Full Circle

I find it interesting that just before I am to return to the States I have returned first to where I began my trip. Mark left this afternoon to return to Guatemala. He will fly back to the States from Guatemala City, which takes him back to the beginning of his summer in Central America. I am once again in Eva's apartment while Eva is out of the country, which brings me back to how I began my summer here. I have truly come full circle.

Now, I am packing my bags for the last time with the new challenge of finding creative ways to get my various gifts and souvenirs to fit into bags that were already tightly packed when I arrived. I really need to work on my packing skills at the beginning of my trips lol. The good news is I won't have to single-handedly maneuver my heavy bags too much. Delmy and her son Fernando have officially agreed to take me to the airport Sunday morning. I'm very grateful for the gesture but I feel bad because my flight leaves San Salvador at 6:30AM which means we'll have to leave between 2:30 and 3:00 AM. It's just the latest of many kindnesses from Delmy and her family that I sincerely wish I could repay and perhaps someday I will be able to.

For now, I am enjoying the down time before returning to life in DC and dealing with all the things that had to be put off while I was out of the country. As my many friends who also spent their summers abroad return and begin the process of settling back in, I look forward to my return that much more.

I've found that saying goodbye has been harder than I thought it would be in some cases. At our farewell party this week I found myself tearing up at the thought of saying goodbye to Delmy. I also found saying goodbye to Mark this afternoon surprisingly hard. I know I'm going to see him in the coming weeks but for some reason I felt a certain sense of loss because I know we are unlikely to be able to share the same type of time with each other once we return to our "real" lives in DC.

Despite the many mental and emotional challenges I've faced this summer, I've developed several friendships that I sincerely hope to be able to continue after I've returned to the US. The one positive is that one goodbye, at least, has been delayed because our good friend Gabby will be visiting us in Washington in the coming months for a whole week. I can't wait to take her around DC for her first visit to that city and repay her for her time and effort in making us feel welcome.

For now, I am off to pack and sleep and I look forward to standing on US soil again. Just 28 hours until I am on my way to the airport and then home.