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Published: July 13th 2007
My how it has been a long time since I´ve last blogged...
Today was hard. My last day of volunteering and the first day that all those darling smiling faces begin their transformation into faded and sweet little memories.
Very bittersweet.
I´m ready to take off-ready to travel. But the amount of time I´ve spent with them all...and then having to accept the fact that you won´t know what will happen to them. Will they be adopted? Will they leave their little brick-making community? Will they ever live in a house with running water....will they be happy?
One of the little girls in the street children program handed me a little letter (decorated with pictures of hearts and flowers of course) before I walked away for the final time today. In her misspelled Spanish it reads something like this:
Dear Teacher,
I really hope that you enjoy all of your traveling.
(Unreadable...unreadable...). Thank you for everything.
Please remember that you will always be in my heart. Forever.
Ciao. Be seeing you very soon.
-L
I didn´t open it until I got home and very nearly lost it. Nearly.
So that´s that. My time here, after FLYING by, is done. I have this weekend to spend with the volunteers (mostly new ones), and then I´m off!
My writing appears to be as random as my thoughts, but here is a quick dive into one of my favorite memories here (unrelated to sweet little children who draw pink hearts on cards):
On Lindsay´s last day here (Lindsay being a fellow volunteer), we decided to head off into the countryside for a little morning walk. (¨Little morning walk¨....quickly turned into a grand adventure). Besides falling onto a cactus and nearly being killed by several rather large guard dogs (I´m exaggerating with the word nearly here...), it was absolutely one of the most amazing moments of my life.
But the funny thing is, I can´t exactly explain why.
I think it was the wind. And the quiet. And the unspoken realization of how deep our friendship had become. And the reflection on life and the pondering of the future...and then the absolute emptying of my thoughts and mind. (Had I finally learned to "just let go"?)
Oh! And then of course the questionably insane old woman watching her cows out in the field who kept yelling ¨gringa!!!¨at us in that HILIARIOUS voice. (Has she been watching cows out in that field her whole life?)
When it was finally time for us to head back into the city, Lindsay and I stopped and turned around. A long; infinitely long; dirt path bordered by old stone walls and tall, thin trees stretched out in front of us...and then the wind blew...and something about it was; I tell you; absolutely magical.
And then it was over.
I simply cannot express how much this experience has changed me.
Can I just leave it at that for now?
Love,
PT
P.S. As soon as I have the time, I´m going to post my pictures of the kids that I´ve taken in the last few days. I hope my little Canon camera can portray at least a little of their darling personalities, but I know that some of the pictures portray something much more bleak...that something which makes it incredibly hard to pack up my little green bag and leave here.
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jade
non-member comment
it's not my fault, i've been ill
oh paigeypoo, those children were so lucky to have spent that time with you. you are special and i know that they will carry their memory of you for quite a long time. have fun and good luck with all your travels. i will do my best to find your bikini! love you and miss you more! well, actually probably equal.