I'm leaving on a jet plane don't know when I'll be back again...

How does one say goodbye to a country?  With only five days left here in Peru, this is a question I have to ask myself.  I'm not very good at thinking about goodbyes when I am still in the presence the people I have to say goodbye to - in other words I tend not to miss people until they are actually gone.  But when I sit and think for a minute about the fact that I'm leaving in five days and I have no idea when or if I will ever be back here, it strikes me that I have never experienced this type of goodbye before.  The type where you say, "It was awesome getting to know you and I hope one day our paths cross again," but there's a very good chance they never will.  Who knows what's on the agenda in the future.  In some ways I feel like I am way too calm about leaving this place.  Like I said I don't usually miss something until it is gone.  But leaving behind a country implies way more than just saying goodbye to all the relationships I've made over the past year.  It means saying goodbye to the people, the city, the language, the food, the traffic, the racism, the weather, the hospitality, the university, etc etc etc.  Things that may not even be that attractive about this place become significant because they are an integral part of this place for good or bad.  And while part of me worries about reintegrating myself into my home and college now that Peru has left its mark on my life, I know that I have the resources to face the new challenges that will surely arise and and actually I look forward to being challenged.  Because I think that after a year like this where I have been stretched and tested sometimes to the max, life would turn quite boring if it suddenly because easy - if it let me be complacent.  I am at peace about leaving Peru because I know it is time to return to my university, to reunite with friends and family, to take up my education classes again, and so on.  But I also know that given the chance to come back, for a week, a month, several months, I would take it in a flash.  Because these people and this city will continue even when I am not here and I want to know about the changes they undergo, the progress, the challenges.  Lima is a fast-changing city.  I will miss being in the midst of it, but I am ready to reenter my own country and town and university and reexamine those with new perspectives, new eyes. 

These are my thoughts.  And I am glad that I was right at the beginning of the semester, that even though I was not super happy to be back here at first, I knew by the end of the semester I would be able to look back with positivity, knowing that I learned a lot and grew through my experiences.  :-)  SEE YOU IN LESS THAN A WEEK EVERYONE!