Like I mentioned in a previous post, I will be in the States for three months. I’m a bit hesitant to plan anything about my time back in the states, considering it will be two difficult and entirely unknown stages of my life; hugely-pregnant and caring-for-a-new-newborn. I have no idea what it will be like for either one of those. Being almost-hugely pregnant at the moment, I imagine that I’ll be able to successfully achieve activities that can be done from a reclined position, laptop on my inclined legs, plate of snacks balancing on my future child. But after the future child becomes an actual child? I can’t even fathom. I hear it’s a big deal, or something.
With that in mind, here’s my (somewhat ambitious) list of things I’d like to do once I’m back in the US.
1. Eat: s’mores (although I just found out there’s a specialty store in Bishkek that sells marshmallows), kale, avocados (if available here, they usually cost $5 each), blueberries, eggnog, candy cane flavored EVERYTHING, Ethiopian food, root beer floats, Greek yogurt, good pizza, bagels, and a good old American-style Thanksgiving meal.
2. Participate in fall/holiday activities. I’ll arrive too late for pumpkin carving and haunted houses, but I think I would rather enjoy a hayride and getting pictures taken with Santa. I hope I’m not jinxing myself by planning for baby to be here in time for Santa pictures. Going two weeks past my due date will get baby here on December 27th, so I sincerely hope, for the sake of my sanity, that does not happen. (Does anybody have a mid/late-December birthday? Do you hold a grudge against your parents for forever dooming your birthday festivities?)
3. Write, and possibly craft. I assume I won’t have much of a get-up-and-go attitude considering how big I’ll be at that point, so activities that can be done from the comfort of my mom’s couch are perfect. I’m diligently keeping track of notes for various articles and stories I plan to write, and also bookmarking cute baby-related crafts (bow ties and headbands, to keep everybody guessing on the gender) so I don’t just watch TV all day. (Both of my parents have cable subscriptions that give them access to hundreds or thousands of television channels. When I was back in Pennsylvania in June, I watched Food Network and HGTV only.)
4. Visit DC! This will probably either be done at the earliest possible moment, or sometime post-baby in January. I haven’t been to DC since May 2011, so I’m looking forward to seeing my District friends!
5. Vote. Ugh, I guess so. I hear Pennsylvania is pretty solidly Obama at this point, but I suppose I should perform my civic duty of waddling to the polling station. Luckily, it’s a two-minute walk from my mom’s house.
With only about 8 days left in Bishkek, I’m getting that anxious/excited feeling about departing. I keep thinking, “Come on! Get me out of here already, away from power cuts and food poisoning and mind-boggling tax law and the shadiest landlord ever and languages I can’t speak. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!”
(Although I am positive I will be so ready to get back here by the end of January, away from TV commercials and processed foods and suburbs and people who ask me about Russia. In fact, I’m betting it will only take a week or so until I’m missing Kyrgyzstan.)