Sunday morning we were up at 3am to prepare for the trip back to the United States. Sonia's friend drove us from Antigua to the airport in Guatemala City. Just after Duane mentioned that emotionally he felt like he was already home, the windshield wiper fell off the car. Then it started to rain. How hilarious! No, it would be a few more hours before we had to leave Guatemala.

As the flight from Guatemala to Houston took off, I could only think about the people we had met. Many of them want to come to the U.S, but cannot. For us, it was so easy. Flash a passport and climb aboard. Many people we met are so poor they live in shacks. Yet, we return to a home that feels like a palace.

I found myself dreading the inevitable--landing in Houston. I didn't want people to speak English around me. I didn't want to remove the kids from this immersion experience and slow down their language learning. I didn't want to leave Guatemala. We landed in Houston and I almost burst into tears of sadness.

How different this experience has been for us than our trip to China in 1995. After China, we felt satisfied, like we didn't need to return. After Guatemala, we can't wait to return. We are eager for another experience in Guatemala or another Latin American country. We decided to work to incorporate our Guatemalan experiences into our lives. We don't want this trip to become a memory, rather a part of who we are and who we will be. To this end, we will try to speak Spanish as much as possible in our household.

It is becoming increasingly obvious to us that the kids have learned a lot of Spanish. And effortlessly! How I would love to keep them in an immersion setting! A few more months and no doubt they would be fluent.

After this experience Duane and I are convinced that learning a new language teaches a person so much more than how to communicate with more people. It broadens one's thinking and understanding. The Spanish language makes different distinctions than English, and vice versa. This idea reminds me of a book from my linguistics days, that I must read again, called, Metaphors We Live By.

On our flight, there was one very brief moment of panic. Just after some turbulence, the flight attendant, who was obviously a native Spanish speaker, announced in both English and Spanish, "This is an absolute emergency. Please sit down." Duane and I just looked at each other. Nothing happened. People didn't even sit down! Maybe this was our last cross-cultural event of the trip. Is it possible he used the words, "absolute emergency" just to scare people into obeying him? We thought for the briefest moment we might crash into Mexico!

Now it's back to life in Minnesota. We are grateful for the experience we have had. We are eager for more! In the meantime, how DOES one use the subjunctive in Spanish?!

To see photo slide show, go to

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nykamp/sets/72157622309205678/show/

Click "Show info" to see slide descriptions.