Time to say goodbye

so the goodbyes have begun, sadly. leaving nicaragua is probably the hardest thing i've ever done. on sunday i went to casa bernabe orphanage, and spent the day and night with the kids there. it's nice staying in the orphanage when there's not a big group of gringoes around. i got to spend some time individually with some of my closer friends there, and although it was hard, i enjoyed being there with them. on monday i spent the morning with arturo, helping him in the panaderia (bakery). he bought my motorcycle on friday, and also has another, bigger bike that he's borrowing to use to take his bread around managua to sell. he let me drive it a bit and it was fun to be on a bike with some power to it. we drove around and sold all of the bread that we'd made in just a couple hours. he dropped me off in uca university, and i spent some time at home. in the afternoon i went back to vera cruz, where the orphanage is, but i spent the time in the town with the kids there. selena and susana are two beautiful little girls who always welcome me into their home, and they let me ride their horse. selena, the older sister, filmed my ride... she caught me fall off the horse which was not at all embarrassing. the kids in vera cruz are some of my favorites, and it was again hard parting with them. hopefully i'll get another chance to get out there before i go.

on tuesday i went over to el canyon, where another orphanage, puente de amistad (bridge of friendship) is located. there are fewer kids in this orphanage, and i haven't been able to spend much time with them, but they really bond easily, and i found myself really attached. i spent the night there tuesday and we played some games and took some pictures. unfortunately i forgot my battery charger and the camera ran out too quickly to get the pictures i'd wanted. nonetheless, it was a great time being there with them. all the little girls there want me to give them copies of the pictures i have of myself and of them, so i'm going to try to get out there too one more time before i leave, but it's going to be tough.

i have been saving la chureca for last as i think it's going to be the hardest place to leave behind. brad corrigan is coming in tomorrow, and hopefully i'll be able to spend time with him in the dump. i'm looking forward to it, but at the same time i know it's going to be a very emotional time.

there are many reasons as to why i don't want to leave, but one big one (apart from all of the friendships i'll be leaving or putting on hold) is that i'm really picking up spanish at a fast pace right now. i'm beginning to learn to speak with a fluency that allows me to joke around and really have fun with my peers. last night i was really enjoying fitting in with the guys who i play soccer with every tuesday and thursday. they're all in colleges here, and they are always messing with each other, and it was fun to get in on it with them. my buddy carlos was with me last night, and kept saying how he didn't know why i was born in the states because i fit in so well here. i absolutely love the language here and will miss it a lot. my fear is that i'll forget it, so i'm going to do everything i can at home to keep myself in the language, through work, church, soccer, and classes. hopefully i stay on top of it.

in spite of being sad to leave, i'm really getting excited to be home with my friends and family, not to mention my dogs and car and maybe a new motorcycle down the road... we'll have to see what mom says about that.