Here I go again on my own...

Ah yes, I am a proud product of the 80's... go ahead and sing it, you know you want to.

But seriously:

I have officially left the country. It was so hard to leave my family (for those of you who know me, we are pretty much joined at the hip) It was all I could do to keep from bum rushing the pilot's cabin and begging him to turn the plane around. But I stayed strong and remained seated with my seat belt securely fastened.

As I surveyed my surroundings... to my right sat two older caballeros "gentlemen", one was Peruvian (Carlos from Cuzco) and the other was Brazilian (Jose from São Paulo) We got to talking and I'm happy to announce that I haven't yet had to speak a lick of English and not one person has treated me like a "Gringa". Which is both shocking and fabulous, It's like I have an invisible tattoo on my forehead that says "soy Latina, damn it."

Anyways, Carlos and I had a lovely conversation about how special the energy is in Cuzco, Peru (for those of you who don't know - that is the area where Macchu Picchu is located and considered part of the Sacred Valley) It was fun for him to brag about his "patria" and for me to recount the beautiful experiences I had there a few years back. A little later in the flight Jose chimed in and come to find out he is from São Paulo which is where I'm headed next. He made me a list of places that I HAVE to visit. I was happy to share with him that a couple of his recommendations were already on my to see list.

The flight wasn't bad. My seat was permanently fixed in the "upright position" and the plane landed JUST before the resolve of the in-flight movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" - but other than that, it was all good.

My favorite part: The two grad-student parents headed for an eco-vacation on the Yucatan Peninsula and their four-year old who insisted on wearing his "underoos" over the Spiderman Pajamas he had chosen to don that day. Totally free entertainment. Gotta love it.

Soooo.... I'm currently in La Ciudad de Mexico - "Mexico City" (yes, this blog is both fun and educational) I'm pretty much stuck in the airport, but I'm enjoying myself thoroughly. I found the food court and, of course, a Starbucks and whaddaya know, printed on my receipt was a code for FREE wireless internet :) This is a side note, but in my experience the Starbucks drinks in all Latin American countries are BOMB. I'm 90% sure it's the milk that they use. scrumptious.

It is absolutely amazing to think of how many experiences have led up to this very moment. I can remember being 17 and in South America (Ecuador) for the first time. I knew at that moment that I would someday live in a Spanish-speaking country, but I couldn't have possible guessed it would be Argentina. So here I am, ten years later, on the path to finally realizing that dream.

I had a bit of an "Oh S*#t" moment when I woke up this morning. My mind, which should get a side-gig as a Prosecutor, was screaming "what are you doing? why would you leave all of this? what makes you think this is the right decision?" . . . I chuckled, watched the thoughts float by like leaves on a river, and threw my toothbrush in my purse.

I know that this is my path, it always has been. This is not to say that it has been easy to leave those that I love - however - more than anything else - I am flooded with the most amazing sense of Gratitude.

And so I will rest in that.