the epic journey comes to an end

I am sitting here in the Belize Airport reminiscing about the last month and the amazing adventure I've had.  It is incredibly bittersweet to be going home, I am really excited to see my Family and Friends, but saying goodbye to my amazing new friends was really tough.  I watched their plane take off and realized that this is the end of my life changing field school.  1 month went by so quickly and I want it to last a little longer.  We had our last group meeting last night with Dr. Powis and all the staff and he asked us if anyone had felt uncomfortable on the trip or felt out of their comfort zone.  I've done so many things I would have never done had I not been on this field school.  I am so thankful for this amazing experience and for the friends I know I'm going to keep for a lifetime.  We couldn't end this field school without an adventure.  We started it with a crazy van ride and we ended it with one.  One of the vans carrying all of our luggage had the tire tread rip off of it and smack into the coolant line which caused it to leak coolant whenever the van was running.  Staffers Brian and Jon who were driving us changed the tire and then we tried to think of clever ways to fix the leak to no avail.  Brian tried driving the van with the heater on to counter the effects of loosing the coolant, but I think he nearly died in the heat and the van nearly did too.  We stopped and decided that I'd stay behind with Brian and my luggage and the van while Jon and everyone else and their luggage piled into the working van.  My flight was 4 hours after everyone else so we'd have plenty of time for Jon to come back and pick me up to go back to the airport.  We said a teary goodbye, but then realized that we could maybe fit me into the van.  I sat on my friend Craig's lap for nearly an hour of a van ride.  I got really queasy and thought I would certainly be sick everywhere, but luckily I held off and we all arrived at the airport safely!  Jessie took her early flight to Houston to catch a connection to Atlanta and I didn't get to say goodbye.  Then everyone else had to board their direct flight to Atlanta.  Needless to say I cried like a baby, these amazing people changed my life in this very short month and I am so thankful I got to meet them!  I LOVE THEM!!  I will also miss Belize, this amazing country that has been my home for a month!  The people here are so welcoming and amazing and I WILL come back here someday!   Thank you Kennesaw State for this amazing experience, thank you mom and dad for sending me, and my friends who made this trip worthwhile, and most of all THANK YOU BELIZE! I LOVE YOU AND I KNOW I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN SOON!  It isn't goodbye, only see you later!  I cannot express with words how I feel about this place, it is truly a new home in my life of many homes!