I'm coming home!

Here I am. Flying Home.  Back to the states. What an amazing experience I’ve had these last three months.  I feel I have learned so much about people, myself, and my priorities. It has been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs.  I’m heading home now with a greater appreciation of my life and the amazing family and friends I have.  I’m also lucky enough to say I’m heading home with new friends and family in Brazil.   It has hard to leave these people.  I’m filled with a mixture of pure excitement to get home and despair to be leaving Brazil.  There is so much here I haven’t seen yet!  How can I leave Brazil and not have seen Rio De Janeiro!?!?!  I probably should have scheduled that one into my trip.  Oh well.  I guess this means I’ll just have to return!  ;p

I find myself comparing my experience here to my experience in Africa. But these two places are incredibly different and how I’ve spent my time here has also been very different.  I think I was pushed further out of my comfort zone in Brazil.  I had a language barrier, I lived with a host family, I only hung out with two other Americans, I traveled solo and I volunteered on a fazenda for almost a month.  Africa was my first love and therefore it will always stand on a pedestal and be special to me, but Brazil challenged me to analyze myself and pushed me to grow.  I am leaving with gratitude for all that I have seen, done, and accomplished. 

And so I’m heading home.  First stop, South Carolina where I plan to plant myself on my dock at the lake and pretend I don’t have a thing to do in the entire world.  Next, I’ll be heading to Athens where I’ll be running around like a crazy person.  I may or may not now regret only giving myself a few days before school started.  It’s time to get organized and accomplish all the things I need to do before I jump on the tight rope that it vet school.  But I refuse to stress.  As my host pai, Luiz, says,  “Vida Leve”.  Live a light light.  It’s too short to stress.  Keep what’s most important to you as your top priority and everything else will work itself out. 

Thanks for reading! 

Lots of Love!
Kaylee Q