SOLmates Coming and Going
This week we have to say goodbye to two more SOLmates. This isn't the first time that someone has gone home after a module, but I realized that I hadn't talked about it before. What happens is that the students that come here through SOL can choose to stay for the modules that work for them. For example, another girl from Winona State came here one early, and she will stay with us here until we leave in April. In other cases, some people come while we're in between modules and/or leave after one or two of them.
The first time that we said goodbye to one of our friends, we also said, "See you later" to two of the directors that had been with us since the beginning. We had a little meeting and sat in a circle sharing stories that we had with the women that weren't going to be staying with us. I didn't realize until then how special this trip is. Our small group of 30-something quickly became a large family. We have spent hours in a bus together. We hiked 5 kilometers through the muddy jungle together after only barely getting to know one another after a week. We spend a weekend in an impoverished country.
As much as a sap-a-thon as this post is getting, I feel like every word is the truth. I'm horrible at keeping in touch with friends that don't live in the same area that I do. I'm going to set a new goal of keeping in contact with my SOLmates when I get home, and I truly want to organize reunions during the summer.