Something Beautiful

I remember first hearing this song in El Salvador, little did I know it would soon become our anthem, I heard it sung by so many voices and played over and over again and it never got old. When things were challenging this song was always there to remind us of something bigger, and in the last four weeks (WHOA IVE BEEN HERE A MONTH?!?!) it has been playing over and over in my head, reminding me to be present to all the beauty that surrounds me and just soak it up, knowing there is so much more to this country, experience, women and life than I will ever be able to understand but knowing that we are all part of something incredibly beautiful keeps me going, helps me to notice all the little things that light up my eyes and leave me full of gratitude.

There have been so many little somethings that have been oh so incredibly beautiful...

Walking down the road with the sun shining on our backs with Christina, talking about why she does what she does, sitting in the grass in a circle with 10 women having a meeting about their next round of credit, their savings and a quick training on how to work as a team, the little kids sitting in the back of the horse drawn cart- legs swinging out of the back with huge grins on their faces, sitting on the back patio with Christina while Niña Eludia comforts her and talks to her about the way some people are raised to love from their heart to be understanding and caring for others before following the rules while Christina wiped the tears from her eyes frustrated with bureaucracy, walking through Oviedo when I can't sit in the office anymore and quietly slowly taking in every single sight, getting emails from friends at home that remind me what matters in this world, reading poetry, playing Fruit Ninja with Ruty, the man next to me on the bus offering me his chipa, running into Anderson Fu- a friend from SCU whos from Paraguay- in the Asuncion bus terminal at 12:00am-absolutely incredibly to see a familiar face and a humbling conversation about making assumptions, a woman who is curious about the U.S. because her sister lives there and I am a way for her to understand a little bit better that life, being welcomed into the home of Christina's Madrina when there were no buses to take us back for Paraguayan tortillas and a warm bed to sleep in, letting myself listen to the sounds of Guarani as if its music instead of being frustrated that I cant understand it, waking up an hour earlier than we need to so we can sit together and share mate- passing it from one to another "para calentar nuestros cuerpos", my running routes being determined by herds of cows and barking dogs...they should be in charge of something right, the importance of family and how much time is spent together, watching 15 women walking down the road all together to come to the meeting looking like such a strong united force, running past campo, cows, goats, wide open spaces with the sun setting, the 17 year old boy who lives alone with his little brothers, the first visit from a daughter who has lived in Spain for 5 years, laughter, slowly bringing down my walls and letting my self settle into this space.

I cant believe I only have two weeks left... here's to being present to all the beauty that surrounds me and really engaging with my whole heart and continue to be open to all that Paraguay has to teach me.