Thoughts on returning ¨home¨ next week

Hola amigos!

Estoy en Ecuador y hay mucho aventura aqui!

But this will be a different entry from the past several entries... as I only have 5 days left on this beautiful continent before returning to the States, I´ve been thinking a lot about my journey and where it has taken me, literally and figuratively. So I thought I´d share some thoughts with you...

I´m experiencing many mixed emotions and feelings on returning to life in the United States after 5 months of the backpacker life in South America. I´ve adjusted to the traveler lifestyle well, and I enjoy it. I LOVE the adventure of exploring new places! It is addicting! And being a solo traveler has had its ups and downs, but it´s been a very liberating experience for me overall. I am so grateful to have had this experience.

I can easily see myself returning to South America sooner than later in my lifetime. I have fallen in love with this continent, and there´s still so much left for me to explore and get to know on a deeper level. I just might end up living here for a while...

A few things that I´ll miss about traveling in South America:
-the anticipation, adventure, and thrill of a new place
-learning and practicing Spanish
-contemplative bus rides (and there are the chaotic bus rides too!)
-hearing ¨goooooaaaaaaallllllll¨ no matter where or when, there is always a soccer game on
-meeting people from around the world and sharing travel stories over a glass of the local beer
-what has become my travel ¨routine¨: bus ride, explore, eat, sleep, bus ride, explore, eat, sleep... repeat!
-the incredible and surreal scenery that in the past I only dreamed of seeing and now have had the pleasure of seeing in person
-taking thousands of pictures and capturing that perfect shot
-the liberty of having everything I own now in a 55 liter backpack that I can easily wear and transport

Hard to believe that I´ll be on a plane back to San Francisco in just 5 days (June 2nd), boy, does time fly! But there are many things I´m looking forward to back in the States as well... for example:
-seeing my friends and family again
-visiting my parents at their new home on the east coast and exploring that part of the States
-easily accessible healthy organic vegetarian food (my meat experience was limited to 2 steaks and a few meaty stews in Argentina, when in Rome! but besides that, my body and conscience told me to stick with being veggie.
-drinking tap water and not having to make sure I have bottled water around to brush my teeth
-practicing forms with my martial arts community (it´s not the same practicing in tiny hostel rooms!)
-understanding what´s going on around me and not having to guess what that Spanish word meant
-bluegrass shows!
-not being woken up by roosters or partying 20-somethings during the night
-not having to zip up my bursting 55 liter backpack
-flushing toilet paper!
-endless options for my next steps, meaning with no job or obligations to go back to, I´m currently brainstorming many possibilities for what I´ll ¨do¨ when I return... and on that note... I ask my Bay area friends for a favor...

For the summer (and maybe beyond), I´d like to find a work exchange situation on an organic farm or eco-community in the Bay area. I loved my WWOOFing experience in Argentina, and I´d like to find a similar situation right in my own Bay area backyard. I´m open to almost anywhere, but I prefer the north bay since I know it best. I´m also open to almost any kind of farm work, and knowing me, that includes anything to do with compost and getting dirty! I´m still very passionate about moving communities towards zero waste, and I´ve become more passionate about working towards sustainable food systems, whether that means simply weeding garden beds, delivering CSA boxes, and/or dealing with paperwork and stats. Just putting that out to the universe!!! Friends, if you know of anything along these lines, please let me know! Muchas gracias!

And so, now you know what´s going through my head a bit while I´m on a public bus speeding through the jungles, cloud forests, and mountains of Ecuador. Of course, this is when I´m not holding onto my seat for dear life and praying that the bus driver correctly gauges that he has enough distance to pass multiple cars/trucks/tractors/cows/horses! Public bus riding in Ecuador is nothing short of chaotic!

Thanks for reading! I´ll write all about my adventures in Ecuador next time!