The hour approaches!

It is the eve of the trip, and I have begun reflecting on the feelings I experienced the last time around--the anxiety, the fear, the curiosity, the excitement. I even managed to find my carpeta de argollas (binder) from my fall semester abroad and began to read the essays I had written about my initial exposure to international life. How easy it was to pick out the stages of culture shock I was entering and exiting through my writings!

Tomorrow morning I wake up at a pre-spring break time (6:00 a.m.), hitch a ride with a dear friend (it is her birthday tomorrow (Alles gute zum geburtstag!)), arrive at Dulles with a few hours to spare, and patiently wait for the moment at which I will enter the aircraft and wave bye-bye to US airspace. I should be arriving in El Salvador around 2 p.m., where I will be temporarily stationed for nearly 6 hours until the flight from San Salvador leaves for San Pedro Sula. Finally, I arrive in San Pedro Sula around 9 p.m. and find a way to get to my hotel. I am hoping for at least a few quiet moments during which I can reflect on the significance of the day tomorrow--Viernes Santo, but it is possible that my hotel room will provide the most peaceful context for that sort of activity.

Only quince minutos until tomorrow; I better get some shut-eye!