The Prodigal Son Returns (for 2 weeks)

For those loyal readers of this blog (all three of you), I apologize for my posting hiatus. I was on vacation in America, and when I’m on vacation, I’m on vacation. That being said, it was a bit of a working holiday, and if you’ll allow me, I’d like to tell you all about it…

I left on Jan 31, flying from Chisinau, Moldova to Budapest, and then after a 5-hour layover, to JFK. Everything went remarkably smoothly. The airline food was plentiful and tasty, the plane was nearly empty so I could stretch out across three seats, and I even made a new friend.

While I was sitting in the Budapest airport, someone asked me for the time, which started a conversation with a 30-something man, Keiran, who happens to be a former-PCV. He served in the second group of volunteers to go to Mongolia, back in 1992. I told him about my previous vacation there last summer to visit a current PCV friend of mine, and later emailed him some of the photos I had snapped. We spoke on the plane for a couple hours, and it was really interesting to hear from him how Mongolia had been when he was there, his life post-PC, and how he is still in touch with many of the people with whom he served. [This last tidbit bodes well for a potential Uzbek-18 reunion, perhaps in January, 2008.]

My folks met me at the airport, and we stopped on the way home to get some Chinese food – awesome. I nearly fell asleep halfway through the meal as the jet lag set in.

The next day I took in the changes in my house since last I was there: my Dad painted the family room (looks really good, and I’ve already signed up to help with the rest of the house when I come home), there’s a new chair in front of the TV, and Mom has several new paintings that adorn the walls. I also drove – yes, driving a car for the first time in two years – into town and there discovered that there’s a Hilton Hotel, an Applebee’s, and a 10-story apartment complex.

Every time I come home there’s always something new, some good some not. I do appreciate things like having a Staples and a Blockbuster in town, but it’s a shame to see so many shuttered shops along Spring Street in Newton. There are, however, some new success stories along the main street, like the Chocolaterie, started by a local couple, that imports fantastic stuff from Europe and recently opened a second store in New York.

I was home for a few days in Jersey, just getting my bearings, sleeping, and eating. My extended family came to visit on Superbowl Sunday for some bagna cauda, the most amazing meal you could ever eat and a Dakake family tradition. As per usual, it rocked and I gorged myself.

Then it was onto the working end of my vacation: train rides up to Boston to see Harvard Business School, then to NYC to check out Columbia, next to Philadelphia for a special Wharton Winter Welcome, and then on to Washington to celebrate my nephew’s 5th birthday. I really liked traveling by train. The seats were wide and comfortable, plenty of storage space overhead, it’s a smooth ride, there’s electricity sockets, and no need to go through all the hassle of “checking-in” as one must at an airport (to check baggage, get your ticket, and go through security). I bought my ticket online and then printed it out from a kiosk at the train station in about 20 seconds.

I’ll say this for the schools: they’re all amazing institutions with a diverse group of intelligent students. Some of the high points for each school, in my opinion, were that Columbia has the added bonus of being in NYC, Harvard is its own awesome compound, and Wharton students are really involved in all aspects of the school.

Although I was initially concerned about seeing three schools in as many days while I’m supposed to be on vacation, it was definitely a good choice. I was able to sit in on classes, tour the facilities, talk with students, and get a general sense of each school. Should I be admitted at more than one place, I will now be able to make a more informed decision. I am definitely leaning toward one place at the moment, but I’ll wait to hear from each school, particularly their financial aid departments, before making a final decision.

In DC I met up with my folks, David & Maria, Krista, and Gabriel. My nephew is more difficult to carry these days, which could be a sign of his increased size (and weight) or my decreased biceps – probably both. David & Maria’s house, like my parent’s and my hometown, had changed since I was last there. There’s a different TV sitting in a different corner, new couches and a new window are on the bottom floor, Gabriel’s room has a new layout, and there’s a new toaster. And there’s wireless internet, which was very nice. I think more change is coming once my second neice/nephew is born in July.

We also went on a tour of DC monuments, mostly just driving by places like the Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, WWII, and Vietnam Monuments; Congress; the Smithsonian Museums; the Supreme Court; and most importantly, the Moldovan Embassy, pictured here.

Then it was back up to NJ for a couple days. I got to make a fire in our fireplace, which I love to do. I showed Krista around my hometown and tried to eat as many bagels with cream cheese as possible. There wasn’t really time to see anyone besides family, but fear not (or consider yourself fortunate that I was so short of time), I’ll be back soon. I flew out on the 13th.

Special thanks to my hosts during my tour – M&C in Beantown, Baldi & Gumby in NYC, Kevin in Philly, and Cito in DC.