Emotions

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this blog posted.... we have hit the ground running this week after returning from Guatemala with a garage sale and two showings on our house.... plus just simply living life. So many have asked how our trip went. I will try my best to give you a picture. Emotions....that's the best way I know how to describe my trip to Guatemala in one word.... lots of emotions. For those of you who know me well, this will come as no surprise. In the past week & a half of my life, I have experienced excitement, wonder, fear, sadness, peace, awe, stress and utter exhaustion. Not sure if all of those are technically emotions, but you get the drift. I'm on a bit of a roller coaster these days. At this point, we are definitely moving to the Ulpan Valley sometime around July 27th.

Our trip was really good. Many of the questions that I had were answered and many of my reservations and misgivings were put to rest. The journey there was very long and grueling. We did what no one (that our friends know of) has ever done: left the states and made it all the way to the valley in one day..... I don't recommend it.

Our flight was uneventful. Upon arriving in Guatemala City, we made it through immigration & customs with no problem and went outside to wait for our ride. All we knew was that someone would be holding a sign waiting for us. We waited & waited.... all the while I was growing more nervous, wondering how we were going to make it to the bus station (our next destination) if this ride didn't show up. Our flight had landed early, so Mark assured me they would be there. Finally, our ride arrived, two lovely ladies who did not speak a lick of English! And at this point, my Spanish was really rusty and especially not working well as I was tired and flustered (having been awake since 4:30 am). We managed to communicate enough to get a non-chicken lunch and make it to the bus station in the city where we boarded a bus to ride up to Coban. The bus ride was not so fun..... have you ever been to Fontana in western North Carolina?? Well, imagine the road to Fontana for 5 hours & that's what you get. Oh my!! I am going to become very good friends with Dramamine in the next year!!

Once I got my green self off the bus in Coban, we were met by Kris & DeeDee Hatchell. They are two of the folks from Nashville who are living in the valley right now & are planning to remain in the valley until at least summer of 2013. So, it was great to meet them & get to spend time with them since we'll be living in very close community with them in the next year. However, I was already green & did not realize that the next 2 hours would be four-wheeling our way into the valley. Boy, oh boy..... I was so carsick by the time we arrived. I ate something (barely), met the rest of the team living in the valley, and went to bed. LONG DAY!!!! Disclosure: If you come to visit us, we will not make you come all the way from the states to the valley in one day!!! We'll take it easy on you!

Thursday morning I woke up to the most breathtaking sight I have ever seen. The Ulpan Valley is really one of the prettiest (perhaps THE prettiest) places I have ever been. We stayed in the house we will be living in, so it was fun & hard to begin to picture our family there & figure out how we would make life work. We will basically be living as if we're camping for a year. Life will be simple: some parts much more challenging (like laundry & bathroom); other parts really sweet (like lots of time together without so many things pulling us in a thousand directions). I spent the next two days asking a million questions and taking lots of notes. Friday we went on a hike to another village. It took us 5 hours of really strenuous hiking..... I think we'll get in good shape!! We also got to spend time with Cata and her sister Nina. Cata has helped the Colvett family during the last year and her sister, Nina, is going to help us next year. She is very sweet and will be a great helper to us!! She will also help us with our Spanish and we will have the awesome privilege to teach her English.

Saturday they took us back to Coban.... beginning the trek home, but also to see where we can go grocery shopping and show us around the town (hospital, laundromat, bank, etc). We had a great dinner in a very nice restaurant.... it will be a great date place for Mark & I to get off by ourselves every once & a while. Sunday we caught a bus again, this time with Nina & Cata, and went to Antigua. We said hasta luego to Nina, & Cata helped us find the place we were staying. She also spent the afternoon with us, showing us where we would do language school and a possible apartment for us to rent while we spend the month of August in language school. After we said goodbye to her, we rested, went to dinner & crashed..... I think I fell asleep at 8:30 that night.

We got home late Monday & I was soooooo happy to see my little ones, even if they were tucked in their beds. So.... that's the trip. I have no doubt that the next year of our lives will be very transformative!! Life will be hard, but there will be good things about it also. We will certainly welcome visitors.... especially if you're up for hiking in a GORGEOUS place!!