It's hard to believe that in one week I will already have been in Florida for a day. I fly out next Tuesday the 24th at 1am and get in at like 4:30 in the afternoon.
It is amazing how quickly 3 years can fly by. In some ways in seems like I have been here forever and in other ways it seems like I only been here for 5 minutes. My plan was to come here for 1 year and I remember thinking 6 months in - "well it is nice here, I have made some new friends..but I'm outta here after my year is up!" In that moment I had no doubts that I would be heading back in after a year of being in PY.
And then along the way, not sure what really happened, my heart changed, my confidence grew, my Spanish got better and it just seemed like a great opportunity to stay longer. But of course there were MANY times when I was ready to just pack up, buy and plane ticket and move on...MANY tears were shed...lots of frustrating and discouraging days as well. So, how DID I stay here for 3 years?? Really the answer comes down to God and lots of love and support from friends and family. I wouldn't be here without all of that!
I remember going to Portland in 2008 to visit my family. My brother Neal and I went to Powell's bookstore ( a HUGE and well-known bookstore there) to look around. We ended up sitting down on a bench in the middle of the store and I told him my "crazy" dream of wanting to move down to South America (at the time it was Chile). In all honesty, if in that moment he had told me I was completely crazy, I might not be here because in my mind it WAS a crazy idea! Instead, as all great brothers do, he sat there and listened and then encouraged the heck out of me to make it happen. I will forever be grateful to Neal and his encouragement because it truly has been the experience of a lifetime, really a life-changing experience for me!
After my crazy divorce, I prayed before coming down here that I would be able to give my heart to the Paraguayan people (trust issues, but can you blame me?? LOL) and now it is truly breaking my heart to go. As hard as it has been, as much as I have cried or struggled or.... I have also felt so much love, and received so much respect and encouragement from everyone down here! My natural tendency is to be be very insecure, critical and negative - it's hard to stay that way when I have so many positive, encouraging friends cheering me on!
Last Sunday, I spent the afternoon with my best friends down here - Anita, Vale, Eli and Nathi. I told them that there is NO way I would have stayed as long as I have without their love and support. They truly have been amazing friends....they always looked out for me, took care of me, were a shoulder for me to cry on...good times, bad times...they have been then best!
It is amazing how quickly 3 years can fly by. In some ways in seems like I have been here forever and in other ways it seems like I only been here for 5 minutes. My plan was to come here for 1 year and I remember thinking 6 months in - "well it is nice here, I have made some new friends..but I'm outta here after my year is up!" In that moment I had no doubts that I would be heading back in after a year of being in PY.
And then along the way, not sure what really happened, my heart changed, my confidence grew, my Spanish got better and it just seemed like a great opportunity to stay longer. But of course there were MANY times when I was ready to just pack up, buy and plane ticket and move on...MANY tears were shed...lots of frustrating and discouraging days as well. So, how DID I stay here for 3 years?? Really the answer comes down to God and lots of love and support from friends and family. I wouldn't be here without all of that!
I remember going to Portland in 2008 to visit my family. My brother Neal and I went to Powell's bookstore ( a HUGE and well-known bookstore there) to look around. We ended up sitting down on a bench in the middle of the store and I told him my "crazy" dream of wanting to move down to South America (at the time it was Chile). In all honesty, if in that moment he had told me I was completely crazy, I might not be here because in my mind it WAS a crazy idea! Instead, as all great brothers do, he sat there and listened and then encouraged the heck out of me to make it happen. I will forever be grateful to Neal and his encouragement because it truly has been the experience of a lifetime, really a life-changing experience for me!
After my crazy divorce, I prayed before coming down here that I would be able to give my heart to the Paraguayan people (trust issues, but can you blame me?? LOL) and now it is truly breaking my heart to go. As hard as it has been, as much as I have cried or struggled or.... I have also felt so much love, and received so much respect and encouragement from everyone down here! My natural tendency is to be be very insecure, critical and negative - it's hard to stay that way when I have so many positive, encouraging friends cheering me on!
Last Sunday, I spent the afternoon with my best friends down here - Anita, Vale, Eli and Nathi. I told them that there is NO way I would have stayed as long as I have without their love and support. They truly have been amazing friends....they always looked out for me, took care of me, were a shoulder for me to cry on...good times, bad times...they have been then best!
Sarah and I eating our yummy desserts!
Sarah and I hanging with friends from church! So grateful that she got to come visit - she had a great time and definitely did not want to leave either! So grateful that everyone here showed her so much love as well!
So...one week....my room is a complete disaster zone trying to get everything coordinated. I wish I could just wave a magic wand and have it be done already! HA
I am probably not going to sleep/rest again until I get on the plane on Tuesday...it looks like it is just going to be a non-stop marathon between now and Monday night when I have to be at the airport! It still seems unreal that I will be back in the US in a week - haven't been there since xmas 2010! Dang!
I have been reading articles about Reverse Culture Shock. Apparently, when you move to a new country you have to deal with culture shock (obviously). But then after being gone for awhile, you have to deal with the "shock" of coming back to your home country. The articles also say that the more immersed you have been in the culture, the harder it will be...oh that's not good. In my 3 yrs here I have basically become Paraguayan! Everyone here loves it too. My friends often joke how I am more Paraguayan than some actual Paraguayans!! HAHAHA HILARIOUS! But it true - I am from the US, but I will forever be Paraguayan as well! =) So FYI: family/friends please be praying for a smooth transition back and if I do get a bit depressed - it is nothing personal!! ;)
One blog that I have recently discovered is called Marc and Angel check it out here. One recent article is titled "5 character traits that make you happy". In the blog is a quote about courage from Mark Twain that says "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." It was extremely scary coming down here, but in the end well worth it all! Today, I encourage you to face a fear because on the other side, you might realize how stepping out on faith, how being courageous helped you to grow and see life differently.
The other quote I liked from the article is about gratitude from D. Bonhoeffer "Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy." I am truly grateful that God took something bad and turned it into an opportunity to have the adventure of a lifetime! I am grateful for all the wonderful experiences that I have had down here, all the wonderful memories, all the wonderful friends! Life does move on, good things can come from bad situations - we just always need to remember to be grateful for everything we have and have gone through because they have helped us to be the people who we are today!
