True

            “Do you know anyone the ages twenty-five to forty that would like to go to Argentina for a month?”

            I’ll admit…I wasn’t fully awake until that point.  I came to the 7am Rotary of the Roanoke Valley meeting with my boss, LeeAnn, to talk about our Community Youth Program.  As interim program assistant for CYP, I couldn’t say no to a fabulous breakfast and a chance to gain support for our teens.  I had no idea I would walk away with a flyer in my hand that would support my dreams.  I couldn’t believe the words that gained my FULL attention:

            “Do you know anyone the ages twenty-five to forty that would like to go to Argentina for a month?

If we were in a movie, they would have frozen the frame but not before letting some biscuit fall out of my mouth for dramatic effect.  That flyer with the “details” about this Argentina trip couldn’t make it to me fast enough.  I’ll admit the rest of the meeting was a blur.  I remember recounting a conversation, just a week earlier, from a friend’s basement—“This place is huge, may I please store some stuff here when I move to Argentina this summer?”  He laughed, “Sure, you have plans to go to Argentina?”  “Not yet.”

            Not yet, indeed.  But I did have a hope.  After living in Spain for a semester in undergrad, I craved more opportunities for immersion into the culture. I experience vitality when speaking Spanish.  There is a trigger of light or luz with this language.   Although my words, at best, are comparable to a 4-year-old in present tense, I am not afraid to “talk through” and be conversationally confident.  When I get in the zone of the words, I feel transported.  The phrases like “Hasta luego mi cielo (heaven/sky)” ring sweetness that I can’t always locate in English.  I’m sure I’ll have more language words to share, but let’s get back to the reasons I am on a plane to Argentina.

 Other than the “basement” conversation I have another “Argentina” connection.  When faced with the hard decision to leave youth ministry last year to fully pursue writing, I had some monster pro and con lists going.  One of them titled…..you guessed it “Argentina.”  No mistaking South America was on my mind.  I couldn’t shake these dreams as I waited that morning for the flyer to reach my hands.  I applied and made it to the group interview and continued to read the flyer throughout the process.  I read it over and over asking-Is this for real?  Even in the air on our way to Atlanta, I write this half expecting someone to show up and say—“Just kidding.  Did you really think that you’d go live with Argentine families and visit a new place every four days!? Haha get real!”

            This is real. Real because of Rotary.  I have them to thank for this vocational and cultural adventure.  Rotary pours time, care and resources into our world.  Their commitment to propel peace through shared cultural experiences made it possible for this writer and her fab five team to experience Argentina.

With gratitude,

Rebekah