Hayden Abroad

Dispatches from Somewhere in the World

Friday, June 15, 2007

Newsflash: Coming Home Early

I will be returning to the States ten days early, on Saturday, June 23, instead of on July 3 as I originally planned.

Deciding to come home early (instead of, say, extending a trip) feels contrary to my character, and I´m a little surprised I did it. But when I think about it, I know it was the right decision.

I´ve had an amazing time here in Nicaragua these past five and a half months. I´ve learned to speak Spanish, volunteered with at-risk kids in León, taught English, made friends, traveled up to México with Kamilla, and visited many places in this country. Though I have two weeks left, I feel like there´s nothing more I really want to do. I feel a little restless and bored, and though I of course need to improve my Spanish, there isn´t really enough time to take on a new project. After traveling with friends, family, and my girlfriend for so long, I don´t really have a desire to be on my own at the moment.

I had thought about taking a trip out to Bluefields, or down the Rio San Juan, or spending some more time tucked away on Ometepe, but when it came down to it, I couldn´t really motivate myself to undertake these excursions. The bus rides on terrible roads would have been unbelievably long, and I wasn´t convinced there was a great deal to see. More ominously, I haven´t been feeling so safe here lately, and wasn´t up for going to these remote areas on my own. So I decided to return to León for a few more days with my friends, in my city.

Satisfied with all that has occurred here, my thoughts have turned the future. I´m excited to reconnect with friends of the summer, and plan my coming move to Chicago as well. I need a flat (with flatmates), a computer, and a job. It´s a new and exciting thing for me.

In short, it feels like my time has come to a natural end, and I want to remember it as it is now. When I made the decision to come to Nicaragua last November, I booked a trip of six months. But that plan cannot really reflect the reality of the moment. It wasn´t expensive to change my ticket, so I made the decision. I´m happy with the way things are now, and I´m ready to come home next weekend.

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