A little fun at a bus stop
Well I dont know if I have written about this little event yet but before I jump into Cali I gotta share this little story.
Thursday Dec 20th I am sitting by myself in the bus terminal in Pitalito. It is 4pm and I have three hours until by bus leaves to Cali. I am sitting and reading but not quite so interesting book and glancing around every minute to see my surroundings. I notice that there is a large population of young kids running around and playing. Before long one of the kids wanders over and peers over my shoulder to see the book. Within litterally 15 seconds and I mean 15 seconds I found myself surrounded on all sides by about 20 young boys 7 to 11 years old and 4 girls timidly looking on from the outside.
Instantly the questions began, ¨What are you reading?¨¨Is it is egnlish?¨¨Where are you from¨¨Where are you going¨ And so on and so on. I had to slow them down becuase I was getting about 4 questions at a time. These kids entertained me better than any book could have. One of the younger ones Ivan decided to attach himself to me and did not leave my side the entire time. From the outside I am sure it looked something lije a beehive. The kids would swarm around me and some would branch of run around the terminal and play while others gathered with curiousity to see what all the fuss was about.
We developed a few fun games. They loved me to read paragraphs from my book. None of them knew a single word in english but they would listen in complete silence until I would stop and they would laugh and urge me to read more. Another fun game was to take turns trying on my backpack and proving there stregth. It was the funniest thing to watch this little 3 foot kids put on my back that covered more than 3/4 their body.
By the time my bus had arrived I knew all of their names, ages, number of family members and favorite things to do around Pitalito. I had been invited to stay at all of their houses and meet their families but I had to decline. They helped me load my bag on the bus and then to my surprise stood in a single file line to each shake my hand and tell me they would miss me. I bet you can imagine how much I loved it.
Thursday Dec 20th I am sitting by myself in the bus terminal in Pitalito. It is 4pm and I have three hours until by bus leaves to Cali. I am sitting and reading but not quite so interesting book and glancing around every minute to see my surroundings. I notice that there is a large population of young kids running around and playing. Before long one of the kids wanders over and peers over my shoulder to see the book. Within litterally 15 seconds and I mean 15 seconds I found myself surrounded on all sides by about 20 young boys 7 to 11 years old and 4 girls timidly looking on from the outside.
Instantly the questions began, ¨What are you reading?¨¨Is it is egnlish?¨¨Where are you from¨¨Where are you going¨ And so on and so on. I had to slow them down becuase I was getting about 4 questions at a time. These kids entertained me better than any book could have. One of the younger ones Ivan decided to attach himself to me and did not leave my side the entire time. From the outside I am sure it looked something lije a beehive. The kids would swarm around me and some would branch of run around the terminal and play while others gathered with curiousity to see what all the fuss was about.
We developed a few fun games. They loved me to read paragraphs from my book. None of them knew a single word in english but they would listen in complete silence until I would stop and they would laugh and urge me to read more. Another fun game was to take turns trying on my backpack and proving there stregth. It was the funniest thing to watch this little 3 foot kids put on my back that covered more than 3/4 their body.
By the time my bus had arrived I knew all of their names, ages, number of family members and favorite things to do around Pitalito. I had been invited to stay at all of their houses and meet their families but I had to decline. They helped me load my bag on the bus and then to my surprise stood in a single file line to each shake my hand and tell me they would miss me. I bet you can imagine how much I loved it.
posted by Megatron @ 10:06 AM
3 Comments:
At 3:47 PM,
Unknown said…
That is such a heart warming experience... and you say you don't want any kids! Good talking to you today.
-k
At 11:35 AM,
Wakan Sadhana said…
I love how interactive you are with the locals...so not the typical tourist. These are the stories that remind me of life in Panama...things that people overlook on a regular basis. I love hearing about it...and am always thirsty for more! Con mucho carino, wakan
At 8:59 PM,
Kim Donahey said…
There IS love in the world! And you are in the middle of it!
I LOVED this story. It has me written alll over it. But it is YOU, because at your age, I didn't have your courage and confidence. AND the skill to communicate so fluently in Spanish.
Way to go.
Love, Mamma
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