Hi All,
Big news this week… I found a house! I hope I am not jinxing myself by writing about this but I am just so excited so here it goes… my casa nueva is in the center of town, right next to a Sarita (delicious ice cream place… sorry belly and thighs) and across from the Centro de Salud (health center) so the location is perfect. The front room of the house has some type of clay shingle, which keeps the room super cool and is going to be so clutch during the coming months when the heat is unbearable. My house is also coming fully furnished. I have a fridge, microwave, water dispenser, stove/oven (living large), a couch, loveseat and chair, dining room table, small tv in my room with cable that I do not have to pay for, two bathrooms with actual toilets (no running water except for a couple hours in the morning but so much better than a latrine) and a little courtyard full of plants that makes it look like a jungle. I also made my first purchase for my new casa, which was an awesome hammock that is huge and pink so I am extremely excited to hang that sucker up and relax all day (I am considering hanging my mosquito net around the hammock instead of my bed and just sleeping there… might give me serious back problems later in life but I think I am willing to risk it). The one drawback is that the house is right on the river so apparently the mosquito situation is a little intense (I feel like if I can deal with the scorpions, I can kinda deal with anything but I guess we’ll find out just how bad it gets). If this is the only drawback though, I consider myself extremely lucky! Hopefully everything goes smoothly with getting it approved by Peace Corps and I can move in in the beginning of February (just in time for our feria here and superbowl weekend… woo for American pastimes!) Other perks about moving out of the aldea are: 1. More people to talk to and practice Spanish with 2. Easier access to everyday necessities such as food and water 3. Closer proximity to my sitemate, Felicia as well as the municipal building where I am trying to find work (I though I left the states so I wouldn’t have to job search…fail.) 4. I am really hoping this takes some of the stress off of the relationship with my host mom. I think she is a really nice person and am hoping that we will be able to work better together once we have our own space 5. I can keep things exactly how I like them (if you know me at all then you know this is probably what I am most excited about… I am so cool.) Overall, I am pretty pumped and can’t wait to put up some pictures on face book so everyone can see where I will be living (hopefully).
In other news, this past Friday we had a meeting with the Peace Corps office about two programs that are going to be discontinued (one of them, of course, is the program I am in… go figure). It really is not going to effect any of the current volunteers too much in the projects that we have been assigned but it will effect us in that if we start a project with a lot of potential, there won’t be anyone coming in after us to keep it going so that is a bummer. It also means that we probably will not be getting any more volunteers out in the east so after the group that came in before my group leaves in October, our number will dwindle to 9 in the whole region, which should be buckets of fun. Luckily, I will still have a couple relatively cool people near so I am sure we will all be just fine and that is like 7 months away so I am gonna go ahead and not worry about that until I absolutely have to (that mentality has been working out for all the problems I’ve faced so far so why stop now?) The meeting was also a good excuse to get to see lots of other volunteers so I can’t complain about that either. We all spent the night after the meeting in Antigua and had a lot of fun doing that. The next day I went to Emily’s with Lexi to celebrate Em’s host nephews 2 year birthday (I have learned that we do not know how to throw parties in the states…piñatas are so underrated). It was so much fun and I showed all of the guests (there were SO many people there) that I can blow up balloons and pop them with my butt faster than both Brynna and Lexi (I am realizing so many hidden talents here, its eye-opening).
Okay, that is all the news I have for right now. I hope everyone had a great weekend and hopefully it won’t be so long before I get a chance to post another blog (this one was very delayed and I apologize). Adios!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Llorar- To Cry
Feliz 2011 everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and is excited that 2010 is over (mostly because of my hatred towards even numbers… that’s not weird). My holiday season was interesting, to say the least, and I must admit that I am a little relieved it is over. Being away from home for Christmas for the first time in my life was a little tough (Emily cried on a bus full of Guatemalans… it was awkward) but I think I am ready for whatever obstacles this next year has in store for me (it’s easy to say that now) so bring it on 2011!
For Christmas I was able to spend some time with Emily and her host family, which was awesome because they are super sweet and have tons of energy so there’s never a dull moment. Emily and I both got some snazzy new wedges (shoes) from her family and they are very chapina so I am excited to buy a matching shirt, eyeliner and earrings so I can rock them at the next baile (dance). On one of the buses that Emily and I were on, we were obnoxiously singing feliz navidad at the top of our lungs for the majority of the trek (the other passengers did not love us) but then all of a sudden I look over and Emily is crying. I was pretty alarmed by this sudden change in emotion so I asked her what was wrong and through sobs she told me that she was crying because a family just got on our bus and she was sad that we weren’t home with our families. I went from heckling her about crying on a bus to tearing up in about 3 seconds (I didn't actually cry though, don't worry). I guess it was just the first time it really hit us that we were riding on a chicken bus in Guatemala by ourselves and not at home with our families. We instantly started laughing at how ridiculous we must have looked and I’m pretty sure we scared all the rest of the Guatemalans because they were inching away from us and deboarding the bus as quickly as possible (I’d be scared too if two crazy gringas were sitting next to me screaming the words to a song, crying hysterically and then laughing maniacally all within the span of 5 minutes… musta seemed a little odd). Other than that little embarrassing moment though, Christmas was a lot of fun and I am glad I got to experience my first one away from home in Guatemala :)
Now on to New Years… so fun! First, I got a chance to go back to my host family in Sumpango and see them, which was the best (although it kinda made me sad because I don’t live with them anymore and only get to see them once in a while). When I rang the doorbell my four brothers came running outside screaming my name, it was so cute! Once I got inside my madre told me that they had been doing that every time the doorbell rang since the 23rd because I didn’t tell them exactly when I was coming and they kept thinking it was me. We all hung out for a while and then my madre told me that she had all the ingredients ready to make fettuccini alfredo, which is what Emily and I made for my family during training and she knew it was my favorite so she got it for me. It was really hard to say goodbye to them but I am so happy I got to visit and hang out and I definitely won’t wait so long before visiting them again. After that I headed to Patzun for the night and Thomas made some delicious beef barbecue (you’re allowed to eat like a pig during the holidays, right?) The next day we headed out for new years, which was a ton of fun. I got to see a lot of the people from my training group, who I haven’t seen in two months so it was really nice to catch up with all of them.
Coming back to my site this week was a little tough, I won’t lie. Things have been getting progressively worse with the family that I live with (which is horribly inconvenient seeing as my host mom also happens to be the president of my organization…no dice) and it’s basically to the point now where they just completely ignore me. Normally this would suit me just fine because I have no problem entertaining myself and keeping busy but it’s proven to be pretty tricky because I did join the peace corps to actually do things and be productive (go figure) and it’s been a challenge to say the least. I am really excited that the holidays are over for the simple fact that I think now it will be easier to find other groups to work with and other ways to get involved in the community (as well as be around people that want to talk to me and get to know me… seems like an unreasonable request, I know, but a girl can dream).
Well that is the update on my life at the moment. I am off to write a letter to my host mom, hopefully explaining my frustrations and hopes for reconciliation (since apparently hand gestures and my five word vocabulary didn’t get the point across last time… can’t imagine why). I hope everyone has a superb weekend :) Talk to you all soon!
For Christmas I was able to spend some time with Emily and her host family, which was awesome because they are super sweet and have tons of energy so there’s never a dull moment. Emily and I both got some snazzy new wedges (shoes) from her family and they are very chapina so I am excited to buy a matching shirt, eyeliner and earrings so I can rock them at the next baile (dance). On one of the buses that Emily and I were on, we were obnoxiously singing feliz navidad at the top of our lungs for the majority of the trek (the other passengers did not love us) but then all of a sudden I look over and Emily is crying. I was pretty alarmed by this sudden change in emotion so I asked her what was wrong and through sobs she told me that she was crying because a family just got on our bus and she was sad that we weren’t home with our families. I went from heckling her about crying on a bus to tearing up in about 3 seconds (I didn't actually cry though, don't worry). I guess it was just the first time it really hit us that we were riding on a chicken bus in Guatemala by ourselves and not at home with our families. We instantly started laughing at how ridiculous we must have looked and I’m pretty sure we scared all the rest of the Guatemalans because they were inching away from us and deboarding the bus as quickly as possible (I’d be scared too if two crazy gringas were sitting next to me screaming the words to a song, crying hysterically and then laughing maniacally all within the span of 5 minutes… musta seemed a little odd). Other than that little embarrassing moment though, Christmas was a lot of fun and I am glad I got to experience my first one away from home in Guatemala :)
Now on to New Years… so fun! First, I got a chance to go back to my host family in Sumpango and see them, which was the best (although it kinda made me sad because I don’t live with them anymore and only get to see them once in a while). When I rang the doorbell my four brothers came running outside screaming my name, it was so cute! Once I got inside my madre told me that they had been doing that every time the doorbell rang since the 23rd because I didn’t tell them exactly when I was coming and they kept thinking it was me. We all hung out for a while and then my madre told me that she had all the ingredients ready to make fettuccini alfredo, which is what Emily and I made for my family during training and she knew it was my favorite so she got it for me. It was really hard to say goodbye to them but I am so happy I got to visit and hang out and I definitely won’t wait so long before visiting them again. After that I headed to Patzun for the night and Thomas made some delicious beef barbecue (you’re allowed to eat like a pig during the holidays, right?) The next day we headed out for new years, which was a ton of fun. I got to see a lot of the people from my training group, who I haven’t seen in two months so it was really nice to catch up with all of them.
Coming back to my site this week was a little tough, I won’t lie. Things have been getting progressively worse with the family that I live with (which is horribly inconvenient seeing as my host mom also happens to be the president of my organization…no dice) and it’s basically to the point now where they just completely ignore me. Normally this would suit me just fine because I have no problem entertaining myself and keeping busy but it’s proven to be pretty tricky because I did join the peace corps to actually do things and be productive (go figure) and it’s been a challenge to say the least. I am really excited that the holidays are over for the simple fact that I think now it will be easier to find other groups to work with and other ways to get involved in the community (as well as be around people that want to talk to me and get to know me… seems like an unreasonable request, I know, but a girl can dream).
Well that is the update on my life at the moment. I am off to write a letter to my host mom, hopefully explaining my frustrations and hopes for reconciliation (since apparently hand gestures and my five word vocabulary didn’t get the point across last time… can’t imagine why). I hope everyone has a superb weekend :) Talk to you all soon!
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