Im sooooo sorry that I have been terrible with this blogging. I lost my internet addiction from the states, and whenever I have it available, I end up checking my email and getting out of there as soon as possible. As you can see by these picture below, my time out of site can be better spent outside of the city (that beach is dangerously close to my site, although I´ve resisted the temptations and only visited once).
I dont no where to start to update you on the last 2 months since I got to my site. There is no ¨typical day¨ that I can describe. My typical activities include killing and cleaning LOTS of chickens, harvesting oranges, planting beans, chopearing (essentially weeding with a machete) planted fields, playing double games of soccer on sundays (that kills me, but baseball season starts this week), swimming in the river, spearfishing and shrimping in the creeks, teaching and learning how to cook, lots of reading (6 or 7 books in the first 6 or 7 weeks) and just conversing and conversing and conversing with the gente. My food is varied, and includes lots of rice, pasta, beans, lentils, green bananas, chicken (ALL parts, including stomach, neck, feet), fish (ALL parts as well, including the eyes), beef (actually, only cow foot), and the occational garlic bread when I make it for my family and neighbors. My town is very busy, being on a paved road, and very close to afuera (anything outside the comarca is afuera, and the United states is refered to as alli, or over there). When I got back from Thanksgiving, I really settled in, and while I still haven´t met all the people (Im not even close), there are at least 6 or 7 families that I have become very close with.
So you are probably wondering what Christmas will be like... Well, my family is very religious (Evangellical) so we will be celebrating Christmas. We have a fatted pig that will meet her maker on Christmas eve (Noche Buena), and will be eaten for several days. Not your traditional seven fishes, but it will do. I will try and make some calls on Christmas (the payphone is fixed!) but I can´t spend too much time on the phone because I dont like when people think that I have a ton of money, and when they see me on the phone for a while, that is what they will think.
Lets see, what else is there to report on... Project wise, my head is spinning with ideas. I am working on a design for a family size slow sand filter, because there are lots of people in town that want to treat their water, but don´t like the taste of chlorine. The coach of our soccer team is 15 years old, and very active and motivated, so I am considering starting some sort of fundraiser with him to get uniforms for the soccer team. Actually I am considering making that a matching fundraiser, if people are interested in donating to match whatever the team (including me!) is able to raise on its own (I doubt if it will exceed 100 to 200 bucks total). I have english classes starting (ugh) the first week of January, and I will also be teaching Internet classes to some teenagers that already have some experience with computers at school. There are still some people that dont have latrines, and desperately want them, so I will start trying to get that funded as soon as possible (luckily in my town, getting people to want latrines is not at all a problem). I have been working to get the pump in town fixed to get water to our storage to the rapidly approaching dry season, but this may be a lost cause (there is just not enough money available to the water committee). I will be meeting with people that arent connected to the aqueduct in January to begin working on an expansion of the system as well. Other potential projects include Mud Stoves and ovens, and an iguana raising project (to sell and eat).
In case you can´t tell, and in case anybody is worried about me, I am extremely happy here. For the first time in my life, Im not biting my finger nails! The people in my town are wonderful, my site is breathtaking (see below), I am extremely close to a paradise-like beach that is always practically empty, and if I really feel like a taste of America, I can take a bus 1.5 hours to David and catch the latest American movie (it is pretty bizarre going from the indigenous culture to David) We will see how I feel come Christmas (my first away from home), but I have been about as happy as I have ever been the last 2 months. I will let the pics below speak for themselves....
These first ones were taken at sunrise from my favorite spot at my site (about a 15 minute hike uphill to a clearing, has views of the ocean and mountains all around)
The birthday party for my sister Yerrysbeth (right). I picked up that cake in david for a solid 3 bucks, and baked the brownies in the oven that was gifted to my family.
Me, Lydia, Pete and Joanna on a little hike in the mountains on Thanksgiving
Some neighbors. Abuela on the left taught me to make bollo the other day after we went harvested Maiz nuevo together
Me eathing spaghetti at a neighbors birthday party
During the day
My host brothers and sisters dressed in their Sunday best
Sorry for the lack of people pictures...I try to keep my camera out of site is much as possible, both because it makes me look rich and because people ask me to take pictures of them CONSTANTLY! Not that I mind taking them, but developing can be a pain in the butt. O well,
Goodbye, and Merry Christmas to all!!! I miss you all very much, and you will especially be in my thoughts during the holiday.
Love
Stve
