Return from Innocence

I spent the morning collecting and readying myself for the journey home. So much had happened over the last 4 weeks that it was going to be rather interesting to live the experience of transitioning from my life in Guatemala and to a life back home in Canada. The question of for how long and when I would be returning to Guatemala was posed many times throughout the morning and was feeling uncertain as to the answer and hence reluctant in leaving NPH behind. The feeling of obligation and desire to stay in Paramos at the orphanage grew heavy as we drove away from the heavy gates, the ‘we’ being Ismar, three volunteer native teachers from the babies house and 8 bubbling little darlings (ranging from age 3-5) who sat in the rear compartment of the SUV, astride my mammoth backpack. I can’t tell you how irresistible the image was to capture …

The children were so delightful and adorable, I just wanted to hug them incessantly without ever letting them go. Needless to say, leaving was indescribably difficult but, indeed, necessary.

Ismar is a star and a godsend in making my experience at NPH easy and fluid. Not only is he fluent in speaking English but he is forever helpful, aiding in my transition at NPH, organizing transport to and from the orphanage plus enabling my deliverance to the airport with as much flourish and accommodation as is possible. Thanks Ismar!!! I owe him a 6 pack of Dr Pepper on my return :).

I enjoyed my last hours in Guatemala at the airport, enjoying perusing through the numerous duty-free shops before embarking on the final leg of my journey. SlaDE~ would be anxiously awaiting my arrival in Buffalo and I was grateful for the seamless transition of my passage from world to another, entirely different in their realities. I almost missed my connection from Charlotte NC to Buffalo NY as I forgot to put my clock ahead an hour. I was aimlessly passing my time in the internet lounge when I felt a sudden pang of hunger …. Seeing the endless supply of readymade expensive selections of restaurants made me realize how hungry I was on this voyage where no meals were provided in my flight segments (I don’t count snacks as food!). With that as a sidebar, I noted the time and realized that indeed I was about to miss my flight due to a forgotten time change with my watch. Yikes …. made it to the gates, panting, just as the last people were boarding. And from there I delivered smoothly to the awaiting arms of my beloved, realizing that indeed a month was a long time; I would need to get used to seeing a bald head again on the man who has vowed to be by my side for the rest of my life. Delicious! A happy beginning to a journey that has only just begun ….