In the Final Strech: Thoughts of going home

            It’s the time again and it feels like yesterday I was facing the decision of COS or Extend. I am so happy I extended as I have learned and experienced so much in this third year of my service.  While I have 5 months left of being in Ecuador, I found this month had me very preoccupied with thinking of my return to the States.

            To all of you who have repeatedly inquired, yes,  I will be coming home, no I am not extending another year. While I would love too, the truth is I feel my time here is coming to a conclusion. I could cling and hang on but I don’t think that would be fruitful for my organization or myself. The Aldea will be getting a replacement volunteer so I am happy about that and my project can easily be passed on to the lucky newbie. Not to mention, before I knew if I was getting a replacement or not, I was and am currently working on passing on projects to my teens. I am pushing them into the leadership positions so that they don’t have to rely on a volunteer or an outsider of any kind to continue enjoying educational and enriching programs. So as far as sustainability goes, I feel satisfied.

            As for personal growth I feel I need to continue on my journey. Yes, my current assignment does serve up challenges daily (read the post on my first Brigada Verde meeting coming up!) but I also know how to maneuver in this situation and I am pretty comfortable. If you’re not growing your dying as they say, so in my efforts to continue to grow, I need to step out of my comfort zone once again….

            Which brings me to the subject of returning to the States. Which is proving to represent an opportunity to stretch out of my comfort zone even more than moving to a foreign country! This month I was almost obsessed with the issue of “what am I going to do when I go back?”.  Here’s the thing. The answer could be easy. Find a job you like and work it for the next 15 years.  However that is SOOO not what I am trying to do. I have learned 1 million lessons here in Ecuador, but one of the main things I am learning is that there are so many ways to live life and that following your passion and using your talents is so important to the enrichment of the soul. Not just important, essential. So while I could go back and work for awhile, it would only be a job to make money to fund a bigger dream.

            I have so many ideas and project I want to work on I don’t even know where to begin. Plus, I kinda have no clue about what any of my dream projets would look like from beginning to end. At the beginning of May and even in April I had convinced myself I need to start working on my “Back to the States” mission NOW so that I can be Super prepared for my transition in September. Well, it’s great to be prepped, but what ended up happening is I was getting WAY too focused on the future and forgetting to enjoy what is right in front of me, great friends, great kids, great work experience, beautiful surrounds and a tranquilo way of life. I was going into full speed high gear that is typical American on the grind workaholism. Have I learned nothing?

            So, while I know I need to get my resume spruced up and I can continue to explore and research all of my options, I still have a little less than a whole half of a year to enjoy one of the best countries in the world. So I’m on it, living life to the fullest everyday and preparing for an even bigger and better future J