Already Planning the Next

I don't know if I've stressed yet how nice it is to be back in the States. Sleeping in my own bed is marvelous. Using a plush cotton towel after a hot shower (with conditioner) is even better. Eating peanut butter and Nutella by the spoonful is a bit of the divine. And working as a barista serving real espresso (imported from our southern neighbors) is constant heaven in a mug.

But somehow, despite what I'll call in true cliche fashion - these "modern comforts," after just 2 weeks of being home, I am already antsy to get back south. What is it about a bucket bath that makes you feel more alive than ever? Why do I crave dirty feet and waking up to roosters? I don't have answers to these questions, and perhaps that is why I am somehow feeling more overwhelmed than ever - because logically, a life without plush amenities simply shouldn't be so appealing...

"Yet all these things had no effect on me, or at least not enough to resist the strong inclination I had to go abroad again, which hung about me like a chronic distemper."

~ Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

Several months ago when I was in Chile, I began to panic that my travels were coming to an end. In the back of my mind was the constant question: How do you sustain the travel high, how do you keep the buzz going? With this, I applied to work for nonprofit organization WorldTeach as a volunteer English teacher in Costa Rica. Several weeks ago I was accepted to the program, and beginning in January I will be living with a host family and teaching grades 1-6 at the town's local elementary school. (Still waiting for my location placement.)

And the true drum roll here...Amanda, mi hermana, will be in Costa Rica for the year as well, studying outside of San Jose as part of her graduate studies program. (The Universe speaks.) Thus, today marks mine and Amanda's 8 month travel anniversary for when we left the country with just one-way tickets to Panama. And to celebrate, I'm choosing to relish in the fact that in just about 6 months we will both be back to the Latin American Lifestyle that we have come to love.