Familiar faces

If I ever complained about not being able to go anywhere in Austin without running into someone I know, I take it all back. Never again will I underestimate familiar faces. At 12:05 a.m., when I had finally landed and made my way through the customs (six hours later than anticipated), I wondered if my friend Mauricio would be there, and if so, where. I round the corner, pushing a cart full of luggage (I have never traveled with this much stuff!), and bam....a hundred people waving signs with last names that are not mine and another fifty asking me if I need a taxi. I scan the crowd again and again for a familiar face. Nothing. I stand there waiting, squinting, standing on my tip toes for a better view, looking, and starting to mutter things to myself like "oh man, oh man". Nothing. "Miss, Taxi?" "Taxi?" No, no gracias. Oh man. Then I see him. Immediately everything is alright. We load up my luggage and head off to Heredia. It is dark and raining and I can't stop thanking him for the ride. We arrive at the apartment and the Megans (the two ambassadorial scholars who have been studying here for the last two years and with whom I will be staying until they return to the United States and I take over their lease) are there waiting. As I curl up on the couch to get some much needed rest, I notice that I am filled with the kind of relief that I feel when I am home, despite the fact that I am in a completely new place. That is the inherent power and beauty of familiar faces. They can transform any experience, any place, any moment, and make if feel like...well...home. Thank goodness for that.