So, a lot has happened in the past week. So much so, that I thought it was post-worthy (Not beyond worthy, but worthy of being posted).
My life with Ryan and Ferney was nice. It had its moments of insanity, and its fair share of absurdity, but it also helped me establish a sense of routine, and along with it, normalcy. Note the verb, "was"...indicating past tense.
Last Thursday, Ferney ran away. Now this was "normal" behavior for Ferney. Normal in the sense that it happened regularly, not that escaping from our home like it was a prison is in any sense socially the norm. Usually, he would meander around the block, and come back, thoroughly content with his little adventure. Not this time.
Around 4:30 in the afternoon, he took off, and when I got home at 6, he was apparently still missing. We got a little worried, so we looked around for a bit, but we were sure that wherever he was, he would come back before it got too dark.
It got too dark.
We scoured the area, disregarding the fact that these particular streets were getting exponentially more dangerous for every minute we were searching. Our minds were racing, wondering where he could have gone, if he was lost, if he was in trouble, etc. Eventually we gave up. In a city of 8 million, we were not going to find Ferney. I didn't sleep too well that night, mostly due to Ferney's disappearance, but also due to the fact that I had to make up the end-of-the-year exams for my class at school.
At about 8 o'clock the next morning, we found him. He had run to Colombianita, where he thought his mother was staying. She, in fact, was not, but he happened to run into an aunt who took him in. Exhale, relax, now on to more pressing matters.
Final exams!!! My girls did very well on all of the exams that I was responsible for (English, Science, Math) and with any luck, they will have proved themselves apt enough to graduate from Luz y Vida and attend a "real" school...which would effectively put me out of a job...
As I was saying, my girls failed all of their exams horribly.
Anyway, while I was at school, Ryan was visited by some new characters on the block. One of these was another gentleman in the neighborhood who is temporarily making the streets his home. He came in for the same deal as Camilo, shower, shave, wash clothes. All of the things that would prevent a man in his position from appearing as if he were in his position to anyone who would be looking to hire him for any... position.
The other guests, and perhaps the more notable ones, were a pair of teenagers, brother and sister, who had just arrived from a town about 5 hours outside of Bogota. Apparently, they had been part of the ministry, living in our house for about a year and a half. Something happened, and they were returned to their mother, who moved them to the town from which they had just left. That was over 7 years ago, and now here they were, with no money, no contacts, and the only building they could remember in Bogota was our home.
It's a long story, and I can't divulge all of the details just yet, but these two are living with us for the time being. The boy, Mauricio, is a dancer, but not in the sense that your would think. He dances the Joropo. It's a traditional dance that I cannot adequately explain here. Youtube it. The girl, Mabel, is an excellent chef, and I am learning much in the way of Colombian cuisine. All I can tell you right now is that there is a lot of oil involved. A lot.
School is wrapping up, Ferney will most likely not be living with us, but the other two have taken his place (or at least his room), we are being frequented by more and more of those that sleep on our block, and my routine has been destroyed exquisitely. For better or for worse, my life at this point is anything but dull.
Until next time,
Tyler
