mostly meat and pasta and it was very good, but... I have been loving all the summer fruit since being home! YUUUUUUUUUUM!)
-Peanut butter! (Many of our wonderful friends in Argentina had never tried it... they really don't have it there...)
-Earplugs (really, my salvation and the only way I could get any sleep those 6 weeks)
-The ability and total confidence to be able to communicate completely any thought, desire, need, or idea to anyone as needed or wanted. (I will NEVER again think badly of anyone living in the U.S. who is having a hard time communicating in English (as their second language). I experienced quite a lot of anxiety, stress, etc. etc. when I first arrived in Argentina and hadn't gotten in my Spanish speaking mode yet. I was afraid I guess, and I even knew that I would be able to go home in 6 weeks! Imagine what it would be like to move to a completely new place where no one can understand you and you can't communicate- either adequately, or at all. You can't talk to the people at the grocery store, doctor's office, hospital, restaurant, your neighbors, schoolmates, coworkers etc. How terrifying! And you know that this place is your new "home"- you may never again go back to the place you grew up. I have a new appreciation for people who take a leap like that, who struggle to be able to communicate, and who must at times despair that no one understands them, and some people even hate them- people say things like "You're not welcome in this country if you can't speak English." While I realize that can be a frustration for all involved, I also know what it is like to be yelled at for not speaking or understanding clearly, and I know how wonderful it is when someone is sympathetic and rephrases or patiently explains what they mean. Smiles and soft tones (rather than loud exaggerated pronunciation) make understanding so much easier! OK, maybe that's enough on that subject for the moment...)
-Clean air (We lived downtown, and all the smog, car exhaust, and cigarette smoke (Young, young girls smoking everywhere- to lose weight they said) were hard on the lungs when we were walking several miles each day.)
-Clean water (we drank bottled water out of necessity, which wasn't so hard, only inconvenient, and expensive, at restaurants, when you can't get tap water or free refills!)
-My health (I got sick twice in 6 weeks... incidentally, I am fairly sick now, and have been since Tuesday, the difference being that I have access to all the comfort and familiar medicines etc. I could want.)
-Easy communication (this refers to more than just language- We relied on email and methods as unreliable as Skype and other internet methods. We couldn't use our cell phones to make the long distance calls home. Nice to be able to call people up now- just to say "Hi!" if I want.
-I appreciate the way the gospel is the same everywhere you go. (Even when I couldn't completely understand the lesson or talk given, I could feel the Spirit and the kindness of the members at church.)
I actually made a whole list of things I appreciated. I don't have that list with me now, but these are the things that stuck out the most to me. I may add more things at a later time!