Días Finales en Ecuador
There’s something bittersweet about leaving this beautiful place. My heart breaks thinking about having to say goodbye to my host family who have showed so much patience and love, and who took me in way back in September. Their warmth made me feel comfortable in an uncomfortable (at first) situation. I felt welcome in your home right away and always knew how open you were to having me and now I consider my own family. I’m forever in debt to you. Thanks for taking me in and taking such good care of me. I will miss fun on the weekends with my nephews and niece Sebastian, Daniel, and Sophia who helped me improve my soccer game and Spanish speaking skills. I will forever love all of you even if I’m half an ocean away. Saying goodbye to my apprenticeship supervisor is going to be difficult. This wonderful woman became more than just a supervisor and more like a friend who I could go to in time of need. She also gave me the tools to do work that I love and let me do it on my own terms. Ecuador was a blessing and I feel very fortunate that I was able to live here for these past months. Even when it got hard and emotionally challenging I learned to hop over the hurdles and push the limits. My stay here gave me the tools and opportunity to find myself to become the strong, confident, and capable woman that I wanted to become when I left home last August. I also found a passion for education and a deep love for working with children. I learned to accept that I’m not perfect. I’m a human being. Also to be grateful for what I have been givien in life. I lived a very blessed life I will never take that for granted. When I return home I will push open that next door in my life and move on to the next chapter, but I will always look back at the lessons I have learned while here in Ecuador. Once I get home I anticipate that people will ask, “ how was Ecuador?” and I will not have enough words to describe my experience here. There will be so many stories to tell so I hope my friends and family are all ready to listen. It is surreal to think that seven months ago I was unpacking a suitcase, and now I’m packing up to leave for home and getting ready to open that next door in my life. Finally, I want to thank, with all my heart, my team leader Diana who was always there for me and believed in me. She showed me that that I could accomplish everything that I took on here in Ecuador. Saying goodbye is difficult and bitter, but thinking about what comes next is sweet.
