You gotta have friends
Let me tell you a little about my friends in San José. In town there are plenty of acquaintances: the kids that play Monopoly with me, the folks at the mayor’s office and the colegio, the delightful old ladies, the knuckleheads in the youth tourist group, and more. But so far I have a few people I consider true friends. I won’t tell you their names so you won’t go off looking for them—they’re my friends, mine!
Friend #1 is my next-door neighbor. She’s a real find in San José in that she’s 23, unmarried and has NO children… again, she’s one of a kind. Friend #1 is currently finishing her last year of junior high (equivalent of 9th grade), since after the 6th grade she spent 8 years working in San Pedro Sula as a nanny and housekeeper. When she earned enough money for her family, she came home and went right back to school, and hopes to continue through high school and, si Diós permite (God willing), through college. Her house has no electricity so she comes to my house to study and watch novelas with me. She always listens patiently to my “problems,” when the problems in her life have been so much more profound and weighty than my nostalgia for frozen yogurt and curly fries. She’s a great person.
Friend #2 is the 10-year-old preacher’s daughter, who has adopted me as her new best friend since her former best friend was the last volunteer who lived in San José. It’s a gringa friend swap, if you will. Friend #2 loves to catch me up on San José gossip, play hide-and-seek and make me cute little cards saying how great friends we are.
Friend #3 is my 15-year-old former host sister. She lives with my former host family as an “hija de crianza,” i.e. her family is too poor to take care of her so she lives with a more well-off family and is able to continue junior high. In turn, she’s worked to death washing clothes, cleaning house and selling in the pulpería (family convenience store). This girl is smart, funny, beautiful and totally laid-back and cool considering the family she lives with works her like a mule. She’s also mature way beyond her years; when she turned 15 on Sunday (which is a BIG DEAL in Latin America) and the family did absolutely nothing for her, she decided to come to my house with a few friends and make her own party, piñata and all. A truly amazing girl and a great friend, that Friend #3
Friend #1 is my next-door neighbor. She’s a real find in San José in that she’s 23, unmarried and has NO children… again, she’s one of a kind. Friend #1 is currently finishing her last year of junior high (equivalent of 9th grade), since after the 6th grade she spent 8 years working in San Pedro Sula as a nanny and housekeeper. When she earned enough money for her family, she came home and went right back to school, and hopes to continue through high school and, si Diós permite (God willing), through college. Her house has no electricity so she comes to my house to study and watch novelas with me. She always listens patiently to my “problems,” when the problems in her life have been so much more profound and weighty than my nostalgia for frozen yogurt and curly fries. She’s a great person.
Friend #2 is the 10-year-old preacher’s daughter, who has adopted me as her new best friend since her former best friend was the last volunteer who lived in San José. It’s a gringa friend swap, if you will. Friend #2 loves to catch me up on San José gossip, play hide-and-seek and make me cute little cards saying how great friends we are.
Friend #3 is my 15-year-old former host sister. She lives with my former host family as an “hija de crianza,” i.e. her family is too poor to take care of her so she lives with a more well-off family and is able to continue junior high. In turn, she’s worked to death washing clothes, cleaning house and selling in the pulpería (family convenience store). This girl is smart, funny, beautiful and totally laid-back and cool considering the family she lives with works her like a mule. She’s also mature way beyond her years; when she turned 15 on Sunday (which is a BIG DEAL in Latin America) and the family did absolutely nothing for her, she decided to come to my house with a few friends and make her own party, piñata and all. A truly amazing girl and a great friend, that Friend #3
posted by Maureen at 12:30 PM
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