Aventuras with Hil-dawg

Well, this is it. Tomorrow (barring further Mexican airline mishaps) my Central-American hiatus ends with a 27 hour-long return journey to the states. I can’t make the typical traveler’s claim that time has flown by, because it hasn’t. I’ve been stoked to come home for a long time now. However, during these last six weeks something happened that I wasn’t anticipating, something that will make my farewell to Oaxaca un poco difícil: Hilary Erlandson.

I prepared for and traveled to Oaxaca under the impression that I would be living solita with a host family. The thought of being immobile for awhile and getting to know one family in particular sounded excelente, especially after 10 days of bombing around Guatemala on my own. Then upon arriving in Oaxaca the señora Reyes informed me that a second chica would fly in the next day, and I got even more excited. I figured that even if this other girl and I didn't get along fantastically, it would still be nice knowing that there was someone sleeping in the bedroom next to mine every night. Then Hilary showed up, sporting un millón de freckles and a huge smile, and made the next four weeks of my life wonderful.

You won’t find an exchange student with a better attitude than Hilary. She speaks español like nobody’s business and isn’t afraid to ask questions. She loves learning, whether from a homework assignment or a menu, and wants to experience everything Oaxaca has to offer; ruins, museums and salsa clubs alike. Every time she travels somewhere new she returns bursting with stories about the history of the place she explored, the people she met, and the cool stuff she experienced. (You should have seen her describing the Anthropology Museum after her trip to the Distrito Federal; she couldn’t even stay seated she was so excited.)
And yet, in spite of her adventurous spirit, Hilary doesn’t mind spending time en casita. The two of us had some great city excursions; taking our first sip of mescal, exploring a modern art gallery, reading J.K. ROWLING and C.S. LEWIS at the Children’s Library; but I would have to say that my favorite moments with Hilary were spent hanging out in our living room in the evening. We would both come home tired, (she from salsa class, me from the library), scrounge some food, and just start talking. Our conversations would began with how our days had been, morph into us watching numerous episodes of "A Very Potter Musical" on youtube, and then inevitably lead into big life issues like loneliness and the broken nature of humanity. Our backgrounds and personalities are “different, different as can be”, and our distinct perspectives gave both of us the chance to look at these topics in a new light. But through all of our differences of opinion there was a shared theme that continued to surface: Everyone suffers, everyone matters.

My life has been relatively tribulation-free. Yes I have struggled through some nasty stuff, but I wouldn’t say that I have known grief or despair. The hope to which I cling and the joy that fill me are real, but they have yet to be truly tested. (God give me strength for that day). Hilary, on the other hand, has seen more than her fair share of heartache and has emerged from every trial with a mature attitude and a hopeful vision. She is only 19 (almost 20), but she has learned some important lessons that many folks fail to every figure out. The combination of our shared belief in the value of individuals and relationships with her awesome personality has made for a pretty nice stay in Oaxaca, nicer than I could ever have imagined. She’s something else, this kid.