i had forgotten how noisy, how chaotic everything is here. how you sometimes cannot hear yourself think.

i had forgotten how anonymous you can be here. people rush from here to there, not seeing each other, not looking at each other's faces. not smiling, too preoccupied with their own concerns, too wrapped up in their own worlds to bother with their neighbors.

i had forgotten how money can run out so fast here. one meal, one bus ride, one shirt, one bottle of water -- 500 bucks gone in a flash.

i left my heart in the barrio. i can't wait to go home.