a time of transition...

I'm in the midst of transition. 
I'm in Guatemala, but in Antigua so we're practically in Spain/USA. 
I'm with people from home (my parents), but still surrounded by strangers.
I'm speaking English, but also still can hear Spanish. 
I'm doing the activities of a tourist but my heart still calls this place home.
I can shower for as long as I want and with hot, running water but it is still water that I cannot drink.
I miss my Guatemalan students and families and keep thinking that I'm going to go back, but my heart is slowly coming to terms with the truth...  I can't.
And although I can't see them, I can still call them on my Guatemalan cell phone, so that makes life livable.
I'm writing swim work outs, planning calendars, and preparing to begin work in 10 days at Whitman, and I'm also sitting at our condo's pool and talking to shoeshine boys in Parque.

I can walk through the supermarket or the mercado, choose from chicken in a fridge or chicken in the open air, and am hearing horror stories of how there are 18 varieties of Oreos to choose from in the grocery stores in the States (Thanks, Juli)

It's a good time for transition... I'm glad I'm here.  I don't think I'd choose to do it any other way.
I just don't like doing it.

I don't like change.

Walla Walla, Gig Harbor, and the rest of the USA - I'm excited to see you, but it really is hard to let Guatemala go.