Back in the US-for 1 week now and still feeling the effects of traveling for 9 weeks.
But I've procrastinated long enough in posting, this my last post about Guatemala. It's almost heart-wrenching to write as I have to admit to myself that my time in Guatemala is over and it was a life-changing journey for me. The warmness I feel for the people will never leave me.
So, about my last week. It wasn't my original intention to spend it in Antigua where I had already spent the majority of my trip but I felt drawn there, it was like coming home. I met with my Spanish teacher, Mayra, whom I adore. She has so much energy and is so fun. I had many heartfelt discussions with my host mother, Maritza, who invited me over for lunch, the big meal of the day, and she thanked me graciously for accepting her invitation. When I left, she was crying and saying you are a part of my family and I love you!! I know this has something to do with the Ladino culture but she was like a Mom to me, a great listener and encourager, even in my broken Spanish and her limited English. She encouraged me to do what I knew I must upon returning home, even as she had gone through something similar and more painful. Antigua and the Guatemalan travel world is so small that I kept running into people I knew from the various portions of my trip. Like Jennie from New York, Molly from California, Marjolein from Holland, Marcel from Lichtenstein, Freddy from Germany and more. I created this community. Me, the girl who doesn't want to place roots anywhere. It was difficult to leave to say the least. On my flight home, I couldn't tear myself away from glancing at those volcanoes like I would never see them again!
On the flip side, there are some things I won't miss such as:
being afraid to eat
scarcity of hot showers
throwing toilet paper in the trash, not the toilet
brushing my teeth with bottled water
never walking by myself at night
And, yes, I had my fair share of stomach problems for which I am still getting over. I had a parasite my last week which hopefully has been fully treated with the antibiotics that I took. Even with all of this and the difficulty traveling throughout the country due to their infrastructure and my motion sickness, I adore Guatemala. And am forever grateful to Ryan and my employer for giving me the chance to explore myself by myself for an extended time. The intention of this trip was a sort of marriage sabbatical/realize my dreams of speaking another language while living in a foreign country to see if I'd one day like to be an ex-pat. What I found out instead was my deep love for travel (yeah, I know, everyone already knows this about me but I don't want to just do it for vacation, it needs to be a focus of my life somehow) and meeting local people and hearing everyone's stories as well as who I am as a person. All of this made me realize I could not go back to my past life for many reasons which are entirely too personal for this blog. And believe me, I know, it was a good life with great friends and family who I will more than likely hurt in this process. Suffice it to say, many changes are in store for me. I'm incredibly excited in some ways but fearful as I do not know what my future holds but this is the first time in my life I've felt free and open to whatever life has to offer. So, to quote my friend Kim: Buckle up, girlfriend and enjoy the ride!!!!!!!!!!!! With a helmet and seat belt, of course!
Abrazos fuertes y muchos besos
Sunday, May 4, 2008
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