It’s 6:00am, here, in Santa Rosalia, Paraguay. The roosters are up and my host family is awake. Today my host mother asked me if I wanted a warm or cold shower. I was overcome with relief that I no longer had to shower in ice cold water which is what happened for my first few mornings in Santa Rosalia.
Taking a shower in cold water has been a struggle. My body isn’t used to cold showers, but a cold shower is normal for my host sister, Erica. At first, I was nervous to try showering in cold water. When I got in the shower that first morning, my body didn’t feel right. I felt like a stranger wandering through a new country. An outsider. I missed my family and friends and the feeling of home.
When I finally got warm water, my body woke up. It’s like it finally got something that it had been missing and was wanting for a while. At that moment, I forgot about being a stranger in a strange place and only remembered home.
Kerlyn L., Paul Public Charter School
