To all those generous and incredible people that helped donate to my project, thank you. No matter how small of a donation you gave, your hearts are huge. Because of your help, I will be able to buy 15 computers for the school in my community. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted and send individual thank you's with photos.
So rainy season has arrived, and how I've long awaited this! However, there are some downsides, like all the creepy crawlers that invade my house. Let me name a few by beginning with...
Scorpions! They like to hide in mysterious places, like my clothing and soccer cleats.
Beetles - They fly around inside my house and I always confuse their loud, obnoxious sound for bumblebees. Anyway, they fly around my house, hit the wall, fall, and shortly thereafter die. Then swarms of ants later invade my house to take care of the dead beetle.
Cockroaches - Pues, at least now I don't have to worry about them biting me while I'm going to the bathroom. Oh the joys of having an indoor bathroom! And a bathtub too! I'm not quite sure what I did to deserve such luxuries.
Tarantulas - Fortunately, I haven't encountered any in my house. But yes, they are around town too.
Rats, frogs, flies, more frogs, and how c
ould I forget, mosquitoes. I'm not leaving this country without getting Dengue at least twice. The mosquitoes here actually seem to prefer the taste of deet.That's just some of my housemates... The rest just look strange and weird, and I don't know the names of them.
Rainy season is also the time where electricity comes and goes as it pleases. Sometimes for days a time.
The perk of rainy season = reading and taking siestas in my hammock without feeling guilty about it. It also means more alone time! It's funny just how little alone time I have, but yet I feel so alone. The only gringa. Just imagine. Dear community, I don't look like you. I don't talk like you. I don't think like you. You don't understand me. I don't understand you. (I'm not saying this because of the language barrier, either.) Some days I feel like I just don't have anyone. Noone understands what I'm going through on my bad days. I have no one to talk to that could somewhat understand me. But every time I'm falling in a slump, I leave my house before it gets too bad. I travel around the village; go to the school, visit my awesome host family, receive hugs from my 2 year old host brother and sister, watch novellas with friends, drink coffee with the elders, play soccer with the little kids, climb mango trees with the third cycle students, etc. I return back to my house with the feeling from having no one to the feeling of having 780 people. We come from 2 completely different worlds & we will never understand each other... But Dear Community, I love you. Thanks for accepting me.
So according to the "emotional path of a Peace Corps volunteer", one begins feeling "normal" again by month 12 (next month)... Everything around me is normal. This is my life. This is my campo. And these are my people; even though they don't look, sound, or think like me. Everything is normal to me. Except myself. It sounds ridicolous, but it's true... when I'm having a "normal day" I feel extremely high. Due partly to all those really low moments we all come across. Those low moments make the high feel that much higher.
So what else is going on?
I spent a few days in Roatan, Honduras.... SCUBA DIVING! Awesome!
Lately, I've been teaching a TON of English to kids. Since EVERY single child from 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade wants to learn English, the school fit clase de ingles into their daily agenda. We'll see how long the excitement of English class lasts. The kids are actually telling me I need to give more exams! What 4th grader actually wants to take a test? These kids rock!
I'm also teaching exercise class to a few ladies. If only the ladies in my community were as motivated to exercise as the kids in my community are to learn English, they will be a little less gorda. The motivation is lacking, but the excuses certainly are not.
We had our first softball game, in which we lost (90 to 30... mas o menos) ... but I think we have some great potential. I'm hoping to win this grant that I applied for, so I can provide my team with baseball mits. Dropping the ball seems to be the main problem here.
That's it for now. I promise not to wait 2 months before writing another blog.
I booked my flight! September 22nd until October 10th. I'm going to the United States of America! Hip hip hooray!
