20-something days...who's counting?

There are 20-some days left.. maybe not even that - no, I think we're in the teens now - until Costa Rica. I refuse to look at a calender in order to count the exact days. Why? Because I am an avoidant. If I can avoid doing something, then sure, I will. I already know that I am going away soon... and 'soon' is good enough for me. 'So, Meg, when are you leaving.' - 'Eh, within the next couple of weeks - soon enough.' I guess you could say that provides me with a small buffer until I have to face the reality of a major change in my life: new people, traveling, different language - a perpetually hot, humid, and rainy climate (I am going to have one heck of a time in Costa Rica. I hate two of the three weather options: hot and humid. I suppose rain is the lesser of the three evils.)

Am I excited to go? I wouldn't say excited. I don't really get excited (I think the last time I was truly 'excited' about something was when I heard The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was being made into a movie, and that was my senior year of high school. Sad, I know.)

So you're probably wondering, "Why are you even going to Costa Rica for four months when it seems you don't want to go?" That is a very good question, folks. It all comes down to the fact that I think this is where I need to go. Not for me, but for what it will do to me and for me. I feel that Costa Rica, over studying abroad in any other place, will provide me with the skills I will need for wherever God will place me after graduation (next spring, ahhh!).

Originally, I planned to study abroad in England - Oxford more specifically. It has been my life dream, seriously, to be able to study in England. When my friend, Bethany, studied abroad in Oxford, seeing her photos and hearing her stories made me want to go there even more. It wasn't until I signed up for a missions trip early last fall that I put that dream on hold. I wanted to put all of my energy towards the trip to Peru, not on hopes of studying abroad in Oxford. Essentially, I wanted to see if Oxford was my dream or God's. And not that God wouldn't want me to experience England.. but in my heart, I felt like Oxford would be more like a vacation, rather, a self indulgence. When I went to Peru, I fell irreversibly in love with the kind and beautiful people of the Andes. I fell in love with the language once again and in turn, found myself wanting to return. I wanted to learn more about Latin America and one day, to return to that place that I lost my heart to.

As soon as I got back from Peru in February, my mind immediately went towards planning my future. Being a junior, I knew I had to get serious about setting some sort of goals for my future. It was sort of a difficult time because, as I said, I am an avoidant - if I can push off responsibilties, I will (I'll admit it.) But I knew I couldn't keep avoiding my future. One day, sooner or later, I'd have to decide what I wanted to do with my life - I had to form that long-held ambiguous picture in my head that I had not yet shaped.

I said, "Okay, God. You have placed a desire in my heart for Latin America. Let's do something about it."

I knew, beyond anything, that I wanted to study abroad. I had been planning a semester away my entire college career, so I knew I would travel, but I didn't know where exactly. And as it would have it, Roberts offers, through BestSemester, a semester abroad in Costa Rica. I knew I wanted to do this program because it is run based on a Christian perspective. And so, with my best friend, Ashley, I went through the application process, and once that was done, we waited for two weeks to hear back if we were accepted.

Well, good news. I got accepted (not that you didn't know already..) And now it is less three weeks until my aventura begins. And to be honest, there is a bit of a pang whenever I think about the fact that everyone else gets to pack up their lives and move back to Roberts. I do miss the little bubble that we call Roberts... but there is a much bigger world out there beyond North Chili, New York. And it will be a challenge - a HUGE challenge (one that I probably don't know the enormity of), but I can't let that deter me. Whenever doubt or fear or anxiety creeps in (which they do - very, very often), I look at the beautiful faces of the Peruvian children I had the opportunity to meet, and know that there is a reason for this crazy desire to study in a Spanish-speaking country. There is a reason.



Our little friends in Tarmatambo gave us ears of corn and flowers to remember them by.


A la escuela






Blessings, my friends.