Here We Go Again

Being here is so surreal, as if I am watching Kelsey experience all of this but I'm not really here yet. It's as if I have a split personality of a sort: Central American Kelsey and Me. This is of course not an uncurable affliction--given time the two Kelsey's will merge into one being, both fully Central American and North American. In that moment, I will be at peace with my life here, fully at ease with my new surroundings. But for now, I live with two people in my head--one that's adjusting and one that knows completely what to do and say. 

To say the least this can cause some hiccups! One moment I'm fluently conversing in Spanish, enjoying myself and the feeling of being back. The next moment, I'm tripping over my words, suddenly self conscious of my actions, my thoughts wandering to a different place with different people at a different point in time.  In those moments, I feel foolish and retreat back into myself, cautious and hesitant to spread my wings again.  

My hope is that these moments will soon disappear altogether!

It's also strange because I feel older now, wizened to a certain extent. I've been here before, experienced this before, stumbled here before. I know this path I walk--in fact if I glance down I can see my own footprints in the dirt before me.  

It's almost like déjà vu but with a different flavor, not like a carbon copy of a past experience, but like a weird twin sister of past events. And so I think that's why it's so weird--I've done all of this and yet, I actually haven't.

And so I continue on this path that I've quasi-traveled before :)

                 With my host mom Wilma

Since I've arrived on Sunday, I've had nothing but a whirlwind of activities: meeting new people, visiting new places, doing new things.  I've moved in my host family and they are really great.  My host mom Wilma is an excellent cook and is helping me to get to know León, my host dad Anderson is quite the jokester, my host brother Lolo is a whiz at technology, and my host sister Sadie is my roommate and works at a university. We live only 12 blocks from the center of town and only 2 blocks from the closest open air market.  I think living here will be fun!

I've also had to learn how to get around here in town and let me tell you, my sense of direction isn't the best.  I found out that to give directions you say arriba (up) to say East and abajo (down) for West, even though everything here is flat as a pancake! I asked why, my question accompanied by my own giggles of how weird those directions are, and the response I was given is that the sun rises in the East (hence up) and sets in the West (hence down). Which totally makes sense! Haha!

I will write again soon to share with you all the activities of the weekend.  In the meantime, God Bless! 

Stay tuned!