To the parents,
Thank you for sharing your children with us. They are amazing individuals, each and every one. We couldn’t have hoped for a better or more diverse group of students. It is hard to explain how a Putney group can go from not knowing one another to being the best family of 19 in only a few short weeks, but it happened. Your children are amazing artists, singers, soccer players, friends, students, tile professionals, and more. They are smart, kind, respectful of others, and a pleasure to teach and know. We cherish them, their aspirations, their individuality, their often quirkiness, and their openness to the world. May all children grow up like yours. Thanks for sharing them with us!
Sincerely,
Chris Wimer & Nina Gage
To our students,
Because you are now our former students, we wish you the best adventures, the richest of experiences, and most of all, the proudest memories. It has been an honor to get to know each of you as students, as friends, and as a family of 19. It’s time to dry up the tears (I know those who hadn’t cried leaving the village have cried inside by now), to wash your clothes (if you haven’t done this yet (Chris!) you should get on it before the mold begins to grow), and to put your suitcases away for the school year. I imagine that bits and pieces of the new you has molded back with your former self, but that certain pieces will stay and live within you as you continue through life. It might be your newfound love for hot chocolate, perhaps some Spanish language that you didn’t understand before your journey, or maybe some red stains that you just can’t seem to get out of your clothes. Maybe you will be friends with someone new at school this year, or take on a new passion for language, maybe you can feel more comfortable around people of different cultures, or smile at someone having a bad day like Saline would do. We hope you will remember your green bananas, a bit of your emotions while walking up that mountain in the pouring rain, and a lot of great friends. It can take a while to completely understand everything you experienced on your Costa Rica trip, maybe even years, but we are certain it is not a memory you will ever forget. Next time someone hands you M&Ms to share, maybe you can tell them about a small village you visited in the mountains of Costa Rica called San Jose de Rivas, and about all the wonderful people that live there. You can tell them how you ate chorreadas after harvesting corn from the stock, or how you made hundreds of tamales with a whole village. Perhaps you can tell them how you climbed to the highest point, La Piedra, and saw where hydrangeas grow naturally. Or maybe you can talk about how you rafted 19 miles down one of the top five rivers in the world, El Pacuare, with Pepe the Great, Pablo Picasso, and Tank. (No one will believe the crocodiles that live alongside the beef cows so you will have to leave that one as a campfire legend or show photos.) And next time your parents decide to re-tile their bathroom you can show them how 🙂
Don’t forget to take the time to put your phones away, include someone who is left out, to play with the kids, to eat something new, to plant a tree or two, to jump in the river, to plant a garden, and to remember your summer with Putney. We wish you the best and look forward to hearing from you in the future!
Nos Vemos because this isn’t goodbye forever!
– Chris & Nina