That’s why we run these tests!
I have tried to do a few things recently that have just simply crashed and burned. One of those things was trying to make a compost heap which apparently is more complex than I initially thought (don’t worry…I’ll figure it out) and the other was getting in 30 minutes to an hour of cardio on a daily basis which seemed possible until my elliptical broke last week (yep…I put an elliptical on a bus and brought it up to Mexico so that I wouldn’t have to run in the streets with dogs chasing me and everyone staring) well, the pedal came completely detached from the rest of the bike (the bolt broke in half…) and I fell to the ground, thankful that no one was here to see. I believe that both of these things are repairable…but will not know for sure until I buy some plastic and new boards for my compost heap and a wrench and a new bolt for the elliptical…both of which are going t to take some organization and funds on my part…so…there’s that.
Here are some vocabulary words I never thought I’d need to know…
Llavero - Keychain
Manguera -Hose (like for watering plants)
Pelechar- to shed (like shed hair)
Agitar(se)- to fluster
Voz ronco- husky voice
Sudar- to sweat
Teclado- keyboard
Lancha- boat
Chippy- choppy (like the quality of the surface of water of a lake)
There are more…but I can’t seem to recall them right now.
Speaking of the quality of the surface of water of a lake…
I went to the lake! FINALLY! Here’s what that looks like.
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| El Lago. |
I had a wonderful time. I stayed in Santa Cruz La Laguna (which is right on the lake, and you must take a boat to get there…because there are no roads…)
I went on a Monday and a Tuesday and it was pretty calm at the Hostal which I generally prefer. I spent Monday traveling to the lake and then on Tuesday we went Hiking at this nature reserve in Pana where there was a Mariposario (a butterfly house) and lots of trails, bridges, and monkeys…see à
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| Hammock bridge...in cartoons people always fall through them...so i was naturally, very worried. |
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| monkey. |
I also played a lot of cards…which reaffirmed my love for gin-rummy and was audience to some pretty sweet magic tricks…which I had no idea I was so fascinated by; in case there is any debate: magic = awesome. End of story.
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| I feel like my hand looks weird here... |
After my mini-vacay at the Lake I was off to Antigua for a doctor's appt. and a celebration at the Ambassador’s house to mark the swearing-in of new volunteers, the closing of service for the group 1 year my senior, my group’s 1 year in service anniversary and the 50 years of Peace Corps celebration.
My friend, Mark, who just had his Close-of-Service, did a photo comparison of people in his training group, entitled, “Rapid Aging as Illustrated by Picasa Collages” and shows pictures of people from training versus at their closing of service conference…and the general consensus is that Peace Corps ages you…so I have that to look forward to. Ha-ha
So, I went to the Dermatologist…concerned with rapid aging and scars from my cool face infection and he told me to wear more sunscreen…and I laughed because of the way he said it…like no one has ever told me to wear sunscreen before; dad beat him to the punch like 20 years ago...so i'm going to stay the course with that. ha ha.
As for the party at the Ambassador’s house….that guy’s got some nice digs. How do I get a gig like that? Foreign Service and being friendly seem to be some of the pre-req’s there…I wonder how long that would take…
There were a lot of speeches (wow…auto-correct just changed speeches from how I was trying to spell it “speaches” so…so wrong, embarrassing) by Peace Corps Guatemala Staff, The Ambassador and a representative from Washington DC…which was pretty neat. Then we had a snack…which they underestimated in a big way…as it was lunchtime and everyone was starving. So by the time I got to the front of the line I grabbed about 4 chips that were left on one of the platters and we all stood around, agitated, waiting for them to bus us back to the office so we could all go get some food ha-ha. Other than that tiny hiccup I thought the party was awesome, it was outrageous how many Volunteers were there; so many of whom I had never met, it was nice.
It was a pretty big to-do. We made the cover page of the Prensa Libre (the newspaper).
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| Más de un centenar de estadounidenses, entre nuevos y ex voluntarios, participaron en la celebración, en la residencia del embajador de EE. UU |
Then we all went out in Antigua…which was pretty great also. And then I got up on Saturday morning and traveled back to site…which SUCKED. Lately I HATE riding on Camionetas…I’m really over it. 10 hours is entirely too long and my body can’t take it like it used to. I literally can not sit down in a chair right now because my tailbone hurts so bad- I have to lie on my stomach and then roll over on to my back to be comfortable. It’s horrible. I could really go for a soak in a hot tub.
And the best thing ever- I get to get back on a bus on Wednesday to be at a security meeting in Huehue on Thursday and then, Thursday night, go to Antigua to be at mid-service conference on Friday morning… nice one; I’m going to seek reparations for the psychological and physical pain that comes with traveling that distance twice in two weeks… I’m not pleased, I think it could very well be an aging factor, those “free radicals“ that age skin have nothing on a Camioneta ride.
To make the second trip worthwhile I have elected to take Spanish classes the week of the 4th-8th and am very much looking forward to improving my ability to tell stories in Spanish…and brushing up on some of the fancier conjugations. Should be good.
Bueno pues…
I’m ready to sign-off; It’s time. Until next time, I’ll be thinking of you all…
Wash your hands, wear sunscreen, make good choices etc. etc.
XOXO!
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