Vivir en el momento: Despedidas

On Friday night we had a despedida (going away party) for all of the volunteers who are leaving today. There are 5 volunteers who will be going back home: Dorothy and Volker (who have two little kids, Leon (6) and Natalie (2)), Jenny, Sarah, and Celeste. Even though I have only been here with them for 2 weeks, it makes me really sad to think about being here without them. Sarah and Jenny have been a HUGE help with my classes and I have been living with Dorothy and Volker’s family for the whole time that I have been here. I’m especially going to miss the little ones, although I will NOT miss being woken up to their screaming and singing about 2 hours earlier than I want to wake up on the weekends :-P.

For the kids, despedidas are basically like mini talent shows. The kids get to thank the volunteers who have been here for a year (or more) by preparing dance routines, singing songs, and saying speeches. Everyone participates from the babies (who did an ADORABLE dance about monkeys) to the oldest girls who, thanks to Sam, did a rousing rendition of Britney’s “I’m a slave for you” :). All of the kids put a lot into their routines and it really showed (enjoy the pictures below!) The despedidas are a really nice way to say goodbye, although I’m not looking forward to more any time soon! Good luck to all of the departing volunteers – we’ll miss you!