Jonathan:
Despite our perilous efforts to prepare for our departure ahead of time, our last week in Boulder turned out to be, let's say... frazzled. We had decided to wait to pack up our apartment until after we had gotten through our going away party last Saturday, which turned out to be a fabulous time-- so fabulous that we had to spend all of Sunday sleeping off its greatness. In the four days that followed, we managed to pack up our apartment, move everything into a 10x10 storage unit, catch the first night of the Banff Mountain Film Festival at Boulder Theater, and somehow we still had time to make it to happy hour every day to catch up with our closest friends. Wednesday night after one final run through our equipment list, we managed to get a mediocre night's sleep on the floor in our empty apartment.
Yesterday we awoke to make one last run to the storage unit to drop off a few straggling items, but not without a stop along the way to have a cup of coffee with our good friends Jason & Shannon. We wrapped up our time in Boulder at Foolish Craig's for one final meal with our families-- which includes our friends Zach & Michelle. We laughed, shared stories, cried a lot, and savored our final hugs with each other before we left. My parents and Megan's sister Molly took us down to the airport, and after one last hug and a few more tears we were off through the security line.
Fortunately we had a long enough layover in Houston that we had time to call and book a place to stay in Chihuahua last night (a small detail we had overlooked in our shuffling out the door). Once we arrived and cleared customs, we bee-lined it for the hotel and crashed.
We've spent most of today exploring the town of Chihuahua, which is way more urban than we had expected. Not urban enough to have USB ports on the computers though, so unfortunately pictures will have to wait. This morning at breakfast we learned that the Spanish word for "peas" (chÃcharos), and "pork rind" (chicharrón) are strikingly similar-- so we're learning to order very carefully. Overall, since we woke up this morning we've both had smiles plastered on our faces, and we are very excited and relieved to finally be on the road.
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Megan:
Well, we're not in Boulder anymore. We spent our first night in Chihuahua and are experiencing the city today. So far, I have managed a few phrases in Spanish: to ask for milk for my coffee, tell our waiter the food is good and buy 2 train tickets for our trip through the Copper Canyon. So I think there is hope for me after all. You will have to excuse any typos, as I am working off of a keyboard where most of the keys have hand-written letters that have been taped back on.
Now let me back track a little to our last week in the states. It was a whirl wind of emotions. So much to do and so many goodbyes. Leaving wonderful friends, family, our comfortable way of life and everything that we have learned to call home. I appreciate the quality time that I was able to spend with so many people.The love and support that filled our apartment during our going away party last Saturday was amazing. I was able to have a very warm and emotional goodbye over the phone with my mom (I think this was around the time it was beginning to sink in what Jon and I had really signed up for). We were also able enjoy a cup of coffee our last morning with our friends Jason & Shannon, and have breakfast with our families and Zach & Michelle. The tears just kept coming, along with words of advice and laughter. I think it was a very cleansing process for me...to really feel and be engulfed by these emotions. I also noticed somewhere between Denver and Houston, the stress of trying to wrap up our whole lives began to wear off and was replaced with excitement. It is very hard for me to fathom the magnitude of what we have just embarked upon.
