Student written blogpost.

This is Sabrina and Tessa, and we’re writing about the despedida (goodbye party) in Silencio. For the second group, returning to Silencio was the most amazing feeling ever. Getting off the bus and seeing our friends from the other group and our friends from Silencio was incredible. Talking to everyone and getting back into the groove of Silencio life felt like home. Once we arrived in Silencio, we made invitations for the goodbye party that night to hand out to the families in the village. We blew up balloons and set up for the party, and we loved playing with our little amiguitos like Santiago (5) and Joshua (5). It felt like we were all one big family, especially when we were back to chasing the little boys around gym. Some of us sat down and caught up with locals with what we have missed in the past week. At 6, people started to show up and the despedida began. All the locals were seated and served by Putney students first. It was nice to give back to all the members of Silencio after learning so much from them. After we finished eating we danced for a bit and the leaders gave gifts to all the people we worked with. By this time there was only an hour left of the party. That was when we retold memories of our experience. As you could probably guess, we were all crying. Finally our last minutes came and we had to say the hardest goodbyes ever. The bonds we made are now unbreakable. The people from the smallest town have the biggest hearts and we will never forget them.