Well well well - we're done with the last week of training before I visit my site! *LE GASP* We've had a ton of paperwork tossed at us this week, and keeping it all in order while I travel is going to be an interesting experience, to say the least. After several weeks of imagining, trying to research, and learning more about my site, I'm overwhelmed with the possibilities and chaos to ensue... I'm ready to see what my future holds!
I know for sure that I'll be travelling down by nightbus (for 14 hours...) to my site with at least two other volunteers, and possibly our counterparts on Monday night. I've called and left a message for my new host family (which was probably garbled and insane-sounding), and have piled a large amount of [heavy] stuff into my duffle bag to leave down in Loja. I've decided to take the cautious route and rest up when feeling ill this week instead of pushing on through (I swear, I've been pathetic and sick more here than I was over a year in the USA - new world for the body to adjust to, I guess), and have been taking the time to recharge my friend-conversation tank with some loved ones at home.
It's amazing to me how quickly this new world has become my 'normal' - only two months since I left home, and I'm already afraid of leaving this comfort zone for my long-term assignment.
We've had a lot of rocky spots, but the people I've had the opportunity to meet and get to know during training are amazing. How else could you describe almost 40 people who have left their friends and families to try and make the lives of others better? Or the trainers and other volunteers who are giving their all to make sure we're ready to enter a strange, new world for two years? It's a group of people as varied as the grains of sand on a beach, but all with a drive and desire for adventure and helping others. The difference I've seen them make in one another and in my life over the last two months has been incredible - I can't wait to see the countless lives that they will impact over the course of two more years!
Speaking of awesome people and two months, I got several letters and packages this week (because, again, my friends are too awesome), one of which came from an incredibly talented friend of mine who showed up and took photos of my going away party in May. Posting the photos she sent me seemed like a blast to the past. The time that has passed seems like so much and so little - just the thought of two more years without seeing my families is mind-blowing. I'm excited for my time here and the community that I'll get to know, but am aching to get some of my Rennies' bear hugs again. You remember how much I railed against them, guys? Now I miss them. Irony. The love and support that I'm continuing to receive from home, though, is incredible. Between my home-support and the peer-support here, there ain't no way I can fail.
In the grand scheme of things, life is chaotic here - I feel like I constantly run from one sense of being busy to another with little rest (despite the obscene amount of sleep I get). There are so many people to meet and know, so many perspectives to learn, and always one more thing I could get done. That's the way I've always done it, but Ecuador is doing its best to teach me to slow down and enjoy the moment I'm in. Melinda has always been guilty of pushing forward and looking for the next big thing - as I reflect, I realize that this has no doubt caused me to miss many amazing opportunities to love what I was doing, as I was consumed about what might happen tomorrow. Regretting leaving my families behind, wishing time to speed up to reunite us, and hoping it doesn't hurt in the meantime - all of these get in the way of me enjoying today. Valuing the 'Now'.
Time to tilt my perspective, enjoy the memories and look forward to the future, but let them come as they so choose. The longest races are won slowly and surely - my families will always be there waiting for me, so there's no need to wonder if I'll ever get back to them. I've signed up for a marathon, but instead of running through it as quickly as I can, let's take it at a leisurely walk - well, maybe a brisk hike. The flowers in my path are meant to be appreciated, and the people currently in my life to be blessed.
Well, that was a wide range of rambling... Happy Weekend!
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