Tired is a feeling that hangs heavily in my bones this evening. Normally I’m sleepy by this time of night because of my “three-job-18 credit hour-study-exercise-socialize-then clean it all up” lifestyle. But tonight, tired is my state of being because of the wonderful and satisfying day I had here in El Salvador.
Sunday: Church, cooking and eating with our families and friends, a game of soccer as the sun set. It’s funny to me that I can summarize the day in one simple sentence even though I feel like there aren’t enough words to describe it viagra in polen kaufen.
In this community, the connections that are made with others serve as the ship that guides people every day; the lighthouse of love gleams relentlessly through any darkness. There’s an emphasis on creating lasting and powerful relationships and it’s clear by the manner in which my family has been taking care of me, my compañera Audi, and our fearless leader Anna.
We are living in peace and happiness in the casa of Anna’s longtime Salvadoran Mamá y Papá. I’m getting along well with my sister Vanessa, who is sweet like the sugar I put in my coffee each morning. There has been so much conversation within the rest of our gringo group about communication, or a lack thereof, but I feel full of satisfaction and pride when Vanessa and I talk to each other.
Spanish is something I have fallen madly in love with over the past years. It has brought me to amazing places and has introduced me with a firm handshake and a smile to the most amazing people. It is still hard for me to speak with the fluency I desire and to understand that which I so crave to understand. But I know that these are the moments that make a mediocre Spanish speaker into an eloquent and graceful conversationalist.
The friends I am making within the group of delegates is also something to be excited about. We have to leave our newly found friends in El Sal when we return to the US, but I’m so pleased to be establishing bonds with the other Americans. We laugh at ourselves often and ask each other how to say something correctly in Spanish. I really admire the other students. Everyone has their own way of handling each situation and I am learning a lot from them.
I miss my family at home (and if you’re reading this, I love you so much) but I am having one of the most enriching experiences of my life.
Thank you. Thank you to the Foundation for Cultural Exchange. Thank you to Mesa Catholic. Thank you Anna, thank you Hunter. Thank you to the professors who taught me what I know. And to the first Spanish-speaking country I got to spend time in: Spain, thank you for giving me the courage to use my voice all the way across the globe. Thank you, con toda la fuerza de mi corazón, to El Salvador and its people.