What's on my mind. . .

In 6 days I will say goodbye to a dear friend. I've been thinking about what I will say and what I might give her to remember me by. But mostly I've been trying to wrap my brain around the fact that she is going to a country which would be on my "Top 5 Countries Not To Visit Right Now, Maybe Even Ever" list. And she's not going for a visit, she's going to live there indefinitely. . . 20 years, 40 years, maybe even the rest of her life. She will return to the U.S. for visits but the first one won't be until around three years from now. While I am supporting her in what she is doing, part of me wishes she wasn't going. It scares me that where she is going is so dangerous that, for her protection, I can't even name the country or say what she will be doing. And when I write to her, it will be like playing a game of Taboo, as she has distributed a list of words and topics that cannot appear in any letters, e-mails, or phone calls to or from her. Then I think of how she must be feeling right now. In two weeks her life will be so drastically different that I can't even imagine what it will be like. She's been preparing for this for a long time. I remember the dinner she went to back in college that pretty much started it all and helped her determine her life's path. But still, after all the hard work and preparation, actually leaving is the big step. The whole process of deciding what you can't live without and then figuring out how to fit it all into a suitcase is challenging in the least. Plus there's the process of saying goodbye to everyone you know (I've never understood how people can do that in the form of a "party", but I guess there really is no easy way to do it. When I went to Paraguay, I said goodbye to people individually or in small groups over the course of a few weeks, but then I would see them again and have to say goodbye all over. It sucked.) In a weird way, though, I'm kinda jealous. She's got a plan for the rest of her life. I've got most of next week planned. She has found something she passionate about. I go to work everyday, sit at a desk and stare at a computer. Hey, God? Can you invite me to a banquet and tell me what to do for the rest of my life?? Please? ~Suerte, friend. Dios le bendiga.~