Another Transition

I can’t believe I am leaving Guatemala in three short days. It seems like yesterday that I was frantically rearranging items in my suitcase hours before my flight here. And now I am packing up my little apartment and realizing what few possessions I actually need to live a happy life. Although part of me wishes I could take many things back (the markets, my amazing teachers and friends, the climate, $1.50 breakfasts, etc.) deep down I know these things are best left here.

This experience has been incredible. It has been equally challenging and rewarding. I have felt frustrated, scared and guilty. I have also felt deeply happy, fortunate and at peace. I have learned some Spanish, established some amazing relationships and developed a better understanding of the world in which we live. Above all, I have felt much of the strength, independence, and joy I have been searching for the past two years return. It has been worth every Quetzal for this alone.

I wish I had more time here; there are more volcanoes to climb, more meals to cook and a whole world of “subjunctive” to be learned. But I am hopeful that I will return again sometime in the near or distant future.