*Emily*

The following post is dedicated to Emily, who is leaving me in eight-days, the meanie.

She was seated next to a snack and magazine stand in the Latino section of the Los Angeles international airport. She hunched over the giant black handbag held in her lap and stared resolutely forward. I had no idea where she was going or who she was, but I had had the good luck to have already found one exchange student headed to Santa Cruz, and figured Why not? Maybe she’s another one. I was confident inside my pinned and sequin-belted Rotary blazer. I squared my shoulders and walked over to her corner. At the last moment I chickened and looked at the candy instead. You’re being silly, Erika. I came up with a smooth introduction line. ‘’Do you know where a garbage can is?’’ The figurative ice broke, and we began to talk. Her name was Emily and she was headed to Santa Cruz too, though we were in different Rotary clubs. We and the other three Bolivia-bound exchange students we found in the airport stuck together through until Customs in the Santa Cruz Viru Viru airport. Then we separated and went to live our new lives.
I didn’t see Emily again until a massive exchange student meeting weeks later, then later again in our first round of Spanish classes. We began to hang out after our lessons. I clearly remember the first time she came to my house. We missed homemade cookies desperately, so she brought over a recipe. A small store at the corner of my street holds most of the essentials, so we went to find ingredients for oatmeal cookies. We didn’t succeed in our endeavor, but because I had promised my host mother baked goods (and I have an insatiable sweet tooth) we bought two packages of cookies and arranged them on a plate on the kitchen table. We then crashed in my room and talked for hours. I was amazed to have found a true kindred spirit in that seemingly quiet girl from Washington. We were similar in almost every way, from spiritual views to opinions about boys.
We’ve had adventures together. The most exciting and interesting in my mind took place during a Rotary trip to the small town of Concepción. We were staying in separate hotel rooms, but after talking for awhile outside after a grueling hike, we both decided to go to our rooms and shower. Half way through what should have been a relaxing rinse over my sunburned shoulders, the power went out. There were no windows, and even if there had been, it wouldn’t have helped seeing as it was dark outside. I got out of the shower as quickly as possible because of some irrational fear of electrocution, and left my pitch black room in just my towel. I knew Emily was still in her shower, and probably freaking-out over the dark. I had no idea where her room was, but found it after a minute or two of tip-toeing and talking into doors. We waited out the dark together in our towels, singing and retelling our stories of the trip.
I like to take credit for saving her on occasion, but she’s been the true heroine more often than not. During our January Bolivia trip, almost everyone had some sort of physical problem. We suffered from altitude and fiery curry, and Em was there for us with her bag of every over-the-counter drug known to man. We took to calling her the human pharmacy. She was also there for me when a particularly painful bout of homesickness struck last November. Her remedy included a fantastic banana split, two listening ears, and some reruns of the television series ‘’Scrubs.’’ I felt remarkably better.
Luckily for everyone back home, she’s returning to the States. She’ll get a job, go to college, and live an awesome life. I know she’d like to stay longer, but the tickets are bought and time is racing along, like it has done all too quickly these last nine months. Emily my dear, here’s to you! Thank you for being the greatest of friends, taking me running, and building the Fruebond Sisterhood of Wiley Temptresses. Let’s hang out this weekend.

Love,
Erika