Aren’t you ready to come home yet?
This question, asked by my mom yesterday, has been on my mind lately. Now that our return trip to Chile has been booked, scheduled for 3:00pm on December 16 and making today one month until I am officially scheduled to leave Cochabamba, this question seems even more relevant. Am I really ready to come home yet?I didn’t have an answer for my mom at the time, but I did tell her that thinking about the option of going home is something that I simply cannot let myself do, as I still have 2 years ahead of me in South America. Since then, I have realized two things:
1. Although I have enjoyed my time here thus far and have a good chunk of the language under my belt, my work has not even started. The life that I am experiencing here in Bolivia is nothing like what I will experience in Chile, and if I were to leave now, my mission and what I came to South America to do will be left unfinished without even giving it a chance to start.
2. Without any offense to my mom, I wonder what exactly she and we mean when we say “home.” Do I really have a home? Is home just a place where you grew up and where your immediate family lives, or is it “where your heart is” according to the famous phrase? With the first definition, I would call Parkville and Kansas home. With the second, I would call Parkville, Kansas, South Bend, Washington, DC and Bolivia home, hoping to add the pueblo town of Pocurro, Chile to the list; thus, it is simply not possible to return “home” and returning to any of those places would only be going to just a part of “where my heart is.”
Despite the answer, I do have to say that I am experiencing a lot of emotions about my return trip to Chile. I am excited to once again see the current HCA Chile group, who I consider friends made during that first week in South America. But I am also anxious about my first “real life” work experience after college. Will the experience in Chile be all that it is cracked up to be? Will it meet my expectations? Will I be able to fulfill what I am called to do? Only time will provide the answers and my last month in Bolivia will definitely be time to prepare me for what I can only see is an amazing journey ahead.
posted by Michelle Fitzgerald @ 11/16/2006 08:36:00 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Hello!!
How are you. Just had a few minutes at work and thought I would drop a line. It is kind of slow today since there is no school,we only have Head Start. Tomarrow is Thanksgiving and I am really going to miss you. I know you are not usually at home at Thanksgiving but I think it has just been too long since you have been. It will be okay,Maegan is not going to be home either. They are just staying in Nebraska and having dinner with a bunch of friends. Thats okay,we will see them soon. The Legion is having Breakfast with Santa on December 9th (great day Huh!) and Maegan did not want to drive by herself with the new baby so Gloria and I are going to leave Friday afternoon and drive up to Nebraska.We are going to go have dinner at the boat,gamble a little then go spend the night at Maegans.
Then we will wake up Saturday early and drive down in time to have Breakfast with Santa. I will send pictures. It should be exciting.Then I get to take her home on Sunday. The drive is worth it. I hope everything is well.Can you believe that Melissa is going to be 18 tomarrow. Just doesn't seem possible. I can remember when you turned 18. Just seems like it was not that long ago. It is hard to believe that you are going to be 23. I guess I am getting old.Oh well! I guess this old bat better get back to work. Tell you host family I said Hello! Take care and remember how proud I am of you. Will talk to you later.
Love,
MOM
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