Friday, June 29 – I walked through the gates of Colegio de Santa Rosalia feeling completely in love and completely nervous. I was not sure what to expect on the other side of the school walls, but I knew it would be amazing. When I finally had a view past the school – and I could see the students – I realized how important this festival – the San Juan Festival to celebrate the Summer Solstice – is to the community. Small children, with candy falling from their hands, ran incredibly fast by me. Students sat on the steps cutting out paper triangles from newspapers to make banners to string across the courtyard between the two school buildings, and a group of both professors and students joined forces in the center of the field to dig a hole in the grass for the climbing pole.
I did not have to walk too far before three students jumped to hug me and my host sister, Tami. They were laughing, and it made me feel like I belonged in the community. Nestor, Milena and Matias were all standing in front of me and Tami, laughing. They showed me where to sit and told me not to move. There was a small section of the school’s courtyard designated just for the “Americans” and, there, we each had our own white plastic lawn chair. I felt out of place because among us were almost 100 other students without seats. I smiled and Milena held my hand. All she ever did was laugh. Finally, the festival began, and Milena ran away with Tami, and I was nervous.
The music, controlled by Nestor and Matias, slowly quieted down, and someone began to speak. The school’s principal introduced a variety of activities that would take place in the next few moments, and I was not ready to try or participate in any of them. First was human board game trivia, similar to Chutes and Ladders, where six students were the pawns in the game and when they answered a trivia question correctly, they moved up the number of spots that were rolled on the dice; if they were 
wrong, they moved back. Next was the buttered climbing pole. Many students attempted to climb the slick pole that was only getting slicker with the sun’s rays, but they slid right back down and never reached the sweet treats that were tied to the top of the pole. Drena was the last person to go up the pole, and she made it! With the help of several students who kept pushing her up the pole and the rest of us cheering and screaming, she made it up and got some of the candy! It was so exciting!! After a few other games like fortune telling, tug of war, potato sack races, and draw the tail on the pig, the music came on and the festival ended.
Milena and Tami ran up to me, and we walked over to Nestor, Matias and other students and danced together. We laughed and barely spoke. Again, I felt a sense of belonging. I knew then how I never wanted to leave. I knew how much I wanted us to dance forever.
Communication, at times, was hard. With a mixture of Spanish and Guarini, sometimes verbal communication never happened, but the moment one of us smiled at the other, we knew our places, and we acknowledged each other’s presence. During the festival and after, I realized how communication is not limited to the expression of emotions and thoughts using verbal words. Throughout the festival, Tami and I would exchange glances. We would look at each other from across the courtyard and laugh or shake our heads when something was funny or strange. We always smiled at each other or laughed when we did not know the right words to say, and when we walked home, we would lock arms, and laugh all the way back home.
Communication can be expressed through a smile, a laugh, a hug or a touch, but any way you do it, communication is extremely important. No matter where you are from or no matter your differences, communication always happens, and it definitely makes a huge impact on the relationships all around you.
Camilla R., Rockville High School