life and life.

Honore's family just arrived... with Honore. ;-) I about cried when I saw her again for the first time. So weird how close I feel to her and her family. Honestly don't know what I'm going to do with myself when she leaves this time. She's taught me everything from sarcasm to having a backbone. Some of the greatest lessons I have learned in Peru.

I travelled around the Center of Lima with her family today. Being with her dad was super interesting as well. For one his name is Thor (and his size fits the name, bought 6' 5" and very strong) and beyond that he knows French fluently which means he can understand Spanish really well if you just speak slowly to him. It was really cool. While Honore's parents went in the museum, I was able to stay outside with her and Martine and just catch up on everything that's on the "other" side of your exchange. She told me how she'd lost all the weight she'd gained on the exchange. She had finally driven a car again. Eaten pizza. Started a job. Which was all super exciting.

The whole time as well she kept saying how great it was to be back here in Peru. I can't even imagine. It was like we were young kids again. Reunited after soooooo long (okay really only about a month). Anyways, her spanish was still really good which gave me hope for after my exchange. We passed the day very well. Yet I still continue to turn and talk to her family in spanish every five seconds not even realizing the huge language barrier. ;-)

Some thoughts I was thinking today... starting to miss my exchange and all.

I already feel like I want my exchange back. I wish to start it over, do it again. DO IT BETTER. Kind of like the way we sometimes feel like we want to go back in time to childhood, our adolescence, or maybe young adulthood. And it made me think why?

And for me, peru has answered that question. It isn't the toys we want, and we definitely don't want to be under more rules from our parents again... so why is it that we have this need to live in the past? Why do we feel like we have left the best behind us at times.

For me, it hit me today. As my exchange has progressed, my schedule has started to flourish. Everyday becoming more so like my schedule back in the states. And as I look forward... and back, I feel a longing to want to be back at the beginning. I want to be in the point of being lost. The point of not understanding. Of TRUSTING what was going on around me. About being comfortable with the uncomfortable. Of sitting at the table hours with people learning spanish and eating the Peruvian delicacies. And I realize that it all comes down to rest. Finding how to make, and keep, my life simple.

As the university has started, I have basically swung into a tornado that never comes home. Causing me to miss all the rest I had before. But not the laziness, the time to appreciate. Appreciate my family here, talk with them. Appreciate that I was just here. Sitting in the park just learning spanish with my friends.

I guess it all comes down to this. Sometimes, or most times, learning to LIVE doesn't necessarily mean learning to be successful. Why support a family if you don't even relate to the family you are supporting. I would hope that God would bless, and success would come alongside. But we first must trust, be comfortable with the uncomfortable, learn to relate, and most importantly, learn to prioritize. Just like an essay with a million words doesn't make it a more productive essay than one of 100. A life full of activities (successes) doesn't necessarily mean a happier life than one with few activities.

Learn to do what you do brilliantly. Love it. Learn to say no. And love PEOPLE not THINGS!

Blessings,

Lucas