The Beginning

I sort of love and sort of don't love beginnings. I mostly love them.
They are transitional. Positioned between one comfort zone and the soon-to-be-known, they tend to be nerve wracking and a bit spastic for me. What can I say? Most of you know me well enough to know that I am a little bit of a control freak and when I can't predict the future to a comforting degree, I hyperventilate. If anything, this is one of the biggest beginnings I have ever had: Tomorrow evening at this hour I will be finding my way to a hostel in Guatemala City, alone. (Holy crap. Where is that even?) Right now, having packed and released my tension over that whole ordeal, I guess I don't really have a whole lot of beef with this beginning. Somehow I have been able to numb myself to the nagging questions of 'is this the right thing to do?' 'will I survive?' 'will I be able to really contribute instead of just being another rich American/Canadian tourist?' and I think I'm ready to just do.
I consider myself really lucky because apparently there are people waiting for me at the other end; I move in with a courageous family, bravely willing to host me, on Sunday evening and then start my Spanish courses on Monday morning (Jan 19). I have very little to worry about because I will have a home-base full of people who are used to weirdo travelers like me and who can hopefully lead me generally in the right directions. The home base is La Hermandad Educativa in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (I'll see what I can do about posting a link to the school on this blog). I can't wait to get my Spanish on! Oh, great people of Guatemala, you have never known another who could so eloquently butcher your native tongue (hehe) as I!
So, people, I've started this blog precisely because this is such a big beginning for me and because I would like you all to be involved (and also so that you can't say I didn't involve you enough). It is a place where I hope I can provide updates on what I'm up to and what I'm seeing and feeling, and where you can come and go as you please. It's a neutral info platform that I can use to publicly express myself as I journey, evading the need to bombard you with stories of all the AMAZING! things! I'm! experiencing!
Please come with me. Maybe I'll convince a few of you to meet me down in the jungle soon enough.
All my love and gratitude for your invaluable support,
Liz aka Lisa (en español)
I greatly prefer beginnings to endings.