We arrived back in Ann Arbor last night after five days in Glasgow. At the risk of sounding like a whiny international traveler, there's simply been too much back and forth in the past month and we're plum tuckered. However, we had a grand time in the mother land, spending quality time with family and friends. It's possible that I'll log some details here but considering I still haven't posted my final couple of travel diary entries from Buenos Aires, it seems unlikely.
Tonight we reunited with the gang for a dinner at Charles & Julia's to kick off the new semester which, technically, started today. It was good to see everyone, but it was also strange, considering the absence of Luis, Semiha, Sedat, Sarah and Steve. All of them have returned to their real lives and I wonder how the post-fellowship adjustment is treating them. Most everyone seems to be doing well. Fara is getting along nicely with her arm injury, although it will be a while before she's without a splint. Lisa, however, has been diagnosed with a heart condition and undergoes laporascopic surgery early tomorrow morning to repair a nerve that's causing an irregular heartbeat.
Apparently, as far as these things go, it's a pretty routine procedure. However, anything involving the heart sounds pretty damn serious to me. So we're over to the hospital first thing in the AM to keep Chuck company while she's in surgery - it's always hardest for those left waiting.
Otherwise, it's a crazy, chaotic time for us. I'm in the midst of selecting the classes I want to take and beginning the packing process for moving to our second semester home this weekend. As for classes, I've got about five I'd like to check out, but if the planets will align somehow to let me into Frederick Busch's fiction class, I'll be a very, very happy girl. Fingers crossed, virtually speaking!