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My plane from El Salvador landed at the Houston airport where I stared wide-eyed at the astonishing variety of people who live in the United States. In Salvador, it's usually pretty clear at first glance who the Salvadorans are and who the foreigners are. It's rare to see someone with Asian or African features, uncommon to see a tall person (at 5' 4", I'm taller than most Salvadoran women and many Salvadoran men) or a blond. But in the Houston airport, what abundance: dark, light, tall, short, faces from all the corners of the earth - including, of course, a good many Salvadoran faces.

And then there's coming home: what a joy to go down for breakfast at St. Mary's this morning and be greeted with a full round of hugs, to catch up with news, to breathe cold air and to look out my window at the evergreens. It's been a long cold winter and a cold spring - everything is about a month later than it would usually be. Feels comforting, too, to know what usual looks like!