Reunited

There is a little boy here in Nicaragua named Junior, and he is my absolute favorite (not that I have favorites). When I was here in March, I played with him just about everyday and completely fell in love with him. I could never tell if the feeling was mutual though because these kids have Americans come and play with them almost every week. He always called me "Gringa," which is just what they call white women. So, when I left, I was sad to leave him, but didn't think he would even give my departure a second thought.

My first week back here in July, I didn't see him. I figured he had moved or something because he hadn't come out to play with the Americans like he had before. So, my third day in his village, I prayed that I would be able to find him and set off toward his house to see if he was there. As I was walking down the road, I saw an unfamiliar looking boy sprinting strait for me. When he got closer, I saw that he was wearing the shirt that Junior used to wear. I was so confused and disheartened, figuring Junior was surely gone. Then, just as this boy was about to crash into me, I got a good look at his face and realized that it was Junior, he had just had a buzz cut. I yelled, "Junior!" right as he took a flying leap into my arms. I spun him around and told him how happy I was to see him again and that I had been looking for him for days.

We then went to the swings to play. As we were sitting down, some others girls I didn't know came up and asked if they could play too. Before I could respond, Junior said, "No! She's my gringa!" They replied that they could play with me too, but he shot back more angrily this time, "No! She's only mine!" I was floored. I never would have thought that he would remember me let alone have become so attached. The staff down here later told me that he actually doesn't get close with a lot of Americans. So now I'm definitely glad I found him and get to play and hang out with him for three more weeks. Maybe eventually he'll learn my name :)