I mulled over my peanut buttered bagel. This trip had been so enlightening, inspiring, and nurturing; I had never met such a spectacular group of women. Everyday was such a great experience, even eating breakfast seemed like an adventure. It was hard to believe we were sharing our last meal in paradise.

Photo by Andrea Preziotti

I’ve spent much of this last week trying to figure out how to best explain the first speech that Holly gave the collective group. After reviewing what documentation I had, I thought this would be better.

1. It was a strange and awkwardly funny first conversation to have with a pro-surfer.Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I wanted to. I think we all laughed about it for the following reasons:

2. This was our new reality and it was slightly frightening.

3. I think on some level, we were all still four and found ‘potty humor’ humorous.

4. The only other emotions associated with not having flushing toilets was sadness, so laughing seemed like the better option.

We hung around the airport for another hour, waiting for the rest of the girls to get in. The drivers, Louis and Omar, told us to go hang out inside where there was air conditioning. The humidity hung on our bodies like drapery. Emily and I happily agreed and headed back inside to find some chairs.

Emily. Photo by Andrea Preziotti.

Emily also wanted to find her friend, Kristi, who would also be on the retreat. As Emily explained how she and Kristi traveled everywhere together, I literally ran into the pint-sized blond.

Kristi is probably as bubbly as you can get without adding carbonation. After hugging Emily, she embraced me before even learning my name. She then pointed us to a table next to an espresso bar. I liked her already.