Traveling Soul

Going on a towel scavenger hut was a blessing in disguise. The strangers that we met while doing that are to this day, still our friends. Roberto and Eder are their names. The following day, they took us to San Miguel, another beautiful town. We took a taxi to the bus, an hour bus ride to the city, and then a bus to the downtown area. I love using the public transportation system in another country, it makes me feel accomplished, but of course, we had a lot of help. The bus station was the first place that I had seen where we had to pay (5 pesos) to use the bathroom. When did necessary needs such as using the bathroom become a privilege? Granted, 5 pesos isn't a lot, but if you had to choose between using 5 pesos for the bathroom and saving it for food, the choice becomes a battle between two needs....Speaking of privileges, the water here (as been warned by many) is not safe to drink. I had a similar problem in China, but for different reasons. The water in China contained metal t...

The people here are something else....they are all so incredibly nice. A couple of days ago, my girlfriends and I signed up for a gym near my house and it required that you either bring your own towel or that you buy one in order to clean the equipment that you use. Of course, when we were signing up, they didn't have any. We went on a search to find a store, but the one that was recommended by my host mom was closed. So we did the most logical thing possible, we asked some strangers on the road. It turns out that one of them is also an exchange student here. They walked us all the way to the store, which was pretty far away, and then they walked us back to our gym. The other day while taking the public bus, I met a girl who turned out to be a teacher for the same school that I was attending. She helped me navigate which bus to take and which stop to get off. This complete immersion, although difficult, is exactly what I need. I can feel myself improving, slowly but surely, every d...

Wow...what a crazy and long couple of days it has been here. I love the unfamiliarity of coming to a new place; the foreignness feels good to me. It is easy to get attached to a certain way of thinking or behaving...often times we get comfortable in just that; our bubble of what's right and wrong, our lack of desire to know and understand more. I know that I've been there, a lot and I admit that, but I'm also more than willing to open my heart to new ideas and viewpoints different from my own. The last couple of days before I left were weird...I was feeling incredibly grateful for my friends and family that were providing and caring for me. Although I did not have one place to call home, I felt like I had many homes. However, as my nomadic transition came to end, it seemed as though that I, was once again, alone. Alone to my thoughts and emotions....despite what everyone has told me, this has remained a consistent and somewhat, harsh, yet satisfying truth. Kelly picked me...

It has been 17 days since I've been back from my excursion in China and in 4 short days, I will be leaving for Mexico to study abroad for 3 months. I'm restless and excited, apprehensive yet collected. An incomplete flawless list of emotions, time will continue to move along its continuum and I will have no choice but to move with it. I've lost, for hopefully a short period of time, a dear friend that I thought would always be standing by my side..but relationships, as always are often messy and inconsistent. In the end, time and distance often truly proves those who are, despite your imperfections, are more than willing (and worth fighting) to be in your life. We all learn this lesson, in varying moments of our lives, but eventually we all face the heart ache and the pain of letting someone that you care so deeply for, go. No matter how much effort, how many times you press the call button, or how many thoughtful messages you send, there comes a time when the best thing ...