August 16th: 4:00 AM New York time
I am writing my first post from the airport as I wait to board my plane to Ecuador. After ten long months of planning, today has finally arrived, and I am more than ready to begin this new and exciting chapter of my life. Although at times I find myself getting scared and anxious, my wanderlust always seems to get the best of me, and I remind myself that living in another country has always been a far away dream, one that I will now realize.
This will be the first time that I travel outside one of my two home countries, Costa Rica and the United States. Of all the places that I could’ve picked to study abroad, I chose Ecuador for many reasons, but one of many being that I wanted to reconnect with my roots and traditions. At times, I feel like I’ve let myself and my family down because in my assimilation process, I lost many aspects of myself and my culture that I once loved. I’m sure that if I asked other immigrants who have been through the same experiences, they would say the same. After all, it’s not easy being part of two different cultures at once, and expecting to achieve the two perfectly. I hope that the next five months will remind me of all the beautiful and amazing aspects of being a Latina, and that these experiences stay with me forever.
It is finally time to get on the plane, and in six hours I will be in a whole new country and a whole new world. Wish me luck!
Sincerely,
Laura M.