Now, on my new adventure, I have been blessed many-fold. I have so many great friends here already. Yesterday I had the good fortune to be kidnapped away to the Mendiola Thanksgiving at Guata Beach in Rota. Antonelle picked me up around noon-ish (chamorro time) and we met up with her family just in time for coconut crab, red rice, keleguen, finedene, all the typical chamorro fixins. I'm not going to say I missed having turkey because a) I am so in love with chamorro food but also b) because later in the evening I actually had turkey and ham :) After the wind blew my plate away and the rain subsided just a touch, we walked down to teteto and swam against the current and the wind. I sat on the beach and stared at the water for a long time. I can stare at the ocean forever, and I don't know why. What I do know is that over the last few years I have often found myself wondering "whose life is this that I'm living?" I have often felt like an imposter or like I was mistakenly placed on the wrong road. Although I deeply miss my family, I don't have those thoughts here. I just feel right. I wonder how I ended up in this magical place and how long my stay will last.
I have a blessed life. I have never wanted love, friends, or family, because I have an abundance of all. I have learned through the years that family is about connection rather than dna, and here on Rota I find myself blessed yet again.
I wish everyone would have a chance to experience this place. I may not have had turkey and stuffing yesterday, but to have the love of a family and sand with stars between my toes is just pretty magical....
