Oh right! Thoughts about Tia. I’d say the end of my time with Tia with anticlimactic but that’s only because I didn’t get cake. Now I truly have no idea if she actually thought it was Sarah’s birthday on her final day or she was just subtly (okay, not subtly at all) implying that Sarah was her favorite. And it’s true that I didn’t get cake but I got something better. A hug? A handmade card? Stuffed animals? A facebook friend request from the Tia herself? Cinnamon buns? Tacos? All of those answers ring true. Because of course they do. I was a beloved soul there, beloved by all and despised by none. Or one. By the time of my departure, I was actually pretty convinced that all of the kids were real, sweet, good hearted children and only one might be a possible sociopath. Except he did seem sad when I left, though that could be because someone stepped on his foot and he was bawling. Physical pain sure, but I’m fairly certain that the emotional pain was what pushed him over the edge into tears. It’s true that Justyn and I didn’t have the most tearful of goodbyes, but we did start the bonding experience of him yelling at me whenever I tried to close the bathroom door while he was peeing so I just had to stand there awkwardly while he went. That is a tender moment in and of itself. To me. Probably not to just anyone. The moral of the story is, tears were shed (I promise it was emotional pain first and foremost), hugs and kisses given, and I marked my end there with the Tia. I do feel bad knowing that new volunteers won’t be working with her for another month or so because she sure needs as much help as she can get. Even if we didn’t communicate on the best levels, I hope she did appreciate the work that I put in to make her job easier and she’ll remember me after I went. Not just because she’ll be overwhelmed when she’s there alone but there will just be a fond spot for the boy who pretended to know spanish. I am off to an orphanage next and it’s good to know that besides Monday, I’ll be at least with one other person for the next four weeks of my stay in Costa Rica. It is expected to be a more challenging experience though I’m up for it, and especially so if I can put a more positive image of male figures in some of the kid’s lives because so many of them have been affected negatively because of those people. The title of this blog post does in fact reflect upon the new volunteers arriving tomorrow and all the hullabaloo that will accompany them. I am also very proud of myself that I spelled hullabaloo correctly on the first try. It doesn’t seem like a very complicated and is almost a poster word for “Spell it like it sounds” but I’m impressed nonetheless. I have said eighteen new volunteers are arriving and that is true. However, I do have some new info regarding them. Thirteen of them are from University of Indiana, with eleven being students alongside two chaperones. I figure the chaperones are more just professors that wanted to both organize an alternative spring break and enjoy it themselves and not simply chaperones but I’m going by how they were described to us. So thirteen people there who are only staying one week, alongside five new volunteers who range from two weeks to six weeks. There’s actually not a range there. It’s two weeks or six weeks. Four people are two. One is six. Which is nice especially since one girl who was slated to stay the whole eight weeks while I was here is departing this next weekend and I thought I might be alone again, it is nice to know someone is going to be here for the extent of my stay. Plus, they get the added benefit of getting to volunteer alongside me for their duration. If that doesn’t make them love Costa Rica, then I don’t know what will. By this time tomorrow, I imagine the home base will be in shambles and anarchy will be in full swing but at the very least I hung my clothes for the first time beforehand. I’ll be able to enjoy this one day of organization and tranquility and then watch it all crumble before my eyes. If I don’t make it out alive, it was nice knowing you all. So it goes.