Worst. Day. Ever.

I had to say good bye to 25 of my best friends today. We spent our final night in a Denver hotel on the 16th Street Mall-which was a treat for sure. The night before, I had my last terrific talk with Moha about politics and culture. and had my final laugh with Wid about silly things. In the wee hours of the morning I had to say my goodbyes to the most important person. I cried and cried and cried for I could not bring myself to let go...I have fallen in love. In the hotel lobby with all the Iraqi's we exchanged gifts, took our final pictures, and expressed our love and gratitude towards each other-while trying to hide the fact that I may never see any of them again... I would have driven my van of students back up to Fort Collins and hidden them in my apartment had I known we would never be caught... I made everyone give me a big hug before they could leave to go into the airport, even though that may not have been very culturally appropriate to some of them-haha. I need one last goodbye-American style. The last embrace was with Ammar, the last person I touched was him. The last kiss was on the neck, which is where we shared our first. At 2 pm my heart flew out of Colorado and landed in Baghdad International Airport. Where do I go from here?