Our first goodbye

Hey Everyone,

So we had a bit of a hard day today.  Today is Aminata's birthday (our 4 year-old host sister), so at the request of our host family, we traveled with Adam and Jordan, back to Sanyang for our last time today.  The party was fun, and it was so nice to see the kids again (i think about 20 of them came out to dance and sing).

The hard part of course came when we had to leave, knowing that we'll be leaving for the last time, and it's completely unknown if we'll ever see them again.
As much as our time there was a bit trying, having to cope with many new things, and adapt to a way of life far from what we would call normal, I really grew fond of the kids, and have a great deal of respect for our host mother, and her sister Natoo who also lives in the house.

Today really hammered home the fact that we're coming down to the last few days of our trip, and we're going to have to start to say goodbye to all of the friends we have made here.  That's not to say that i'm not looking forward to being home, I truly and honestly cannot wait for the next 9 days (as of Monday it's single digits) to go by and to be back with all of you, but it's surely going to be a bittersweet departure.  While it could never replace Canada, and London and Cambridge, this place has been our home for the last 3 months, and I've grown somewhat fond of it (of course, ask me at the end of a bad day and i'll sing a different tune).  I suppose it's just hard to accept this trip is nearing it's conclusion.  Its been full of joys and frustrations, incredible memories, and days that just wouldn't end, laughing moments of joy and friendship, as well as low points of mild depression and lonliness.  I think in spite of all the changes we had to make, the uncertaintly about our day to day activities or what we would actually accomplish at the end of the trip, I've had a successful trip if only that i've gained the knowledge that i can survive trips of this nature, without losing sight of the things at home that are most important to me.

Looking forward to seeing all of you again in what is really, a very soon time.

Love,
JP