Hole Digging and Heart to Hearts

March 21, 2013

Today was just one of those days. You know, those days when you wake up with a lot of doubts, but by the end of the day everything just comes together beautifully. Typically my day here starts out with a 4 hour Spanish class, today however it started out with a interview in Spanish, which serves as our test to determine if we will be changing levels. Since I am already in the level that needs to be attained by the end of to training in order to be able to remain in the Peace Corps, I did not have much to worry about. So of course, I worried! Typical. I went into my interview nervous and I really did not like the first question which was a bit on the personal side, and after that, it just did not go as I would have hoped for. I came out a bit frustrated but at the same time I understood that this interview exam served no other purpose then to determine where I am right now so that I can be put in the appropriate group to be in the best learning environment for me. After the interview I had some free time in the afternoon for the second time since I have arrived so I was able to do all sorts of crazy things! Including; my laundry, and going on a little adventure to buy some ligit rubber boots so I can get nice and muddy next week during our training at one of the current volunteers sites. I returned home to a delicious taco lunch (delicious, sort of takes on a new meaning here after some time. Anything out of the ordinary, meaning not rice and chicken, is delicious. Though personally I do love myself some rice and beans as well).

During our technical class we got to do some planting of seeds in our semilleros (seedbeds) that we constructed the other day. Now if only I had a picture to demonstrate to you all how ingenious our seedbed was. The engineering was flawless! My group took some platano (plantain) tree trunks and split them in half. Then we took out a few of the layers of the trunk so that we had some depth. Basically it looked like a tube cut in half long way. We had a few of these and placed them on top of a grate that we created by

In addition to this, today we had our interviews with our APCD, basically the director of our sector (Community Environmental Conservation) Since tomorrow he will be deciding which site he wants to place us in for the next two years, this was a pretty significant interview. Unfortunately only about a third of the group was able to have the interview because we ran out of time. However our APCD says that he already has us figured out and so the interviews with the rest of the people wouldn't have been necessary anyways. Personally however, I am extremely happy that I was able to have my interview. It allowed me to express my thoughts openly about what I would like in my site. It also reaffirmed that my director really knows what he is doing and that he knows us better than we think. Also, because I was able to do the interview in Spanish and still effectively communicate my thoughts, I like to think that I redeemed myself from the disaster of a Spanish interview that I had this morning.

After the interview I got to dig some holes! Physical exertion was the perfect way for me to get rid of all the nervous energy I developed earlier in the morning. It was also very rewarding to see how our garden is slowly forming. I hope that the children of this school really enjoy the garden that we are creating for them. :)

To top the day off, I just had a serious heart to heart with my host mom. For those who don’t already know this, she is 23 years old, as am I. This proximity in age makes it very easy for us to talk. Even though we may have very different backgrounds and be in slightly different places in our lives we still share many values and beliefs on a whole variety of topics, including men apparently ;) as well as the affects of technology on our generation, pregnancy, and the importance of having personal goals, following your dreams (as cheesy as that may sound) and your desired career path. We agreed that one day when I’m pregnant, and just can’t handle everything anymore, she will be the person I will call. Although I am not excited for that day, I must admit that I would love to call her at that moment. I have no doubt that she would instantly cheer me up from thousands of miles away.

During our conversation we realized that by the time that I am done with my Peace Corps Service, Katlyn, my 1 year and 3 month old sister, will be nearly 3.5 years old. I can’t even imagine! She is going to be a dancing superstar by then! I hope she remembers me! I really hope that I will have the chance to visit during my service to make sure that she doesn't forget me because I will certainly not forget her, nor Mili of course.