Belonging

It happened rather unexpectedly this past weekend.  I was at a fishing tournament for kids with our friends.  The view was incredible, the music was obnoxiously loud, the food and drinks were yet to be served.  Suddenly, I could hear myself say in my mind, “I belong here.”

Great place for a kid's fishing tournament, wouldn't ya say???

It has been quite some time since I felt that way, probably Myanmar in 2013 or 2014 to be specific.  Overseas life is certainly not for the faint of heart I can assure you.  It does seem to fit me well though for some reason.

Before we moved to this pueblo, I was 99% certain I’d end up hating it.  I had thrived in Salamanca, a college town with plenty to do and a youthful flavor to it.  Not to mention the whole town was basically one giant and beautiful museum.

Showing some college students from the states my favorite view in Salamanca

Much to my surprise I’ve ended up loving it here.  We’re in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains that are only a 15-20 minute drive away.  We don’t have a car yet but our friends have been gracious and allowed us to borrow their’s when we like or take us along for a short trip somewhere for an afternoon.

What makes life great here is what makes life great anywhere - friends.  We have great friends at our little church.  Church can tend to run long as I’ve mentioned before, but I do love all of them.

I would consider our other friends to be another main reason I like it so much.  We go to their parents’ finca (small farm) most weekends and just hang out for an afternoon.  The view is incredible and the conversation is filled with laughter and loudness with a few kids thrown into the mix for good measure.  We all laugh that Arturo, the 7 year old boy, has become my shadow when we’re all out there, constantly asking me to play with him.

Another weekend day at the finca...

To be sure, we had great friends in Florida as well, but we felt a bit like we had one foot in Ft Myers and one foot in Sarasota since we went up there every weekend for church.  It’s hard to develop friendships like that.  Even with a language barrier I find it easier to develop friendships when I’m in one place for weeks on end.

We have great friends here, we’re using our skills as teachers to teach English, I’ve started helping one friend start to develop a small business, all for the sake of the gospel.  I’m playing tennis and exercising more regularly.  I’m studying something and using it immediately after I study it (Spanish, namely).  So yes, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that I love where we’re at.

There is a roller coaster of emotions that comes with living overseas, they even have graphs to know when you may hit a low point and to assure you that it’s normal.  Apart from a few of those dips, I love living in a pueblo of about 7,000 people, who could’ve imagined?