returning home

it's starting to feel normal to be home again.
- the jetlag has mostly worn off (except for it taking a bit longer for me to fall asleep);
- the grading is almost finished; and thus i will be able to live more fully in this world (and also in dutch) instead of feeling half-stuck with my time and energy back in the class in America;
- i've started making plans and meetings with people;
- i've started doing some of my old chores (although it's been nice to take a bit of a break this week) - and agreed to do help with other chores;
- i've caught up with quite a number of people, although i still don't really know the new people that moved in while i was gone - so i'm hoping to spend quite a bit of time later this week just sitting around with coffee;
- i've had energy to think about how i'm going to make enough money to live on for the next year (or two or three) - and it's been kind of delightful to realize that i might have a couple of possibilities. having left and come back also makes me realize how much i want to continue to call Amsterdam home for awhile longer;
- i've joined in a number of chapel services (and this morning we stamped along whenever we heard the name Haman in Esther - i know it has to do with the Jewish feast of Purim, but i'm not entirely sure exactly why);
- the number of adventures has been pretty minimal (i can only think of one at the moment - picking up a couch off the street and carrying it home through the Red Light District). i'm not sure if that's because the odd adventures of life here are becoming so normal again that i'm forgetting them or because i've been hiding in my room so much that i've been missing out on one of my favourite parts of life here.... but i expect that'll change soon.