image by Yvette Inufio

guest post by Gennyca ~

I sit at my laptop pondering what to key-in. Tomorrow I head to the Toronto International Airport. My one-way ticket has me traveling to Guatemala City. I’ve been assured that someone will be there to drive me to Antigua, Guatemala. I will spend four weeks in Antigua, living with a family that speaks no English (I speak no Spanish, could be interesting.) From there I have scheduled to take a bus to Copan, Honduras. After that, nothing planned. But in my heart of hearts I know I’m working my way to the Island of Roatan, Honduras.

Tonight I will spend time with my son, daughter-in-law, and three young grandsons. A few days ago, the rest of my family and friends threw a going away party for me at my favourite Thai restaurant. We discussed what my living accommodations would be like once I reached Guatemala. What kind of food I would be eating. And was I really sure this trip was a good idea. I don’t know what my living arrangements will be like. I have no idea about the food, I just keep picturing tacos. I don’t have a clue if this trip is a good idea or not, but I know I have to try.

Two weeks previous, I took one last look around my empty house, pretty much everything had been sent to be auctioned off. I set a note on the fireplace hearth for the new owners, assuring them that the chimney was cleaned as per our sales agreement. Hearing the lock catch, as I pulled the front door closed for the last time, I dropped the keys in the mailbox, slung my backpack on, and awkwardly tugged my three suitcases and one carry- on to the waiting taxi—I had sold my car too.

I don’t need a vehicle anymore, since its main function was to get me to and from my job. Actually, it wasn’t just a job, it was my very rewarding career, that I had spent fifteen years building. The company I used to work for also had a going away party for me, and my co-workers asked the same questions. What kind of a house will you live in? What food will you be eating? Are you sure this is a good idea?

I push my chair back from the desk. I’m still not sure what to key-in!

Walking over to my suitcases leaning against the wall and each other, I pull them one-by-one to the end of the room where there is a full size mirror. I slip the straps through the handles and clasp the two smaller bags to the larger ones. I struggle to get my backpack on and attempt to casually stroll past the mirror, dragging everything behind me, while I glance at my reflection. Oh my God! I look like an absolute dork!

These bags contain everything I own now—I have to figure out, how to, on my own, get this luggage where I’m going. Actually, once I arrive in Guatemala the two bigger bags are staying there, they’re loaded with donations from family and friends for the kids at the school I will be volunteering at. Only the carry-on and backpack have my stuff in them.

Enough of that, I slide the back pack off, it drops to the floor with a thud. That’s okay, the only fragile item that will be going in there is my laptop, and it is sitting open on the desk, the mode light flashing red. The now black screen taunting me, it has given up and gone to sleep waiting for me to key-in—my username.

What the heck do I know of usernames? Yes I promised family and friends I would stay in-touch. That I would send them reports and pictures as often as I could. But my experience with the internet up until now has been limited to sending the occasional email, and chuckling at the funny quotes and cartoons friends emailed me. Now I’m setting up a travel blog. My username needs to be unique, and somehow connect who I used to be with who I am on a journey to become.

I’m probably over analyzing what to enter in the field that won’t let me proceed until I enter something. Hmmm, I glance at the luggage tag with the Canadian Flag embossed on one side. My name and the address I will call home in Central America, handwritten by me, on the other.

I key-in my name, G-e-n-n-y, add c, and then a. I hit enter and watch the icon twirling on the screen, checking if Gennyca is an available username. The twirling stops, the next field highlights, giving me permission to proceed. That’s it! I am now Gennyca, embarking on an adventure from Canada to Central America. I have absolutely no idea what lies ahead, I will leave those details to the universe to decide—I just know that my spirit is ready to go.

This journey into the unknown, and Central America from Canada, started in March 2007. I made it to Roatan, Honduras, in August of the same year. I now spend my days volunteering and writing about day-to-day life on a tiny Island nestled in the Caribbean Sea right here. The journey has become my life!