Day 48.

Today, I..

...saw a lot of young men in Aeropostle shirts. This is normal.

...missed riding the bus home from a hard-fought volleyball match, stuffing my face full of croissants and fruit snacks.

...realized that I am going to miss the way mother/son relationships are so strong in Latin America. Yes, it can cause for some ugly drama in the family, but in the States you rarely see a twenty-year-old man walking with his mother, her arm in his. Here, you'll see it on nearly every block.

...learned that some of the girls at the Institute are active gang leaders. Initially I was a little frightened by this, but then I realized something: they're the same girls I've known for the last month and a half, the same girls who are reaching out for God's hand, and the same girls I've grown to keep close to my heart. This just makes me want to teach them more, share with them more, and love them more. So I will.

...smiled when little Maria (the 3-year-old sister of one of my students) saw me from a distance, ran into my arms and pieced together "Mah aiba!" which I gathered was "Mas arriba! Higher!" I hoisted her up in the air, letting her touch the ceiling, squealing.

--Hannah