Set a place for me when I'm gone
Christine is leaving tomorrow morning at 3am, her flight doesn't leave until 6. I'll ride with her to the airport but I don't leave for another 2 days. She's going to meet her parents in DC while they're there for a conference and find us an apartment. It's nice to know I won't be too involved in the stress of picking out our place. If I wasn't so confident in Christine's ability to pick out a good place I might be more concerned.
Our Peace Corps friends came a few days ago and we basically partied for 3 days with them. It was a good time and I'll remember it forever, assuming I dodge the Alzheimer's bullet but in that case someone please use a real one on me.
I suppose that somewhat gruesomely brings me to setting a place for me when I'm gone. On the 2nd night we had a good group at our house and talked and played card games until late. One of the said card games was Texas hold 'em which we played with chips tournament style where people were out once they ran out of chips. Leah went out at some point and was dealt in the next round at which point I related that to setting a place at a table for a loved one in the hopes that they might come home for dinner.
It was a pretty good joke, but Leah had to step in and top me. While giggling on the verge of hysterics she said "stop looking at me, swan". A sweeter non sequitur may never have been spoken. Apparently she was repeating an obscure Billy Madison quote, however I leave you to judge its relevance. To me its lack of relevance was what truly made it shine.
The next day Matt, Darren, and I hiked all the way from Berlin to the laguna in Alegria. I'd made it to the rim of the crater that holds the laguna before where the soldiers guarding the radio tower told me a path went down into it. This time we took the hike down to the laguna which was essentially a path all along the rim of the crater which made for fantastic views of each side of the ledge.
It wasn't a hike for the elderly or unathletic to be sure, but I think it could be a real draw for tourism in Berlin. It would give people a reason to stay in Berlin to see the laguna instead of in Santiago or Alegria. I'll definitely be writing about it on Berlin's web page that I'm making.
Today Christine and I made the rounds at the schools and with our friends in the city to say goodbye. It wasn't too sad until Christine broke down saying goodbye to our landlord's wife, one of the school teachers we're close with. I had a feeling it was coming, I've always been a pretty empathetic person even when I don't seem to be very emotional myself. A lot of them told us they'd always remember us. I don't know that they'll be setting a place for us when we're gone but there might be two empty chairs at the table.