After Dinner Thoughts

OK, I am back from dinner ... (see the lower-down post for my pre-dinner ramblings) and I am feeling a bit old. The majority of the teachers on this group trip are between 24 and 32, and while I feel in my heart that I am that age, too, it's clear at times that no, I'm really not! They all just went out to a nearby "club" for a drink after our long dinner (it took over an hour for our food to arrive) and I elected to stay behind to email and read and shower and go to bed early.

Even with the age difference, though, I feel there are people here who I will definitely remain in contact with after this trip. It has been so much fun to get to know these people, and we discover similarities in our ways of life and thought as we explore the experiences the trip is offering us. Several of the teachers work at quite prestigious private academies in the States and are determined to go back to their schools and share emphatically their experiences in this, the 4th poorest country in the world. There has been so much laughter and sharing and open conversation among all, the group is bonding so well. There is a couple on the trip who have been together nearly 5 years, and it is the goal (only partially tongue-in-cheek) of the rest of us to get Rob to propose to Jessica while they are here. Jess is all for it, now we just have to get Rob to think it was HIS idea. I will let you know if it happens!

After just a couple of days it feels like we have known each other for a very long time. I think the intensity of the group purpose helps that, but I also think the personalities are just blending extraordinarily well!