Even though I went to bed late (well later than usual), woke up at 5:30 with a to-do list running through my head. The power was out (street power, it was fine once they switched to the solar power batteries, but that didn't happen for a bit) so I had to wait until the sun was up enough to see (~6:30ish) and start packing.
I went and sat on the beach alone for a little bit to soak up my last moments there. Somewhere around 9:30, the circus boys showed up for their normal Saturday morning, and to take apart and organize all the equipment they'd need for the show that evening. They were super excited to see me, and it made me feel really special to know that was for me.
Ricardo brought some circus pants for me to try. I had given him some cash to find me some since I wouldn't have time to find any in Puerto Plata before I left.
The goodbyes were really emotional and though I managed to keep myself together for a bit, the floodgates soon opened. (It's me we're talking about after all!) Eventually I thought it was probably time to go, as much as I didn't want to get on that flight and stay longer, I knew that wasn't an option.
So I go to get in the shuttle and we start pulling away. Then the driver says, we don't have to go yet, you still have 20 minutes. Ugh! I was out of that van faster than lightning. These are the things that happen when they show up super early to pick you up! I didn't really know what time it was, so I figured he'd been waiting a long time, that it probably meant I was cutting it close... Nope. Still had lots of time!
So I used those 20 more minutes (or so, not totally sure how many minutes I used) to their fullest and even managed to hold myself together again and so the second goodbye was much better. It allowed me to collect myself and feel less negativity about having to leave. It's a good thing I waited or I would have missed saying bye to the couple from Squamish and would have missed getting their contact information.
Those goodbyes I had to make that day were some of the hardest I've made in a long time. I really felt like Paul and the circus guys were like family. I'd spent so much time working with them, joking with them, and circus was such a central part of everything I was there for.
The airport isn't too exciting, I imagine partly because I really didn't want to get on that plane and leave. A month just wasn't long enough! But ultimately, it would just be delaying the inevitable and at some point I would have to leave anyways. Despite it all, I'm going to miss this place, and this experience and everything else.
I think tonight is going to be lots of tears. The show will be over by the time I land in Montreal. Sad to miss it. I definitely left a piece of me in the DR.
Curious to see what will come of it all. Of course it changed me. And my dream about growth gives me hope that there are big things out there for me.
So the flight was ready about half an hour early (everyone was on board) but we didn't leave early (many flights do) because we had to wait for some more bags to be loaded I guess. Eventually we backed away from the gate and started going out to the runway. We sat on the tarmac for awhile with no other planes in sight. It was strange. After sitting there at least 10 minutes the captain came on and said we were still waiting for the tower to clear us. Saw some planes waiting in line behind us but none landed, so I'm not sure what the holdup was.
So in the end, I gave my circus family (Paul and the 3 guys I worked with every day) a gift for each of them, a nice big tip. The amount doesn't matter. It was a suprise, and though I only got to see Marco & Ricardo's reactions, it was really awesome to see. Paul emailed me later thanking me. Watching them open their envelopes and realizing what I'd done for them was greater than seeing a kid's first Christmas! It was the least I could do for everything they had done for me.
