La Despedida

We spent the last few days in the southwest, in possibly the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. (I promise that when I'm in the states and have super fast internet that I will post ALL the pictures from Pico Duarte to now). The people here and their hospitality continues to amaze me.

Tonight we had our despedida at Elaine's house with our host families. Tomorrow (friday) is my last day in Santiago. Chris and I are spending the next few days chilling in other places, but I officially leave my family tomorrow.

We had a short moment to say a few words about our families and our experience here..and if you know me at all, you know that I had more tears than I had words. I've never been good at goodbyes.

I don't even know how to go about saying it, but my family here has been my family Dominicana. They're not the people that I live with, the people that feed me, or the ones that tell the taxi that gets lost all too often how to get my to our house. They are my family.

When I finally got it together, I told the story of how I always wanted little sisters. If you know me, you know. If you have a little sister and we grew up together, chances are I went to your house and played with you, but begged to play with her too. If you know me, you know that I have an intense love for little children. You know that I spend my Sundays looking forward to seeing my little cousins after church. Ya tu sabes.

I told the story of how I always wanted little sisters. And finally, I got them. I got two of the most amazing little sisters that exist in the whole world. And how I'm going to miss them.

If I could have found the words, I would have talked about my mom. More of my big sister than my mom, but my mom all the same. She has taught me so much. Even in words she doesn't say, she shows me a wonderful example of what a mom should be. I would talk about the time I told her about the wells we use for water, and how she couldn't believe it. I would talk about when she took me to the emergency room and held my hand through the whole ordeal. I would talk about when she explained to me that being called Americana isn't always an insult. I would talk about when she complained about the gua-guas that go to La Vega and the men that harass to take the gua-gua. I would talk about how I learned, how I loved, and how I'm going to miss her.

If I had another chance, I would talk about playing tag in the parking lot with the neighborhood kids and my sisters, always being the liason between the boys and the girls, because God forbid a boy touch a girl in tag. I would talk about going to pick my sisters up from school, and listening to the other kids ask who I am. I would talk about the pride I feel when my sister valiantly responds, "ELLA ES MI HERMANA AMERICANA" (she's my american sister). I would talk about being greeted at the door when I come home. I would talk about having to go work in my community and my sister begging me not to go. I would talk about the times that she's woken me up to tell me that she loves me or that she's going to miss me. I would talk about the times that she's cried, begging me to stay with her. I would talk about how I learned words that I never thought I would need to know, such as "rainbow" or "bubbles". I would talk about how I learned, how I loved, and how I'm going to miss her.

I would talk about my dad, who's a doctor through and through. I would talk about the time that we watched baseball together, cheering for the Red Sox. I would talk about the times that we spent talking about my investigation and my project. I would talk about the times that we shared stories and awed over the beaches. I would talk about how I learned, how I loved, and how I'm going to miss him.

I would talk how I didn't know what to expect. I would talk about a family that welcomed me with open arms, and loved me, loved me, loved me. I would talk about a family that was there through good and bad, that helped me through it all and showed me what a family is. I would talk about how I learned, how we loved, and how I'm going to miss them.

Oh, how I'm going to miss them.