April is almost at a close (thank God--every month finished is me one month closer to coming home). Thus far, this month has been occupied with my youth group´s clases vacacionales (the equivalent of summer school classes in the states) that ended last Friday, as well as my English class, set to end in May. However this week, life is going to get a whole lot more interesting (and crazy, and busy, and I´m getting nervous) as I´m about to start teaching in 2 elementary schools and the local high school (English in an elementary school and the high school, and regular classes in the other elementary school as they only have 2 teachers). In addition to these, I´m still going to have to go some afternoons with the health promoter to give charlas or help hand out government funded foods in other communities. And on top of that, my weekends include working with my youth group and the women´s group I´m going to start working with. In June, I´m adding another English class to the list, one I´m thoroughly excited about, because instead of teaching students (which, yes, will help them once they enter high school or if they choose to pursue university, but little else), I´ll be teaching teachers. By teaching teachers, I´ll ensure a bit of sustainability in my work here.
Oh, I´m also starting a woman´s basketball league for women who want to get fit without the bruised legs from indor or fútbol. So, see, I am doing a bit of health related work (trying to stop feeling guilty about my being here as a "health organizational development volunteer" and all I´m doing is teaching English).
That´s work... and as it´s a lot of work, I´m seeing a downturn in my leisure time (which truly and honestly is fine by me--time moves faster when you´re working than when you are sitting around doing nada).
In my personal life, I find I´m being plagued by assorted animals, and I have no idea why. There are currently 5 dogs at my house, and any time I leave the door to my room open for even a minute, at least one of them will have made their way into my room to lay on my bed, under my bed, in my shower, or under my desk. Before I ever shut the door to leave, I have to do a thorough check to make sure I´m not locking anyone in. If the cat gets locked in, he can just escape through the bars on the windows, but the dogs are a different matter altogether.
Other than cats and dogs, there is the equivalent of a biblical plague of frogs here (probably not literally, but c´mon, there´s a LOT of them). I usually have to sweep 3 to 4 of them out of my room at night before I go to bed, and if I decide to go for an evening stroll, I have to walk slowly and carefully to make sure I don´t step on any of the dozens of sapos hopping into and out of my path.
With earplugs, I´ve managed to smother my hatred of the roosters in residence outside my window, but they, their wives, and their children all sneak into my room when I have the door open (when I´m, say, trying to let in a bit of fresh, cool air during the afternoon), looking for a bit of tasty grub to nibble on, but for crying out loud, THERE IS NO RICE IN MY ROOM!
Other than all this, I´m being followed everywhere, by dogs (usually, at least 3, but sometimes, all 5) and children (who, depending on the child, may be just as dogged). I literally cannot go anywhere without stirring up some other group of dogs stirred out of their lazy slumbers to protect their territorial integrity. My arrival in the park or casa comunal is trumpeted by barks, howls, and growls.
...but that´s enough animal planet for now. Besides, while I know dogs can´t read, Spaz is laying here in the office with me, looking offended...
Que mas? I miss you all, but I bet you get tired of hearing this... I can´t wait to come home, and I also can´t wait to know when exactly I´ll be getting there. At worst, August... but maybe we can bring that forward a month? Time will tell, but geez, I just want to go home already. I try not to see the bars on my window, the cement walls, my every step being followed, not being able to see my family and friends, and not having personal freedom as some type of prison sentence, but really folks... I´ve been in Ecuador for 10 months now... at least in prison you get visits. (I know this is a gross exaggeration, but I´m entitled to use literary license as the author of this short internet blog post, so bite me, and naa-naa-na-naa-naaa...)
Today is my last day of freedom, as classes start tomorrow. Luckily, I was able to get online for a bit... yesterday was spent doing a week and a half´s worth of laundry by hand (and do you have ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO WASH JEANS?!!). I don´t really know when the next time I´ll be getting online is, so I´ll be using the internet for as long as possible today, and hopefully will be able to send a few emails...
Anyway, until we meet again, Live Long and Prosper, May the Force be with you, and Vaya con Dios, bro.
Peace :-D
Oh! I just chose the title of my blog, and it made me remember, the rains have come back! Thanks for all the prayers--hopefully the rice can still be saved :-D-
1 comments:
Damn that's a lot of flora and fauna invading your room! I was watching the travel channel today and they said that sapos are supposed to be lucky in Peru; are they held with such regard in Ecuardor? They don't sound too smart, what with trying to get stepped on in the middle of the night.
April certainly has flown by. I hope May goes by even quicker for you! besos, nicole
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