O meu regresso (my return)

Hi everyone!
well right now i'm sitting in my room back in the U S of A! I got back saturday but things have been a bit crazy since then (traveling around new england a bit) so here I am, finally writing my last blog.
I guess you'd like to hear about my adventures traveling around portugal...
the friday after i went to porto i went to Leiria (in the coastal central area of Portugal) for an AFS camp, where we basically talked about what it would be like to go home. Monday and tuesday liz and I went to Évora, which is one of my favorite portuguese cities, i decided. it was beautiful! they had roman ruins and also some really nice churches and walls and things.
Wednesday we went on a guided tour of some towns north of lisbon--Óbidos, a beautiful medieval town, Nazaré, which had beautiful beaches--I couldn't believe the color of the water, Batalha, where we saw a beautiful church, Alcobaça, where we saw a beautiful monastery, and Fátima, the world famous religious site where three children apparently saw the virgin mary appear in 1917. I didn't care for the religious stuff much but I loved seeing the architecture and art in the monasteries and churches.
Friday we went to Coimbra, which is also pretty and houses one of europe's oldest universities. it was quite cool! i wish american universities were so pretty. i guess they're pretty in a different way.
Saturday i woke up at 5h30 am to go on a tour of an area near zezere, in the middle of the country. unfortunately i got there and was sick the whole day, so i stayed in the bus and slept for a lot of the time. when i got home i checked my temperature--101. so that wasn't the most enjoyable day.
sunday i had my dance performance, which was a lot of fun. it was in a nice theater with stone arches and big plastic balls decorating the stage. we actually did two performances, which both went well. it was a lot of fun--i fogot how much i enjoy performing.
The next week i went to three good-bye dinners of my exchange friends and spent some time at the pool and in Lisbon. on thursday i went to cascais with some friends and walked around there and got their famous ice cream. Friday morning i packed, then went out to lunch with my friends. it was so sad saying goodbye to them! goodbyes are always so difficult.
Friday night i went to the AFS camp with a bunch of students from various countries (not all the AFSers, but a good number of them). we stayed up until 4 sitting around and talking, then went to the airport to catch our flight at 7. i was exhausted! slept all the way from lisbon to frankfurt adn then i slept some on the other flight. i got to the airport in New York and met my parents. it was funny seeing them after 10 months--it almost felt like those ten months hadn't gone by!
Being home has been good. So far it hasn't been difficult. I do miss some things about portugal (like the lack of SUVs), but i'm enjoying seeing my friends and family here. Being in portugal for a year helped me realize how much i love new england.
it was interesting coming back for the 4th of july because it was a very american patriotic time. i couldn't avoid knowing i was in america.
well, i hope you enjoyed reading my blogs!
thanks for the comments and support throughout my year.
tchau!