We're going to get out of Seattle as soon as we finish up our work here. I'm hoping that is within the next year. I would love to move at the end of our 9-month lease, next March.
At that point, we put all of our stuff in a U-Haul, take it to Utah, and hang with family and friends for a few weeks. We haven't seen our families in ages, and we haven't spent a good solid chunk of time with them for years. It would be nice to just be there with no deadlines, no obligations, so we can just see all the new babies and partners and houses and everything. Then we leave our stuff in storage, bribe some of the aforementioned family and friends to watch our kitties for a while, and take off with one-way tickets to Guatemala.
Why Guatemala? Lots of reasons. For one, I'm sick of being pretty good in Spanish, but not fluent. I want to just learn it! I want to speak it naturally! I know I'm close, and I feel like a little immersion would be enough for me.
Guatemala is uniquely suited for this because it has loads and loads of language schools. There is one in particular, PLQ, that seems perfect. It's cheap, it offers one-on-one classes and meals and housing with a local family, and it has a radical orientation towards local ownership and social-movement building.
I envision us taking classes there for 3-4 weeks. I've heard this is enough time for someone who knows no Spanish to get the conversation basics down (Robert has long wanted to learn, but hasn't had a convenient opportunity to do so). And I think it would be enough time for me to feel confident striking out on our own in the region.
After school, I'd want to wander the region for a while, possibly working on a farm, or even volunteering with the Guatemala Solidarity Project, a movement of poor campesinos trying to stop privatization of their lands.
I see this phase of the plan as lasting 3-6 months. We'll know when we get there how long we want to stay.
When we're done there, and some of my wanderlust is sated, I'd want to come back to Utah, hang out with family and friends for a few more weeks, then start to apply for grown up jobs and start a career. We'd move to a city where we both have opportunities, work for a while, get a car, work for a while more, then have a baby!
Does this sound like a good plan, or what? Rob's not so sure about the time in Central America. He's open, but unsure. Any of you that wants to nudge him for me, please feel free to do so. :)



