Leaving for Upolu

It’s been a very busy week and promises to stay this way until I leave. This week was school, doing customer service training and final prep for training the new group of volunteers. Today was my last day of school until October 29. I’ll be working with the new volunteers until then. When I come back to the village, it will only be two weeks before I leave for good. I feel as if I’m on a Tilt-A-Whirl that’s spinning too fast. Today felt a bit like a preview of leaving school for the last time. Such a difference from when I arrived in the village. Then, most kids yelled “Bye bye, Palagi” and a few of the cheeky ones asked me for money. Yesterday as I rode home on the bus, kids not only yelled my name and waved, they blew kisses. That’s something new. One little girl was screaming and using her whole body to launch kisses toward me. She did it until the bus was out of sight. I kept waving out the window the whole time. Today, lots of kids were yelling my name as I walked across the playground. Several children ran to give me a hug or a kiss. The neighbor kids I adore (too young for school) were standing on the block wall between the playground and their house, watching the kids heading home. When they saw me they started yelling and waving madly, which is typical. Usually, they just yell my name. Their big sister, my student, must have been busy, though, because today they were screaming “I love you, Nancy!” Over and over and over. I wonder where I can find another job where I’ll get such love every day at work.