que milagro!

What a miracle!

These are the words I was greeted with today as I walked around Tamaula, the 200-person community where I lived last summer. Given that it's a community so small, on top of a mountain, with limited access to running water and Internet, it was difficult to stay in touch with the friends I made last year. But as promised, I went back to visit them, and what a good decision that was. It was a perfect day in Tamaula.

We got there fairly early, and we hung out and ate breakfast with Doña Mago (my host mom), Lady, and Susana. We went walking around the community with two of Mago's granddaughters, Monserrat and Carolina, and ended up at the tienda where Clay and I consistently bought out their stock of Pinguinos. There, we met up with María Santos, the host sister with whom I spent the most time and got the closest last summer. We hung out for a little bit before she had to go back to class. I walked back with her and saw my students from last summer (minus Junior, who moved to Chihuahua).

Don Reyes, Goyo, Ana Maria, Yesenia, and one of Doña Mago's sisters arrived back from Irapuato in the afternoon, and we spent the rest of the day on the porch of their house, chatting about everything from my time in Ecuador to how to raise chickens to my search for a Latino boyfriend (I was instructed to invite all of them to my wedding, which of course I will do, but not before I bring my future husband to Tamaula for their approval). Because my Spanish has improved tremendously since I was there last, it was great to be able to hang out and have conversations for hours without feeling anxious or nervous. It was also great seeing all the kids that I loved, even though it took some of them a little bit of time to warm back up to me. Esme, one of Goyo's daughters, didn't remember me, but she was only a year old when I was there last.

I ended the day in Tamaula walking around town with María Santos and talking about her love life, then playing fútbol with her, Lady, and Yesenia on the soccer field. The perfect end to a perfect day.

I think one of the things I loved so much was that Tamaula was exactly the same as when I left it. Save for a few people (including Don Candido) that left for the United States, everyone was there that I expected to be there. The kids look older, and Lucas (the chick that Clay adopted as his pet) has grown into an adult gallo, but other than that, everything is the same. And it was good to be back.

My family in Tamaula:
Lady, Susana, me, María Santos,
Doña Mago, Goyo, Don Reyes, & Jesús