Greetings from Florida

As I sit amidst a 3 hour layover in the Ft. Lauderdale airport, excitement at finally being so close to home and stories and feelings from the past 6 months are filling my mind. I don't think I can summarize in a blog post what this trip and my work in Guatemala and Honduras meant to me. At least not yet, as I am still figuring that out.

I know I met some wonderful people, both through my volunteering with GVI and meeting travelers from all over while in each country from Mexico to Costa Rica. Traveling seems to bring together diverse people who would not otherwise make time for each other. The collective open-mindedness (mostly) and the need/desire to meet new people while traveling alone enables long or short-term friendships with people with whom at home I would probably not interact.

Another realization is that my motivation to rejoin my classroom at home is growing by the minute. This surprises me, and I owe it to my kids in Itzapa and San Rafael. Like kids all over the world, they take advantage of situations and are quite ornery, but they are kids who want to be in school. My teaching skills were challenged and improved in the last 6 months, and instead of dreading going back to traditional work, I am looking forward to it. And actually speaking English in my classroom will be quite a treat!

Since getting back from Mexico, I passed Semana Santa and Easter in Antigua, where people from all over the world literally packed the streets to see the colorful rugs made of sawdust, vegetables, plants, and flowers lining the roads to be walked over during the religious processions. The following week, I went to Honduras to say one more goodbye to my kids there en route to visit the GVI Nicaragua project. Copan did not disappoint, with the chance to play some drums during a hippie jam session, and a return to the Red Frog for one more world-famous uterus shot. In Esteli, Nicaragua, I had a wonderful time meeting and hanging out with the volunteers and staff there. They are working in a brand new GVI project, so brainstorming ideas for them and helping out for a few days was fun. And what else could be a better way to spend my second to last night in Central America than going to Las Vegas Nicaragua. Slot machines, neon lights, and girls without any substantial clothing filled the room decorated with images of the Vegas Strip. And yes, we did actually find ourselves dancing on the disco floor until midnight.

I got into Costa Rica late the next day, paid $5 for a 5-minute taxi ride (the equivalent in Nicaragua was 50 cents) to my hotel, and got up this morning to head to the airport. Falling into the category of people I would probably not interact with at home but that traveling brings us together, I had a couple of beers at the hotel last night with a very stereotypical surfer-dude from California living in Costa Rica. I thought the word "gnarly" was just from 80's movies, but no, it is a top word in this surfer's vocabulary.

And finally... I never did like the name of my blog, I just picked something. Now that I'm not in Central America, any suggestions?