As I'm writing this on the flight back to Los Angeles, my mind is telling me that I shouldn't be sad that this experience is coming to an end. My mind is trying to tell me to enjoy it because it happened and that I was blessed enough to have this opportunity. But my heart is not ready to let go of an amazing month with amazing people. Like I said in my graduation speech, I was a little nervous before coming to Guatemala. But I know now that I literally had nothing to worry about. I wasn't expecting to fall so deeply in love with this beauty of a country. I wasn't expecting to forge such a strong bond with everyone in this group and to leave this trip with 11 new friends. I wasn't expecting to truly have an experience of a lifetime. And I definitely wasn't expecting to have such a hard time accepting that this trip is coming to an end. Over the last 4 weeks, I've not only learned so much about Guatemala, but I've learned a lot about myself as well. Living in Guatemala for the last month has taught me what I really appreciate in life. Amongst all things, I've learned that I really appreciate the warmth and comfort of being with friends and good company because that's when I feel the happiest and most content with life. Being with our group has given me comfort and happiness for the last month, and knowing that our trip is finally over has made quite a heavy impact on me. I'm going to miss everything about this experience. And I'm definitely going to have a hard time transitioning back to life away from my new friends and away from the country that has shown me so much in such a short amount of time. With that being said, I'll recap how our last day went.
For whatever reason, I actually slept really well going into our last day here. In the morning, we went to grab breakfast before heading over to the artisan market to buy some gifts for family and friends. Following some shopping, we went back to Luna De Miel for some more delicious crepes before meeting up for a chocolate making class! It was a very relaxing last activity to do as a group and we got to keep some chocolate as well! After that, we took some group pictures and then went back to the hotel to change and get ready for dinner. Our last supper as a group was 3 large pizzas and 3 pitchers of beer. Pretty good last meal. To cap off the night, we visited this one bar that was actually really packed and looked pretty fun but I think we were all pretty tired and just wanted to relax for our last night together.
After everyone went to bed, I couldn't really sleep. I went back to the roof/patio thing and took in one last look at Antigua, and then went to lay down and wait until it was time for me, John, and Dr. Quinn to take the shuttle to the airport. I felt pretty numb during the whole process of getting onto my flight. I felt as if it wasn't really happening. But sure enough, Dr. Quinn and I said bye to John before he boarded his flight. And now I'm sitting in a cabin 35,000ft above sea level on my way back to Los Angeles. I really can't comprehend it. I'm going to miss this more than I would've ever expected to. Thank you Guatemala for an amazing four weeks of my life. Thank you, for everything. -Scott
