When time is a-flying

I can't believe that I am leaving the city in four days. We are going south to do a village study and work in a couple health clinics down there and from there Frances and I are going further south to do our individual research projects. I have just been so busy in the last couple of weeks that I haven't really noticed the end creeping up on me. And now we have a final proposal due tomorrow, a final test tomorrow, a picnic with our families on Saturday and then we leave on Monday.

It is weird to think that seven weeks ago when we rode through the city on a bus to do our dropoff I had absolutely no clue what was going on, I was mostly just overwhelmed. Now I can tell where I am (most of the time) and have explored a lot of this enormous city. It is also weird to think that I'll be leaving my mae so soon. She certainly has her quirks (but so do my real parents...) but she has opened her door and been nothing but kind and caring to me the whole time I have been here. She looked at the calendar this morning and started getting really sad. She is worried that when I leave Salvador I will forget about her, but I reassured her that it really would be impossible. I have experienced a lot of the city through her eyes in ways that can't just be forgotten with a little distance.

She told me should would miss having someone around to laugh with (and at), to eat with, cook for and talk to. And she mentioned that she is actually pretty impressed with my Portuguese. She told me that when she met me she thought we would be doing hand signals to communicate for two months but that she has enjoyed teaching me things and seeing me catch on (though sometimes after a lengthy - or repeated - demonstration.)

I certainly am excited for whatever comes next but Salvador has certainly shown me a good time.