home?

armando, martha, emanuel and martha took self portraits on july 30, along with the other kids here at matlapa.

these past few weeks have been busy, so thus ive been quiet. having my dad here to meet the kids and the tias and see all the places i love was an excellent experience. and yet its been nice doing everything in just one language this week and taking everything in for the last time. i keep thinking i live here, which is a little problematic. i have become so inherently accustomed to the way things are here: the people, the streets, the food, the routine. its going to be more than difficult to leave a life behind here. but i know i need to come home and see the people i care about. ive started thinking about barnard more (i had my first dream of barnard the other night) and it keeps dawning on me that soon i will be living in another huge city, one that is very different from here but just as interesting. i finished up the photography class today. each child selected his/her favorite photo, and then i printed them and we made frames. i will be leaving the cameras here for the kids to continue pursuing photography. i feel like i have armed them with the skills they need, and now its their turn to go out and develop what they have learned. i want to thank you all for your kindness, thoughts and prayers regarding this trip. your support has been invaluable and all those i have worked with here are appreciative as well.