Alison here, writing from the balcony of my home base in Perez. I can picture Jonah, Mariah, and Sarah just over a northerly blue crest in the village San Antonio. On one hand, I can’t help but wish I could be a fly on the wall during their first full day with host families, but on the other, I feel confident that their tools, training, determination, and spirit has equipped them well for the delicate initial days of cross-cultural exchange.
We arrived yesterday around noon to a crowd of people in San Antonio, gathered in the community kitchen with decorations, music, and balloons. They cheered when we pulled in. I did my best to break the ice by introducing my students to different members of the community and flashing big smiles. We were encouraged to sit down at a table under colorful construction-paper letters that read “Welcome Guys” in a cheerful font. One by one, everyone at the party was served a plate of yellow rice with chopped vegetables and chicken. It was Marielos, Jonah’s host mother, who had made the meal. Jaileen, Sarah’s 17-year-old host sister, was in charge of passing out drinks. Right next to Mariah sat her 10-year-old host sister Angie, and later in the meal her two younger siblings played with a broom and a bucket in the grass nearby.
After all had finished eating, Berta, Sarah’s host mom, gathered everyone together in a large circle holding hands. She gave the students the official welcome to the community, underlining how glad San Antonio was to receive them here. She explained that their goal is for the students to feel not only like members of their host families, but also like members of each family in the village, because here everyone treats one another as such. We went around the whole circle with everyone saying their names aloud, San Antonians and Global Routers alike. After one last round of applause, the students headed home with their respective families.
Jonah lives at the top of the hill, with Marielos, Geiner, and their son Felipe, who turns 11 on Tuesday. About halfway down the hill is Sarah’s house, where she lives with Berta and Ronald, and their children Steven (25), Elena (21), and Jaileen (17). At the bottom of the hill, Mariah lives with Luis and Denise, and their young children Angie (10), Fabricio (4), and Brenda (2).
By the time I headed down the hill for Perez, Sarah had milked her family’s cows and set up her slackline on the soccer field while her host mom made that milk into cheese. Jonah and Marielos had shared conversation of immigration policy over coffee and homemade bread. He was tossing the frisbee with Felipe. I bumped into Mariah, who had a parade of children trailing behind her, taking her to see all the animals at peoples’ houses (she got to milk the cows too). I can only imagine what they are all up to today!
I am headed up to San Antonio tomorrow to check in with everyone and help get their service projects rolling. I’m definitely missing them, but I’m also filled with gratitude and pride during these first few exciting days of exchange!
Saludos,
Alison
