A Song : 19

I'm a little Indian Girl
No one knows my name
I'm a little Indian Girl
No one knows my name
I'm sitting in the street alone
Yet dancing in my mind
In my mind I can dance with the flowers
With the ladybugs
and caterpillars
They carry me around
I wear a daisy crown
The flowers love me
and call me
by my name

Commentary:  A few months before I left for Paraguay my mom bought me a beautiful classical guitar. I brought it with me to Paraguay, a very good idea, as it gave me something to do.  It was also a bit embarrassing as people assumed I was awesome if I brought my guitar along and they kept asking me to play (like at my birthday party) but really I was just a beginner.  This is my first attempt at song writing.  It seems my own isolation made me think of the poor street children I use to see in Mexico City...

Some Memories : 16

Commentary:  This page shows a butterfly I found dead on the ground and taped its wings onto the page.  Butterflies had a lot of symbolic significance for me at this time in my life.  I felt I was in my cocoon, developing myself to emerge later, magnificent!  There are some quotes on this page that I collected throughout my stay, funny things people say.  The list on the bottom is also a slow list made throughout my stay.  It lists the names of all the poems I wrote while in Paraguay.  At this point in my stay, only the first poem has been written.  I probably wrote most things on this page a few months down the line.

The History of this Story

In 1993 I was having the time of my life.  I was in the tenth grade, on the varsity cheerleading squad, getting great grades, had a cute athlete older boyfriend, great girl friends, mellow parents, all american story.  After listening to an older student share the story of his study abroad experience with AFS, I decided to throw it all away for my own adventure abroad.  At first I dreamed of Italy, then with some encouragement from my father, settled on spanish speaking countries.  It is an in depth application process with interviews and family visits.  Once accepted, I waited eagerly to find out what country.  Was it ever a surprise to discover my selection, Paraguay.  I left just after the start of the second semester and stayed till the end of the summer returning just a few weeks before the start of the eleventh grade.  Here are my journals, books that I bound and decorated myself from a DIY kit.  The cover reminds me of a book that was profoundly important for me at that time, Hope for the Flowers.  I will publish them in there entirety, free of any editing.  It should be an interesting story told from the pen of a teenager.