Hola friends and family! ¿Que onda?
As I sit down to write this post, I hear lively music coming froma nearby church. Something about the sound of so many voices singing together provides quite the uplifting atmosphere in which to write! It seems like there is always something lively or uplifting happening here in San Caralampio, Nicaragua, whether it is the constant flow of music, the energetic games of socer played in the streets and fields, or the warmth with which the people greet us and invite us to a freshly picked fruit from the farm. Our last couple of weeks have been filled with Spanish lessons, afternoon activities, and interactions with homestay families. The constant action has been thrilling and offered many new learning experiences to us; however, we welcome the free time that is to come in Sabana Grande.
It is strange to think that in a few days we will be leaving this place and heading north to Sabana Grande. Just when we begin to feel at home here, we are off to somewhere new. With the anticipation of the change comes some sadness and anxiety for the unknown, but these feelings are overwhelmed by the excitement of a new adventure.
Johnny makes some new friends at an after school program supported by La Mariposa.
As a group, team Gringo has become quite close and fond of one another. We have developed a community that will help us all transition and adjust to a new environment. So it is with bittersweet emotions that we will be spending our last days here in San Caralampio. We will cram in our last Spanish grammar lessons and our last afternoon adventures with our teachers from La Mariposa. (Our teachers have become more like friends to us, so it will be hard to say goodbye.) We will visit our our last spectacles in the surrounding areas. We will take our last naps, lounged in hammocks next to our dog friends at El Piscacho. We will have our last Spanish/sign language conversations with our host families, and we will say goodbye to the place that has become our home.
The funny thing about San Caralampio is that instead of saying ¨Hola¨ (Hello) when passing someone on the street, people here say “Adios” (Goodbye). Our teachers have explained that “Adios” is a way of acknowledging others without initiating a conversation. Similar to saying “see you another time.” I´d like to think that maybe when we say “Adios” to San Caralampio, we are only saying “see you another time” and “hello” to something new.
Adios and hasta luego
Julia y Team Gringo