Wow. Nearing the end of August and there still has not been one blog post this month. I swear I haven't been intentionally avoiding my beloved writing space. Many other writing facets have been detectably ignored as well. For example, I still have an unfinished email to my wonderful correspondance friend across the world that has been collecting dust for half a month now, after postponing commencing this reply for at least 2 months. I also have a growing list of new emails to respond to from people like my mother, to long lost European friends, to close friends from Canada. Not to mention a few increasingly pressing Skype calls that need to be had.
However, it's not only in regards to writing! Oh no.. I have been working on this relatively short and fairly interesting 262 page novel for over two weeks now. I am about 6-7 weeks behind in the one and only TV show I watch right now. And I have become fantastically pro at planning my lessons in the space of 5 minute between when I arrive to class and my students start arriving. I also think in the past months, the only time I have been on Facebook, checked my email, or browsed news articles online, previously all part of my breakfast routine every morning, have been during class while my students are busy working.
So what have I been doing then, if not all of these things that used to take up a significant portion of my time?
Short answer: living life.
I've naturally started doing a lot of reflection on my time here in Latin America recently, as my 3 month contract here in Arequipa is up next week and I've decided not to renew it, despite offers to take up the posts of TEFL teacher and/or Teacher Coordinator. Which means that it has been over 3 months now that I've been living life down here, and as I have been mentioning on Facebook, I have no plans to end it any time soon. To the contrary, I plan to continue working my way around the continent.
The main conclusion that I've come to, is that in these last 3+ months, I have become more myself that I have been in years, possibly ever.
Clearly it was a process, not just a lightbulb moment. As such, there are many things and people that I think have had a direct impact on the process. Firstly, Jo, my boss and big sister in Switzerland who opened the door to new possibilities. Secondly, and possibly foremostly on the spiritual scale, Maria my spiritual guide in Barcelona who served as the catalyst as well as mentor. Thirdly, and most recently, the latino lifestyle where tranquillo and flexible are more of a guide to life than a slogan or motto people throw around. There have also been, of course, many friends along the way who have helped tremendously; from my "friends" in Brussels who taught me some hard life lessons, to my Russian/German friends and my homie who taught me about true friendship. Finally, whose importance is to be marked rather than reneged by their placement on this list, Cena, the missing piece of the puzzle.
You all have had a tremendous impact on my life, and some of you, I hope will continue to have for years to come.
