On going home…
“It is not a garment I cast off this day, but a skin that I tear with my own hands.
Nor is it a thought I leave behind me, but a heart made sweet with hunger and with thirst.
Yet I cannot tarry longer.
The sea that calls all things unto her calls me, and I must embark.
For, to stay, though the hours burn in the night, is to freeze and crystallize and be bound in a mould.
Fain would I take with me all that is here. But how shall I?
A voice cannot carry the tongue and the lips that gave it wings. Alone must it seek the ether.”
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
We made it friends! Through 4 countries, a month of Spanish lessons, 4 homestays, countless friendly dogs, beautiful sunsets, challenges, and lots of laughs. From both Michelle and Jonathan, thank you.
Now comes the challenging part.
Now you return to your homes and move on to new stages in life. Now you have the privilege of carrying this bundle of experience through the door to your home country and figuring out what to do with it, and what it all means. For each one of you, that will be something different. We know each of you will make the correct decision for yourselves, but as we spoke about, we hope you will not just toss it in a corner to gather dust.
You are all part of a larger circle now. We have been to, we have connected with, and maybe we have integrated into ourselves, the people we have met and the experiences we have had along the way. We have seen each of you already begin to internalize what this trip meant to you, and none of you are exactly the same person who met us in the airport 3 months ago. Thank you for being open to the process friends, even though it is not always pleasant.
We wish you all good things as you return and move forward in life. Thank you all for the good times, and thank you even more for the challenging times, as they always provide all of us with opportunities to grow and to widen our awareness of each other. We will miss you all, and hope you will keep in touch! We will do the same.
Until we meet again amigos (which is very possible, the world is a small place sometimes as you well know), we wish you a safe journey home and amazing time spent with friends and family.
Thank you for sharing the journey. This is Maya Spring 2017, signing off.
Love,
Michelle and Jonathan