As I sit on the plane, somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico, I can't help smile. I'm thinking back on all of the experience I've had in the past 32 days, each one unique and so very special to me. For the past 32 days, every single day has been completely different from the previous. I'm trying to think about how I can explain the impact this trip has had on me to my friends and family, but I'm at a loss for words. I can go on and on about how physically exhausting it was to dig trenches in the hard dirt of Granadilla, or how emotionally exhausting it was to get hundreds of patients through triage in one afternoon in the medical clinics of La Fundadora, or even how breath taking the views were after hiking 1400m in elevation up Telica Volcano. None of these descriptions can accurately describe where I'm at mentally right now.
I've been reading the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and I've found myself bookmarking a quote from almost every page so far (for anyone who hasn't read The Alchemist it is definitely a must read!) with passages that remind me of why I volunteered on these particular brigades and what I've learned from them. Here are two that speak to me perfectly in this moment:
"But the sheep had taught him something even more important: that there was a language in the world that everyone understood, a language the boy had used throughout the time that he was trying to improve things at the shop. It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired."
This quote above brings be back to the children of the communities, Granadilla, Fundadora and Naranjo, that we worked in with Global Brigades. It reminds me how sometimes there isn't a written word you can use to express happiness, gratitude or hope. The quote below reminds me of the mothers and fathers who shared their homes and their stories with us about their struggles to provide for their families.
"If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity."
Thanks to Paul Coelho, I'll leave my final blog post as it is. I hope everyone who's reading this has enjoyed my updates, pictures and stories from the past month.
I'll be spending the next week with my family in Arizona before returning home to Sammamish while I study for the MCAT. I may upload some more pictures/videos in the mean time, but other then that...I'll pick my blogging back up when I head out to Paraguay with the Peace Corps!