Guasave

This photograph was taken at Colegio Guasave. Notice our class uniforms. From left to right, the people in the back row are (as I remember): Leo, Letty, Chino, Arcelia, and Martha. In the front row: Barry, Toño, Guillermo, and Lalo? Of those in this picture, in the last few weeks, I have reestablished contact with Letty, Martha, and Guillermo.

When I was 16 years old, I was a foreign exchange student and spent my entire junior year in a place called Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. At the time, Guasave was a town with fewer than 100,000 people, located about 5 hours north of Mazatlan. I lived with the Rojas Escarrega family and attended a private school named Colegio Guasave.

My experience as an exchange student altered the course of my life on many levels. For one, I learned to love the culture and language of Latin America. I also gained many new friends and life experiences.

In the last few weeks, I've come into contact once again with several of my old friends. We've been apart for more than 20 years, but as our friendship re-kindles, I feel drawn to return to the city of Guasave and the place I truly became a Spanish speaker.

The Church of the Rosario was built in the 1500s.

Every Monday our school performed el Homenaje a la Bandera (Homage to the Flag). Several girls paraded with the Mexican flag while military style drums and bugles played.