Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Last week

Well, here it is. The last week of my stay is here, and I must say that I am ready to get back to school and Pittsburgh. Not to say that I did not have an incredible experience here, but it's just time to get back to my life. I cannot sleep right now, so I figured I may as well blog. And here it is.

This past weekend Sara came to visit! And great timing, too. Just when I was absolutely burnt out on work, I had the opportunity to take an amazing vacation with her and my new friend, Whitney. We went to Laguna de Apoyo, where we felt an earthquake! It's less exciting when you're surrounded by active volcanoes. In fact, I'd say it's almost frightening. Almost. It was kind of exciting and terrifying to think of the communities that have that reality. Active volcanoes are not really a joke, I suppose. As beautiful as they are.

After that, we explored Volcano Mombacho. We saw some steam craters and other active volcano things. Then we headed to Granada--my least favorite place in all of Nicaragua besides Managua. My feelings were confirmed when my watch got stolen. Boo. Oh well. Granada is such a beautiful city...it's such a shame that the tourists have to go and ruin everything. I hope my Leon never gets to be like that.

Work is just...work. I'm so ready to be done. I have so many things to say about working for an organization like this. Many good things, as well as many reasons why I find this life would be a hard career path to take. I will not enumerate everything here, but needless to say, I have learned quite a bit in a short amount of time.

I think this week will fly by me before I even know it. I am sad to think about parting ways with some of the people I have met along the way, but I know that our paths will cross someday again if we all continue on this same road. Most of all, leaving a place makes me wish the world were smaller, but I already know it is so small as it is. Sometimes leaving a place makes me feel like I become a more distant person because I never want to get too close to someone for fear of them leaving my life, but then again, sometimes I think these experiences just give me more friends in more places. I'd like to think the latter.

I am excited to think about what my life will bring next, but I'm also afraid because I'm worried that I've realized I could never do this kind of emotionally draining work for the rest of my life. I suppose I should have realized that after my fulfilling but exhausting experience working with the non-profit health advocacy organization in Pittsburgh. I guess there's something that always brings me back to this kind of stuff. And there's also something about the way I work, I guess. I never like to feel like I'm not contributing something useful. But then again, who does like to feel like they're useless?

I look forward to seeing my friends and family in Pittsburgh. I look forward to what my next step will be. I wish it could be a little easier to get there sometimes, but I suppose I wouldn't want to have my career yet anyway because then I wouldn't be able to do the things I have done. Also, I still don't know what I want to do with my life.

I said goodbye to Jason, my boss, because he is in the states this week, and we will just miss each other before he gets back and after I leave here. I really, really dislike goodbyes. For some reason, though, this one did not feel like a goodbye, but more like a see you soon. Maybe that feeling means I really will see him again soon. I'd like to think.

This weekend I will relax in Leon, as it is the last time I will see it for awhile. Most people have already left, so the Foundation has been quite empty and a little bit sad lately. I enjoy the quiet, though. On Monday morning I'll head to Managua and spend the night with a friend who has an apartment there. The trip there with all my luggage makes me nervous. Maybe I'll hide my passport and last few dollars in my clothes or something. It's a shame that the capital city is so terrifying. But I must go to Managua to spend the night because my flight on Tuesday morning is too early to get there in time on that same day. And then I'll spend a nice 8 hour layover (sarcasm) in Miami. Without my iPhone. Thank goodness for my Kindle...

Perhaps I will blog once more before I leave, but if not, I hope it's been entertaining. I'd definitely like to post some more substantive stuff about work, but as it is sensitive information and this is a public blog, I think I will hold off for a bit. If you are curious to know more, I am always happy to email.

Until next time...?