I don’t want to come home at all. So serious. Just thinking about leaving Ecuador is too much. I’ve been here for less than a month, and I’ve fallen in love. The complete disconnect from the States has been great. The people, the essence of time, the language, the culture. For adjusting back to normal life, I’m hanging out with some classmates. Rather than trying to return to as we were prior to the trip, we’re trying to figure out which parts of the trip touched us most and how to keep them alive once back home.

While in the Galapagos, I was sitting on the boat emotionally preparing myself for returning home. I took a physical picture of the moment, inhaled deeply, and then a mental picture. I promised to never forget this. The only part I’m looking forward to is giving friends and family their gifts and sharing my experience.

I connected with most of the students and adults I met on the trip on social media and started planning my return. I’m almost 99.99999% sure I’ll be returning to Maqui and Yachana. If anything, I fear that I’ll hate everything about returning home. Should I ‘lose’ my passport? 😉