What I'm doing, and why

In a few days, I will be leaving Washington D.C. so that I can spend two months living in Antigua, Guatemala. The current plan is that while I am there, I will be studying Spanish, doing some volunteer work and probably traveling a bit. (That photo is Antigua--it's a beautiful little city, even if it does have a history of being rocked by earthquakes.)

I'm not going as part of a group, or any sort of organized effort. Rather, I have wanted to return to Antigua since 2005, when I spent six weeks there studying Spanish.

That time, it was on my employer's dime. This time, I no longer have an employer. Until this summer, I worked for The Washington Post, which like the rest of the U.S. newspaper industry is in a state of Internet-induced panic. Like so many of my colleagues, I accepted a buyout and now need to reinvent my career goals and myself. I've decided to take some time off to figure that out, a sort of grown-up gap year, or sabbatical, or whatever.

Back in 2005, I was impressed by the work of Common Hope, an Antigua-based nonprofit that supports children and their families. Since then, I've continued to follow them and contribute financially. I've also told myself that if I ever had the time and opportunity, I would like to do some hands-on work with them, too. So now I have the time, and I'm going to give it a try. I'm not as useful as someone with real skills--say, a nurse--but maybe I can help anyway.

I'm able to do this largely because of the emotional support of my wonderful husband, who is remaining in the United States while I set out on my adventure.  After all, someone in this family needs a job with health insurance.