Até Logo, DC

By Beth
And we're off, about 30,000 feet in altitude, somewhere between DC and Boston. From Boston it's a week in the Azores, and then two months in Sao Tome, a small island off the west coast of Africa, near Gabon and the Ivory Coast.
Thank God for in-flight internet, right? Way to go AirTran (but then again, what's up with the $15 baggage check fee? I will not stand for this!).
I am sitting just one seat behind business class. There is no one next to me so I'm stretching out and I don't think I could cover all the legroom if I tried. My heart is heavy- today I am officially single again. I thought it too much to worry about a young relationship while abroad so I left my boyfriend behind and encouraged him to date other people.
It weighed on my guy. He's from Mexico and only recently moved here (don't ask me how we communicate. I dare suggest I speak some odd language remotely resembling Spanish). He isn't used to having his girlfriend up and leave on him, and particularly not to go and work in a poor country on the other side of the world. He didn't know what he was getting into when he started to date me- a gung-ho feminist, a proud Wellesley Woman, happy to be my own Mr. Fix-It and carry my own bags. For the most part, he's adjusted wonderfully. But on the other hand, he was always able to stay with me and make sure I was safe. The idea of taking a break due to distance is a new and scary thing to him. Being the one left behind in a relationship, in fact, is a new and scary thing for him.
There's a lot to be said as a woman traveling on her own. Leaving her world behind. I'm not sure what exactly, but I know that whatever there is, there's a lot of it. On one hand, no one is helping me with my bags. On the other, I know I wouldn't have gotten this kind of legroom without that guy giving me my ticket being sort of cute (and also happening to share my last name). Hm.
I am now en route to the city I know best. And from there, to cities I don't think I could have even dreamed of before.