ahhhh, Antigua

Indulgence sweet indulgence. I can't say that word enough when it comes to describing our recent 24 hour rant in Antigua. Insanely perfect hookahbar experience, tucked away in a hidden restaurant just past the grand yellow arch. We spoke of striving to be as fluid and adaptable as water while we sucked in mango tobacco and melted into a sea of pillows propped against magnificently painted walls, sipping tea and snacking on hummus while absorbing the music. Shoes off, hearts swelling, minds stimulated.
For dinner, we drank Chilean and Argentinean wine with intensely rich Italian food, followed by amazing conversation on our picturesque hostel terrace. To switch it up, we headed to a local bar, and it was definitely a lively time at the "mono loco." A friend had purchased a hookah in town, so we found ourselves back at the hostel for more mellow hookah times and genuine chatter on the terrace, lit-up cathedral in view....

My god, we stumbled upon incomparable experience after unforgetable experience yesterday. This world is so vast... the possibilities are endless.

* * *
In the past three months I cannot count how many times I have both thought of home and how my life would be, and also of how completely lucky I am to have this opportunity. Some days it can feel like a curse, but more often it feels like an honor.
After a weekend like this one, it's hard to not feel like this life you'd thought you had "chosen" actually hopped up into your lap and you would've been crazy to shoo it away. There are so few people who have the opportunity to experience this caliber of a new perspective. On the bus ride back to Santa Lucia today, curving up the green hills, I thought about my current life: I'm attending Spanish language training in Guatemala before returning to my home in Belize, working with the PeaceCorps.
After three months, this fact still shocks me.
It is moments like this when I feel like I'm supposed to be here. It's not a matter of a "different life" I've chosen; THIS IS MY LIFE. This is a brand new thought for me and it feels fantastic. I suddenly feel very different and very at peace.