Thirty+five days.

As my countdown approaches the 30-day mark, I'm starting to feel the effects. I walk outside and close my eyes, imagining the sounds of Lima or the soft scrape of my shoes over Picapiedra's dirt streets. These episodes are inescapable, and I don't try to avoid my daydreaming anymore because the reality is close enough--exams finish, I move into my new apartment, and then there are four days until departure. I know how I'll feel that day, and I can see myself on the plane, at the gate, riding down Avenida Arequipa to the hostel where I'll stay for a few days to catch up with Joseph and all the others that made Peru a place to go back to. Then Katie will arrive, and we'll see Cieneguilla and Villa Maria for the first time. That's where my visions end: I have no idea what the following three months will contain, and that's why I can't wait to get there. The comforts of an old home plus the excitement of uncharted ground. Reacquainting my tongue with the sounds of Spanish, to the point that English will be a choice rather than the default. Conectados will be a great addition to my tales of Peru.

Matt