a fading year

Date June 14, 2008

It’s late on a Friday and I’m awake. Manizales is alive outside, the night just beginning. My window is open and there is a mountain breeze and music drifting through it. I can’t help but be a bit nostalgic and wonder where the days have gone. I landed in Colombia almost a year ago, excited to find some adventure, to be on my own and moving again. It’s been all that I expected it to be and so very much more and tonight I’m a bit sad to watch this year fade.

I’ll be in Mississippi in just over a week and will have said goodbye to twenty-four Colombian children that have managed to get me to wear pink, stand in a chairs and sing, and eat things that I can’t pronounce. It really has been an adventure.

Sure, I’ll board another plane in late July and come back for another year here, but I have a feeling it won’t be the same. I’ll be a little less nervous, slightly more prepared, and the luster of new will have dulled a bit. There will be new people flooding in and I’ll be the resident expert, I suppose.

I’ll speak the language and know which grocery stores to visit and where the best pastries are. I’ll know my way around the school and the city and how to best get away from them both. I’ll know good places to run and how to avoid the traffic, the stares, and some of the streetside jeers. I’ll know the best fruit stands and which bus to take. And I’ll look at all those new faces and see their eyes shining with the wonder of seeing everything for the first time and I’ll be just a little bit jealous.

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5 Responses to “a fading year”

  1. chowle said:

    June 14th, 2008 at 4:17 am

    We are looking forward to seeing you and chewing the fat in Mississippi. After visiting The Orchard last Sunday, there are others that feel likewise. Have a safe trip and blog it along the way.

  2. Russ said:

    June 14th, 2008 at 2:02 pm

    so yeah. you’re going to be here in a little bit.

    weird. and nice too. see you soon.

  3. Stephen said:

    June 14th, 2008 at 3:24 pm

    My best friend is getting married today, and it’s been really fun to watch him get ready for it. He is looking at it with “first time” eyes. I can’t help but be a little jealous. I remember how much fun it was when we got married, and it makes me want to do it all again…for the first time.

    Oh, and Miss Howle just used the phrase, “chewing the fat.” Wowzer.

  4. Lou said:

    June 16th, 2008 at 1:56 pm

    In your sadness at an ending year just know that we are all looking forward to seeing you home for a little while.

  5. Emily said:

    June 16th, 2008 at 10:56 pm

    Even though your sense of wonder may have faded a bit by the time you come back, there will always be something new to experience that will wow you. And I can say from my own experience that it’s a pretty great feeling to be the experienced American in another country. Being in Mexico with other Americans almost makes me want to become a tour guide so I can show off all the cool stuff I’ve learned. Have a great time at home!