11 days

Here goes an “all about me” post. 

I’m leaving again in 11 days.  A few days ago I thought I would be ready and prepared for my venture back to the US, but I just realized I will never be ready to leave this place.  I feel like I fit in here more than at home, especially now because I’ve realized what amazing friends I have here in both the locals and the volunteers.  I’ve really got the life here.  I’m not ready to say goodbye to them again, go back home and not know when I’m going to see any of them.  Let alone leave the kids again.  How do I face Njayo and tell her goodbye again, make her go through that last day again.  I feel selfish for coming back for such a short time.  In class, Njayo still doesn’t let me two feet away from her and in 11 days we have to have another day full of miserable goodbyes.  It used to be comforting to know she will probably recognize that I’ll be back again, but it isn’t comforting anymore.  

Today was amazing.  My dad just got here yesterday and we had a great day hanging out for the afternoon, and this morning I met him bright and early at the hotel to take him to Hill Crest.  We got there and surprised Isaac.  Isaac dropped a couple tears upon seeing my dad because he knows that my dad has been such a big part of my being in Africa; mom being the other big part.  Isaac took dad around the village and showed him the area while I got the older class together to start learning shapes and how to spell their names.  It feels so amazing to be with the kids.  I drew the shapes on the chalk board with their names above.  The kids had to learn what each shape was, then I quizzed them all individually on what they were and made them draw the shape on the board by themselves.  It was such a successful day, and then we went out to play during break and did the Macarena, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and the Cha Cha Slide.  It was so much fun.  We have almost 50 kids now, and no space to hold them but even though they’re all crammed into three tiny rooms with no space to write on a table, they are still so good.  They still listen and respond and participate, it’s just kind of hectic in the classroom.  On the “playground,” it is Amazing.  All their energy gets condensed into the smallest square they can make because they all want to be right in front of us following our every Macarena move.  It’s so much fun, and I love it so much.  It always amazes me that we come from different worlds, different cultures, different languages and yet we can still have this incredible connection, respect and love for each other.  I feel so close to my kids because we pretty much have the same common goal; do what makes us happy.  Dancing to the Macarena and answering questions in class makes them happy, and improving their quality of life (in such a small way) is what makes me happy.  And I never want to stop doing it. 

Having my dad here has made me so happy.  I want him to see everything and meet everyone so that he can understand why I love it here so much.  It also makes me excited to go home and talk about it because there will be at least one person who can understand what my life is like here.  I wish I could get the rest of what I’m feeling and thinking out onto this page, but I’m having a really hard time right now.  So this is the end for tonight...but I’ll be sure to update about the rest of my dad’s trip soon.  We have a lot of work to do and I’m looking forward to this week with him.