June 20, 2014
Today I caught myself smiling several times as I headed down into town to meet my friend and “Spanish Instructor”, Sonja.
I was behind schedule which is not that big of a deal in this country, but I was moving on at a clip because I did not want to give the impression that I did not care about her. I saw a school bus pass with the name of one of the Catholic schools on it, and about a half of block later I heard someone yell, “Natalia” several times. It was the daughter of our Spanish teacher. It warmed my heart to be recognized in this city that I still feel like a stranger sometimes.
I kept walking and passed by an old woman who sits on the same step day after day. Sometimes I give her spare change and others I just say hello. As she noticed me, she says with a smile, “Mi Amor” (my love). It feels good to be recognized.
In my haste of leaving, I had remembered my Kindle to show Sonja the Duolingo program. I had remembered the song books from our church that I had covered. I had remembered the container of mango jam I had made to give to our friend Oskar, but I did not remember my Spanish notebook or a pen. The local “Office Depot” was on the way so I quickly headed into the air conditioned building to get the supplies. The usual procedure in this store (and others) is to put your backpack and other bags in a locker before shopping. Theft is big in this country, and they do not want their merchandise finding its way into your bag. As I walked over to place my bag in the locker, the security guard (also common in stores) waved me on and smiled. He was saying, “I trust you”. It feels good to be trusted!
I finally made it to the coffee place to meet Sonja. She greeted me with a smile, a hug, and a glass of water. We talked about her son’s birthday the day before, and the events of my week.
It’s a good day!