September 2, 2008

Today was my third day in La Misma. Yesterday I met up with Guadalupe and we planned out what we are going to do this month. Oh my goodness!!! She has us doing things that I didn’t think I would be doing for months. She wants us to give sex-ed charalas, build wooden trash bins with the youth, and fix up the abandoned playground. I’m really excited about her. I think she is a great counterpart. I just hope that my Spanish gets better quickly so I can actually start really participating in the activities she has us doing instead of silently helping.

After Guadalupe and I planned out our month, I accompanied her as she visited one of the schools. I met a few of the teachers and soon enough I had about ten kids hanging off me. Then one of the teachers asked me if I had parents. I thought that was kind of a strange question. Of course I have parents! I couldn’t help but wonder if she was simply trying to inquire about my family or if she really wondered if I had lost my family. Why else would a single white female leave her country and everything she knows (especially the language) to move to a foreign country.

In the afternoon I went to Machala to buy a few necessities: grapefruit, tape, a watch, and washcloths. I strange list, I know. I would have bought more, but I ran out of money. It was fun to wander around the markets. Next trip: a fan and a pillow.
Back in La Misma, I enjoyed a light dinner of grapefruit and yogurt. More curious looks from the family, but we are starting to get used to each other. Eventually I will start having to eat more substantial foods, but for right now I’m enjoying my low-carb diet. I think I deserve it after eating bread, rice, potatoes, and fried foods for three months.

After I finished eating, the mother (must learn her name) left for work. Apparently, she has a little store at the nearby university where she sells snacks to hungry students. Dario, Michelle, I bonded while she was gone. Somehow we ended up on my bed talking about lots of random stuff. They really are good kids.

Today I spent another day with Guadalupe. In the morning she introduced me to Byron who will apparently be my second counterpart. He kinda pissed me off with he asked me why American girls wear loose clothing and don’t dress sexy. I had a bunch of smart-aleck answers running through my head—all in English. Since there are no tourists in Machala, I realized he was basing his observations on the female Peace Corps volunteers. Of course we don’t want to dress sexy and walk around in 100˚F weather in tight clothing! I settled with explaining to him that we prefer comfortable clothes and don’t want men staring at us. One day, however, I will ask him why all the Ecuadorian men don’t dress sexy… or some other comparable underlying insult.

In the afternoon I aided Guadalupe with her after-school Adventura de la Vida program. We made first-aid kits. It was fun, but I was really exhausted and it was HOT!! And this is their ‘winter!’ I beginning to think I got more that I was asking for when I wanted someone hot. At one point I was about ready to crawl into the corner and take a nap. I was sooo glad when it was time to go. I’m going to need to start scheduling naps into Guadalupe’s and my busy schedule.