The Importance of Big Hairy Spiders in a Cat´s Diet
Pirula found a massive araña behind the toilet the night before last. If I wasn´t already on the toilet I think I would have shat my pants the way it jumped out at me! I smashed the livin´ daylights out of the monster and then Pi ate it for a nighttime snack. Crunch crunch… Que rico! *shudders*
The following is a little letter one of my coloring club kiddos wrote me. I thought it was precious so going to share it. A little discription first because this was done during our creative time in coloring club. In red marker a precise corazoncito was drawn 2/3s of the way down the page and in purple in side the corazoncito it says “tu y yo Amigos x 100pre” Y at the top of the page in red dice “Para: Anna(my name is in purple)” y then the rest is in very neat purple letras diciendo “Este corazon es para Anna, mi amiga y mi mejor amiga. Anna tu eres como una Madre para mi tu me enseñas muchas cosas nunca te olvidare, con todo mi corazón yo te quiero Gracias: por cuidarme, por enseñarme Gracias: por escuchar mi palabras” and then in purple bubble letters “Te quiero mucho Anna” then in her neat little letters “tu alumna Maria C.” *melt* *sniffle* so there you go, my motivation to keep on coloring. There is the proof that I have done something sustainable in my time here!
Waiting…I waited so much Saturday that I finished of a 319pg book that I was a 1/3 of the way through. It was a good book. Life of Pi by Yann Martel. “Then the elderly man said, ´I have a story that will make you believe in God.´” has to be a good book when it starts out like that right? Next book to tackle -- Una Arruga en el Tiempo por Madeleine L´Engle. Ha upei... have a stack of ten books on my shelf that people have given me to read... and a list of five million people say I should find and read. So people always think I am studying here because they don´t read for pleasure here. Costs too much to buy literature and few are in the habit of borrowing books to read from the Centro de Informacion Manos Abiertas. Then there is the sad fact that even if someone was fortunate enough to finish school, they aren´t necessarily literate. ¿Como sabes tantas cosas, Anna? Me preguntan miles de veces. Leo muchísimos libros les contesto miles de veces.
Hilarious text message I received this week: neighbrs hav visitas. they all smokd pot outsid (didnt invit me) n now dude is in undrwear n feathr headrss dancn 2 clascal music makn bird sounds
Hot, sunny, windy, cloudy, cool, sprinkle, humid, cloudy, sunny, partially cloudy, partly sunny, cloudy, breezy, sprinkle, lightening, thunder, gusty, sprinkle, cloudy, sunny, sunny clouds, hottly cool, humidly dry, breezy gusts, cloudy sun, cool hotness, drily humid, gusty breezes.
Mosquitos.
And then... y despues... ha upei… not even going to tell you about the discusión on sexual harassment I had with some paraguayans as a result of radio commentary on a popular radio station here in A-town.. “Piropos are only sexual harassment if my boss is making them… that´s what guys do…The wink was just a saludo…but the tongue??? Besides women are used to it…I am not a feminist…”
¿Estas mas flaca? Ummm.... don´t think so but if you want to say I am I won´t argue with you. Its better than you telling me I am a lard ass everyday.
Meetings are the bane of my existance. Why suspend a meeting 1 minute before its supposed to start just because the secretary hasn´t arrived when we all know you give a 30minute window for arrival? Why reschedule that meeting then for an hour that you know everyone that was present 1 minute before the original time will be sleeping or occupied with something more interesting then coming to the silly meeting? Why? Why schedule things or agree to do something during a standing appointment time? If I could charge 1mil for everytime I am stood up, canceled, scheduled over, or just plain forgotten for no apparent reason I would be a millionaire.
Eh..so tired. Alma Misionaria, one of the Señoras groups that I am working with is about to open their guardaria comunitaria (community daycare). We had a yelling match over who the ignauguration is for and when it should happen, opening dates, state of the bathroom and who stepped on my big toe. *crosses fingers* 8 months of walking the Aldea through the project they started bass akwards, lets pray to god it sticks. The other groups (MaAuxi-husband of the house liked to walk around the barrio naked, San Miguel-never got past the initial phase, SanLo-in fighting and back biting, IPVU-eh..disappeared, Viñas Cue Bajo #1-no participation) folded. We are working with a new group in Viñas Cue Bajo (#2) we´ll see if we get this one to stick and up in running before I leave.
The Les and I have weaseled Ryan into helping up out at the jail. YEA, a boy to help us teach things to the boys!! Hee hee. I want to beat the directors head with a child development book. Silly man thinks he is going to see a kid who hasn´t in his life had a structured, disciplined life is going to be the model citizen in 3months. Um…let me explain to you how teenagers are the world over whether they are perfect angels or a rebelous beyond belief.. get your expectations in a realistic place and maybe you will start to see the improvements that these boys have made in the past 4months and I only see them for 2hrs a week. D for instance never talked in the group now he states his opinions or answers the question by addressing his nearest neighbor! The whole group has not lost or destroyed any of the books we have lent them for further reading on some topics. And this is with a huge turn over of kids. 6 of the original 10 are still there and we had 15 two weeks ago but are down to 13 now.
13 days til mom and dad come to visit. Yea, visitas! Too bad noone else who said they were going to visit have come to see me yet.
165 days til COS (not counting by any means. Just something I tallied up in my many hours of waiting this week. I really should remember to bring a book with me everywhere or my crochet that I have yet to finish. Counting days makes it seem like I am in prison.)
7 months til I will be able to flush toilet paper.
Seems so far away and yet we are supposed to start getting our COS nonsense at the end of this month. And in 3 months a little less actually have our COS conference which starts the whole crazy process to unravel myself from Cuerpo de Paz. It is going to be weird to be able to flush toilet paper. I wonder how long it will actually take me to reaclimate to flushing instead of putting in the waste basket?
Okay there you have it an actual detailed update.
Ani che ñe´ê !
Love you miss you
Besitos y abrazos
The following is a little letter one of my coloring club kiddos wrote me. I thought it was precious so going to share it. A little discription first because this was done during our creative time in coloring club. In red marker a precise corazoncito was drawn 2/3s of the way down the page and in purple in side the corazoncito it says “tu y yo Amigos x 100pre” Y at the top of the page in red dice “Para: Anna(my name is in purple)” y then the rest is in very neat purple letras diciendo “Este corazon es para Anna, mi amiga y mi mejor amiga. Anna tu eres como una Madre para mi tu me enseñas muchas cosas nunca te olvidare, con todo mi corazón yo te quiero Gracias: por cuidarme, por enseñarme Gracias: por escuchar mi palabras” and then in purple bubble letters “Te quiero mucho Anna” then in her neat little letters “tu alumna Maria C.” *melt* *sniffle* so there you go, my motivation to keep on coloring. There is the proof that I have done something sustainable in my time here!
Waiting…I waited so much Saturday that I finished of a 319pg book that I was a 1/3 of the way through. It was a good book. Life of Pi by Yann Martel. “Then the elderly man said, ´I have a story that will make you believe in God.´” has to be a good book when it starts out like that right? Next book to tackle -- Una Arruga en el Tiempo por Madeleine L´Engle. Ha upei... have a stack of ten books on my shelf that people have given me to read... and a list of five million people say I should find and read. So people always think I am studying here because they don´t read for pleasure here. Costs too much to buy literature and few are in the habit of borrowing books to read from the Centro de Informacion Manos Abiertas. Then there is the sad fact that even if someone was fortunate enough to finish school, they aren´t necessarily literate. ¿Como sabes tantas cosas, Anna? Me preguntan miles de veces. Leo muchísimos libros les contesto miles de veces.
Hilarious text message I received this week: neighbrs hav visitas. they all smokd pot outsid (didnt invit me) n now dude is in undrwear n feathr headrss dancn 2 clascal music makn bird sounds
Hot, sunny, windy, cloudy, cool, sprinkle, humid, cloudy, sunny, partially cloudy, partly sunny, cloudy, breezy, sprinkle, lightening, thunder, gusty, sprinkle, cloudy, sunny, sunny clouds, hottly cool, humidly dry, breezy gusts, cloudy sun, cool hotness, drily humid, gusty breezes.
Mosquitos.
And then... y despues... ha upei… not even going to tell you about the discusión on sexual harassment I had with some paraguayans as a result of radio commentary on a popular radio station here in A-town.. “Piropos are only sexual harassment if my boss is making them… that´s what guys do…The wink was just a saludo…but the tongue??? Besides women are used to it…I am not a feminist…”
¿Estas mas flaca? Ummm.... don´t think so but if you want to say I am I won´t argue with you. Its better than you telling me I am a lard ass everyday.
Meetings are the bane of my existance. Why suspend a meeting 1 minute before its supposed to start just because the secretary hasn´t arrived when we all know you give a 30minute window for arrival? Why reschedule that meeting then for an hour that you know everyone that was present 1 minute before the original time will be sleeping or occupied with something more interesting then coming to the silly meeting? Why? Why schedule things or agree to do something during a standing appointment time? If I could charge 1mil for everytime I am stood up, canceled, scheduled over, or just plain forgotten for no apparent reason I would be a millionaire.
Eh..so tired. Alma Misionaria, one of the Señoras groups that I am working with is about to open their guardaria comunitaria (community daycare). We had a yelling match over who the ignauguration is for and when it should happen, opening dates, state of the bathroom and who stepped on my big toe. *crosses fingers* 8 months of walking the Aldea through the project they started bass akwards, lets pray to god it sticks. The other groups (MaAuxi-husband of the house liked to walk around the barrio naked, San Miguel-never got past the initial phase, SanLo-in fighting and back biting, IPVU-eh..disappeared, Viñas Cue Bajo #1-no participation) folded. We are working with a new group in Viñas Cue Bajo (#2) we´ll see if we get this one to stick and up in running before I leave.
The Les and I have weaseled Ryan into helping up out at the jail. YEA, a boy to help us teach things to the boys!! Hee hee. I want to beat the directors head with a child development book. Silly man thinks he is going to see a kid who hasn´t in his life had a structured, disciplined life is going to be the model citizen in 3months. Um…let me explain to you how teenagers are the world over whether they are perfect angels or a rebelous beyond belief.. get your expectations in a realistic place and maybe you will start to see the improvements that these boys have made in the past 4months and I only see them for 2hrs a week. D for instance never talked in the group now he states his opinions or answers the question by addressing his nearest neighbor! The whole group has not lost or destroyed any of the books we have lent them for further reading on some topics. And this is with a huge turn over of kids. 6 of the original 10 are still there and we had 15 two weeks ago but are down to 13 now.
13 days til mom and dad come to visit. Yea, visitas! Too bad noone else who said they were going to visit have come to see me yet.
165 days til COS (not counting by any means. Just something I tallied up in my many hours of waiting this week. I really should remember to bring a book with me everywhere or my crochet that I have yet to finish. Counting days makes it seem like I am in prison.)
7 months til I will be able to flush toilet paper.
Seems so far away and yet we are supposed to start getting our COS nonsense at the end of this month. And in 3 months a little less actually have our COS conference which starts the whole crazy process to unravel myself from Cuerpo de Paz. It is going to be weird to be able to flush toilet paper. I wonder how long it will actually take me to reaclimate to flushing instead of putting in the waste basket?
Okay there you have it an actual detailed update.
Ani che ñe´ê !
Love you miss you
Besitos y abrazos