Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America - March 26, 2020

Home! Beautiful home, USA! We are home at last. We slept in our own bed last night.

We arrived home about 7 am yesterday, Wednesday, March 25. We both were a little off-balance from having no sleep overnight on the plane. We never sleep on planes. We spent the 9-hour flight watching movies. I saw and recommend: The Joker - which blew me away!. Judy with Renee Zellweger - I now understand why she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. For a strange, shocking but captivating film, watch The Parasite. Also saw A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood with Tom Hanks - ok to watch but not what I expected or hoped for at all. Finally I watched "Western Stars" concert by Bruce Springsteen performed in the hay loft of his 125 year-old barn and accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra! It was fantastic! Fantastic!

Once we opened our front door, we settled in for just a bit and went straight to bed for a nap! That plan worked out well. Three hours later we got up and started unpacking and getting ourselves discombobulated.
I took a long walk. I didn't know . . . it had not occurred to me before. . . . but it's spring here! The pastel colors of the redbuds, plum trees, the forsythia, and the privet were so beautiful. And the holly bushes! The tiny almost invisible Holly blossoms yield a deep, sweet fragrance that sneak upon you. I walked in and out of fragrances that can only be enjoyed in the early spring. The walk did my body and my heart good!
We are home. Back to normal. Well, sort of.

I have an emergency appointment with my ophthalmologist tomorrow - emergency because I still cannot see well from my right eye. I have to give credit to Sebastian, one of our teachers, who helped me reach out to my emergency ophthalmologist there in Santiago to make sure all lab results were finally sent to me.

Meanwhile, that kidney stone that has been gently letting Stan know for the past 4 weeks that it still may be there, finally let him know for sure it's there and moving today. He was sick and in pain. Emergency meds are on the way. Hopefully, this too shall pass.

Oh God, I hate to bring this up. Oh I even hate to think about it but maybe we are finally feeling our years. While we both feel great nearly every day, we certainly we have had more ailments in recent times than ever in all our years. No, we are not ready, not even nearly ready, to give in yet, but someday the day will come.

I loved this trip. Our few days in Buenos Aires were relaxing and fun. The cruise through the Straits of Magellan and Beagle Channel near Antarctica was very nice. We enjoyed the penguins and the glaciers were magnificent. And we enjoyed visiting the Southern Chilean outpost towns and villages near Patagonia. But the cruise was just fluff. Once we arrived in Santiago, leisurely vacation time ended and education began. We learned so much. Yes, our purpose was to spend four weeks studying the Spanish language. We knew that would be a challenge. What we did not expect, however, was the birds-eye view we had of genuine civil and political unrest. First we were knocked off our feet by the volume, quantity and quality of the graffiti. It glared at us everywhere we looked. If we saw a flat surface, it had been painted with a protest theme or plastered with a revolutionary poster. All this in such an otherwise beautiful city was shocking. We saw crowds; heard chants and shrill whistles by thousands of people. We watched a march of over a million women on the street below our apartment, we say flag-waving and heard protest songs sung by a thousand voices. We also saw people being blasted by police water cannons laced with lye, we saw people being assaulted with teargas. We saw people respond with rocks thrown at police or at the windows of nearby buildings. We saw a Molotov cocktail thrown at one of the police armored vans. We learned why the Chileans are so passionate about changing their government. They are right; they need a new constitution. We have empathy for their cause and sympathy for the country as a whole but we have no heart and no tolerance for the violence - not for the police antagonism and brutality and not for unnecessary destruction brought on by some vandal members of the protest groups.

Yes, we did what we planned to do; we studied Espanol for four weeks. We went to school every day and studied hard! It was pure work. If we weren't in class at school, we were doing homework and practicing. Still, though, we cannot speak Spanish. We are complete goofballs with the Spanish language. We know much more that we started however. The school promised that after 4 weeks, we'd be competent tourists. Ha! I tried my Spanish in the emergency room talking to nurses - they cried with laughter. We know a bunch of words, but are not nearly confident enough to express our thoughts in full sentences. Stan and I vow to practia, practica, practica.

Of all the stories I've ever written about our trips, this one is the most unique and a little disappointing to me. During our time out of the country on this trip, the world changed. People all over the world are ill and more are becoming ill. The virus is spreading like wildfire. First it appeared in the Northern hemisphere where winter flu season is still in effect and then it arrived as well in the southern half of the world just as summer is ending and flu season approaches.

In hopes of containing the Covid-19 virus, the world has stopped. People are frightened. Information? There is almost too much of it. We people of the world wonder what to believe . Our future is unsure. Schools and businesses, except those deemed essential, are closed. People all over the world are homebound. We are doing without all the stuff we think we need and want to survive. We are learning new ways of being entertained while we sit alone, and new ways of worshipping via computer in our own living rooms and offices. We people crave the touch and nearness of our families and friends. Those lucky-enough to retain their jobs are working from home but also with an additional job - homeschooling their kids as well. Sadly, though, small businesses cannot survive during this shutdown. Employees no longer have jobs. People in healthcare industry, are being worked and over-worked treating emergency patients and treating those sick with the virus. Their exposure to risk is enormous. Even people who work maintaining essential services, like those in grocery stores, food service, delivery services, trash pick-up and more are working hard to make sure we have the foods, utilities and sanitation services so vital to our health.

People who normally drive a car multiple times a day for even the least of chores and who would never think of walking now find joy with family walks each afternoon. Sidewalks that ordinarily stand empty except for the occasional runner or young mom with baby carriage are now busy. People confined at home suddenly seek every opportunity to be outside-- keeping the necessary 6-foot separation from others, of course. When kids see other kids, their excitement is contagious!

We look forward to getting back to work, to get the world operating again, to get back to normal. Yet I wonder what the new "normal" actually will be. What will we leave behind and which elements of the Covid-19 scenario will we take forward with us. What are we learning? Maybe we are learning Covid-19 is only one of the first of these super- viruses we will face. Maybe we will never shake hands or kiss the cheeks of friends again. Maybe we are learning how precious face-to-face time with friends and family truly is and we make changes in our lives to make more time for them. Maybe we learn we don't need so much stuff, that we don't have to drive a car for simple nearby errands. Maybe we learn that while work is important, it is not the center of our life. It supports our life. All this, who knows? We shall see.
Before Covid-19 we worried about how cyber-relationships through social media, and texting has caused us, especially young people, to be less able to have real people-to-people conversations and relationships. Who calls anyone anymore?? Perhaps the separation technology has created between us has actually prepped us for the enormous isolation Covid-19 has brought about. Just thoughts . . .

Covid-19 threats and the changes the disease are bringing about are not ours alone to bear. And it's not a European or a Chinese problem. It is world-wide. There is no country yet untouched. We are all in this together. North, south, east west, rich, poor, white, black, brown or yellow, old and young - it's everyone's problem. Yes, all of us are in this together.

Maybe, just maybe the whole world will work together to overcome this challenge. Maybe we will re-learn to put our trust and faith in God. Maybe, just maybe, through the ordeal, we will understand that people across the country and throughout the world are very much the same. Our wants and needs are the same. I pray we become less wary and more trusting, more accepting of one another. Maybe we will become better neighbors, better parents and family members. Maybe we will emerge to find we are better people in a better world.

Thank you for staying with me through this leg of life's journey. I pray for safety and security for you, your family and all people. So, until the next time, good night.

PS - As a side note, March 31, 2020 - Stan and I are well and much better. We both are seeing doctors as follow-up. My eye sight has improved immensely and Stan's stone has settled down. We thank you and bless you for all the care, concern and prayers you have shown us for our health, well-being and safe journey home. Prayers work. We are forever grateful. God be with you.