One Life One Encounter

Antigua feels like home. I can see and understand how people get stuck here. Not stuck in the sense that they can’t leave, but because they don’t want to. This city seems to draw people in.

For me, it’s the colonial architecture, the mix of old and new, the customs and traditions of the Guatemaltecos, the ease of getting around the city on foot (driving is a completely different story), and the number of quaint cafés that all seem to boast either a lush, plant-filled patio or a terrace offering views of nothing but volcanoes.

I love going to La Bodegona every few days or getting myself lost in Mercado Central. I love returning to my homestay for lunch and then heading out to settle into a café, ordering a limonada con jamaica y chía, and working on my homework or reading a book.

I’ve absolutely developed a routine here, and Spanish school has been a big part of that. I’m not sure how I would feel about staying somewhere for this amount of time without having a purpose.

That’s the other thing — for the first time in many years, I feel like I have one. Sure, my purpose in this moment is arguably only benefiting me, but there’s more motivation to get out of bed every day than there used to be. It’s no longer about waking up to work because you have to in order to afford to live. That realization alone feels huge.

But all good things come to an end — or at least a pause.

Next week, I’ll make my way to Lago Atitlán to continue Spanish school in a different setting and begin my first Workaway volunteer experience. I’m excited to see something new, to experience another version of life in Guatemala, but there’s also a feeling that comes with leaving that I can’t quite name. It isn’t sadness, exactly — but it’s close. A longing to stay still, paired with the knowing that there’s more to see, more to do, more to live.

I’ve also made some really good friends in this city. But like me, their time here is temporary. In the coming days, we’ll all leave Antigua — just not together. Some will return to their home countries and their jobs, others will continue traveling through Guatemala and beyond.

That’s one of the harder parts of travel. The relationships you build are often temporary, at least in the present moment. And yet, I’ve been invited to visit these new friends in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and England. It’s a reminder that people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime — and each one serves a purpose along the way.

For now, I’m making the most of my last weekend in Antigua. Next weekend, a group of us will head back to El Paredón for one last hoorah together.

Truly — what a beautiful life this is.

-A