U2D, Pt. 3: Peepz

For one of the first times in my life, I entered this particular experience with very little expectation. When I left home, it was at one of the happiest times I've had in recent memory. (I suppose the fact that was leaving played a huge role in that, causing me to soak up and embrace my Chicago life.) I came here feeling secure with a foundation of coming from such a wonderful city with such wonderful people in my life.

That being said, I expected to meet maybe a few cool people through the TEFL program.

Don't you love it when your expectations are exceeded?

By the end of our first week of class, I realized what a great group of people I was a part of. I hadn't laughed that hard or that consistently for ages. Isn't that always the case when meeting (and liking!) new people? I think the laughter is more present because discovering someone else's humor is always surprise.

By the end of our four weeks together, we had traveled, studied, whined, gossiped, laughed, cooked, ate, drank, danced, laughed, laughed and laughed some more...together. In the grand scheme of things, it was a short time, a mere four weeks, but the amount of time we spent together in those four weeks and the fun we had added so much weight and value to it.

As I write this, I'm one week into teaching and two weeks out of the program. I'm lucky enough to be left in San Jose with two fabulous women- my roommate, Cameron from Kentucky and Stefanie from England (who is always happy to remind the students that England is indeed where English STARTED), but we miss all our compañeros from the program. Some of our friends went out to Montezuma to volunteer while others went back to the US to either go back to school, work or start applying for teaching jobs in Asia. I know we're all hoping for a reunion someday.

I think that having such a lovely time as soon as I started this journey is actually really important. It has fueled my enthusiasm and added so much positivity to my life. I've been out of town for a total of 58 days and it's thrilling to think of all the things I've crammed into this time so far. The coast is rich and the sights are spectacular, but the people are making this experience for me.