The end of a long year

I don't think I have ever been more anxious for anything in my life than to go home IN 8 DAYS. It's all I think about and all I really have to talk about. It's what keeps me calm and collected when the boys are screaming for no other reason than to make more noise and my host mom tells me off for not washing my curtain for a whole year (gasp!). Which means it's absolutely ridiculous that I'm a little sad I won't get to immediately cross off the final month of 2014 on my self-motivation poster.

I thought the stickers were fitting. I'm big on self-motivation if you can't tell. 

It's been a long year, my innumerable band of devoted followers. I know I may have a tendency to, well, complain a bit here on my blog. I'm sure if you search my blog for booming religious ranchera music (that's actually playing as I type this), inhumane heat, and dastardly failed projects... you would get many a hits. There are lots of times I come here to write something out just so I can stop obsessing over it. I do try to portray both sides of the story, but at the end of the day this is my place to share my particular experience. I even have a disclosure statement that says so! Crossing off the months has always put to rest the troubles of the previous month and given me a fresh start for the next. PC is a marathon, not a sprint. There is way too much time to focus on the bad stuff if you don't mentally exfoliate every month. Shoot, mentally exfoliate every day! Now that I'm at the end of 2014, I can look back and remember the good times a lot quicker than the bad.

And there have been many good times, too. There's a lot of good stuff that doesn't make the blog. Like, yesterday Aysel was walking around with some leaves in a giant basket on her head screaming "Fresco! Fresco for sale!" like a street vendor. She's so darn cute and I love her imagination. And there's also the times when these two girls next door call me "Ale Bonita" when I walk by. They're right- I am beautiful. And I always get a kick out of embarrassing Ana at the pupusaria. That poor angsty girl.

I've been thinking about a New Years resolution for 2015 but I haven't thought of anything that sticks. I remember what I wrote on New Years day 2014 and little did I know but that resolution was the most important thing I could have done. Sticking through the hard times, the times that sometimes overshadow the good that happens, has resulted in such a beautiful experience.

So, I won't cross off the last month of 2014 on the 31st. I'll be poppin' champagne on a boat!!! No, just kidding. My bed time is 9pm now, I don't even know if I'll make it to midnight. I will, however, do some mental exfoliation when I'm at home. After all, 2015 is sure to be a big year, too.

Long time, no see

HELLO! I'm sorry, but this won't be a triumphant return post. I've been bouncing around northern Morazan, going to end-of-year meetings, lacking internet, and I've been fairly sick. So, I'm sorry I've been neglecting my blog. But here's a promise of the posts I have to come:

• Climbing the waterfall
• Christmas in San Fernando
• New Years 2014

Hmmm that's actually a pretty short list. I think I can knock those out by the end of the week! If I get some reliable internet first. 

Well, this IS my first post of 2014. I'll be living this whole year abroad, from January 1 to December 31 (and beyond, but let's just focus on 2014 now). I'm excited because I know after a whole year in site I'll have projects going and my spanish will be awesome and everything will be a little more scheduled. Scheduling is goooood, it makes the time go by faster. 

This past year was pretty interesting. It went by so fast! I can't even believe I was struggling thought grad school this time last year and now I'm still struggling to write my capstone, but now I'm writing under a mosquito net. In January of last year I didn't even know where Peace Corps was going to send me. I'm happy they sent me to the little thumb of central america. I've met great new people, Volunteers, staff and host country nationals alike. They're what make this process worthwhile. 

I'm excited for 2014. I think it's going to be a year I'll never forget!