The last couple of weeks of service have been bittersweet. I´ve really enjoyed working with the kids and the people of ADISA. On the last day the children sat still for a whole, maybe 7 minutes, while they had a small going away ceremony for us. That was impressive. However, I´m not sure they understood that we were leaving for good because they all said hasta mañana when they left. I´ve frequently heard that service does more for the students than the actual organization and having completed service I agree with that statement. We were sad to say goodbye to the adorable, albeit crazy, kids but for them there will always be more volunteers. And that´s a good thing.
Saying goodbye to the ADISA workers was less dramatic and a lot more relaxed. Many of them weren´t actually there that day. They let us pick out a pair of earrings (beautiful, all hand made check it out..... ADISA) from their shop, so that we ¨would never forget,¨ as if we could actually forget the big smiles we got everyday when we arrived, usually slightly late, to ADISA.
It was the hardest leaving my host family, which includes a brother, sister, mom, dad, three room mates and a crazy but cute dog. It was a lot of fun living with them and getting to know people from all different walks of life, and through my room mates I got to know other U.S. students staying in Santiago as well. As beautiful as th lake and volcanoes are in Santiago, it´s the people I will miss the most. Everyone I have met have such big hearts.
The last night in Santigao my host parents talked about the civil war that they lived through and terrors the military caused for the town. We talked about the mudslide that happened during hurricane Agitha and how my host dad helped recover the dead, many of them children. I knew my host parents have been, done, and seen a lot but it was a whole different experience hearing them talk about it all. They have been through so much, as has the whole town, and are truly some of the kindest, warmest, wonderful people I have ever met.
While this entry has been slightly more reflective that the others, I want to officially finish out this blog with a list of what I will miss about Guatemala and a list of what I will not miss. These aren´t in any particular order but the first is probably the thing I will miss most.....
Will Not Miss - a noticably short list
- people staring, whistling, cat calling, etc. No I will not be your baby. No I do not want a latin lover. No I don´t love you too. Sorry but you cannot win my heart. and.....No I am not looking for a real man and I´m not sure why you think you fit that category to begin with.
- the winding, bumpy roads
- dodging dog poop, dead rats, etc in the street
- cold showers
-speed bumps ever 10 feet
Will Miss
- Pan Dulce (I don´t like to discriminate any pan dulce but the kind from the unnamed panderia which I like to refer to as the ¨hole in the wall¨ literally, has the best pan dulce ever.)
- Melissa shrieking and grabbing my arm when she sees a squished rat on the road
- Me shrieking and grabbing Melissa´s arm when I see a slithering movement in the ¨grass¨
- Reggeatone music
- choco bananos (in Santiago, not in the city. Sorry I just have to clarify that)
- amazing view of the lake on our walk to work
- adrenaline rush from dodging tuc tucs
- the unimportance of being on time
- Seth´s weird/awkward pictures
- soccer everywhere
- all the host family stories......¨guess where I went last night?¨ ¨you´re mom said what to you?¨ or ¨guess who peed on me this morning¨
- buying DVDs for a dollar
- buying everything for cheap, except Taco Bell which is the same price but these guatemaltecos don´t want to believe us when we tell them they´re getting ripped off
- food made with real sugar not corn syrup.....por ejemplo ketchup/salsa dulce and coca-cola/agua (don´t ask me why they call it agua I´ve been here for three months and still haven´t been able to figure it out)
- pitayas and avocados
- tortillas with every meal....though it´s probably better for me not to eat so much of them
- desayuno chapin! eggs, bean paste, fried plantanos, coffee, and of course tortillas. I will especially miss the fried plantanos.
- and course the wonderful friends I´ve met
The past three months have gone by super fast and I am going to miss the friend´s I´ve made and the shear beauty of Guatemala. Of course I want to return some day, I can´t imagine never visiting again. But for now I have tons of great, and not so great but of course character building, memories. And right now I am ready to be home with my wonderful family and friends, and to start a new semester. I´m starting off with a bang, flying to Colorado to be at pre-season with the volleyball team. Que alegre!
