#laavenida

Each day is full of hours, full of minutes, full of moments. It's the moments I'll remember when the rest has gone away. The moments I was nervous, like meeting my host family for the first time. The moments I was tired, like after a long hike. The moments I was amazed, like crossing La Avenida 9 de Julio, the widest avenue in the world. 

There are moments when I'm lonely and moments when I'm sad. There are moments when I feel so far away from home. And in some moments, we're shooting through an intersection with no stop lights or being followed on the street by three stray dogs.  And in some moments, everything is different here. Then, my host sister pulls out a deck of cards or my host brother beats me at Mortal Kombat. Then, I remember that some things never change. 

There are moments when I wish I could sleep in my own bed and moments when I wish I could stay here forever. There was a moment on the bus, looking out the window, when the mountains that rise high above the city were only shadows painted in the early morning sky. There was a moment when I was on top of it all, when I had climbed, when I had panted, when I had reached the summit, when I was part of that shadow in the sky.

These days feel longer but the hours seem shorter and the minutes just fly by. It's the moments that can last forever, the moments I'll take with me. And here, in this moment, I am alive.