Finding My Stride
So May is here and we (Meredith and I) just celebrated our 5 month in-site anniversary. 5 months gone! Hard to believe, really. I´m trying something new this month - I´m not going into Cajamarca until mid June. Work has really picked up and I actually want to be there for it. This is a change. Before now, I felt like I had to be in site, rather than wanted to be there. Don´t get me wrong, I´m sure by the time June rolls around I´ll be more than ready to head in to Cajamarca, but for now, I´m content to get some projects up and running.
What might those projects be, you ask. Well, I have the gardens (I just got the seeds in for the garden in the high school) and I´m talking with the director there about other things I might teach (nutrition and self-esteem are the biggies). I started teaching English classes as well. Those are going better than I could had hoped. I´m not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be, though dids still scare me! The nurse, Miriam, at the Health Post has asked me to help her with some health activities at the elementary school and at the high school. I´m also in talks with the director at the elementary school about doing a guinnea pig project (yes, for consumption) as well as nutrition and self-esteem. And I´m still in talks with my outlying community about latrines.
All this work is great, but it hasn´t kept true homesickness from setting in. By "true" homesickness I don´t mean the acute "I miss Kaluha Bree and a Down & Dirty martinis at Elliots or a hug from Dad or Benny Blancos extra cheese pizza or a movie with Bubba or Thai iced tea at Toys or wine and cookies with Mom or reliable hot showers and easy transport". Rather, its a dull ache for the familiar; for my native language, for the closeness and assurance of family and friends, for faces like mine (everyone here has black hair. Everyone!). I´m told this will pass so I´m keeping my fingers crossed that it happens soon.
I have realized one very important skill life in Jocos has already taught me - I am now able to identify the excretment (yes, excretment) of 7 (yes 7) different types of barnyard animals. Horses, cows, donkeys, chickens, ducks, sheep and goat. Hhhhmm, not, I don´t think, what all those Peace Corps brochures had in mind when they said I would discover talents I never knew I had.
Kíon and I are finally becoming a family. We still struggle with his running with the wrong crowd in Jocos, but treats and positive re-enforcement are helping. So is the constant presence of the leash. He is getting bigger every day and is now nearly knee height (my knee) at the shoulders. He will never be hefty, rather he will be like me - tall and thin with huge ears! They really are massive (his, not mine)!
I´m still working on getting pictures out to everyone (or at least a couple up on the blog), but it will have to wait until I go back into Cajamarca. I do have the pictures on CDs so that is a step in the right direction.
More in a couple of weeks. . .
What might those projects be, you ask. Well, I have the gardens (I just got the seeds in for the garden in the high school) and I´m talking with the director there about other things I might teach (nutrition and self-esteem are the biggies). I started teaching English classes as well. Those are going better than I could had hoped. I´m not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be, though dids still scare me! The nurse, Miriam, at the Health Post has asked me to help her with some health activities at the elementary school and at the high school. I´m also in talks with the director at the elementary school about doing a guinnea pig project (yes, for consumption) as well as nutrition and self-esteem. And I´m still in talks with my outlying community about latrines.
All this work is great, but it hasn´t kept true homesickness from setting in. By "true" homesickness I don´t mean the acute "I miss Kaluha Bree and a Down & Dirty martinis at Elliots or a hug from Dad or Benny Blancos extra cheese pizza or a movie with Bubba or Thai iced tea at Toys or wine and cookies with Mom or reliable hot showers and easy transport". Rather, its a dull ache for the familiar; for my native language, for the closeness and assurance of family and friends, for faces like mine (everyone here has black hair. Everyone!). I´m told this will pass so I´m keeping my fingers crossed that it happens soon.
I have realized one very important skill life in Jocos has already taught me - I am now able to identify the excretment (yes, excretment) of 7 (yes 7) different types of barnyard animals. Horses, cows, donkeys, chickens, ducks, sheep and goat. Hhhhmm, not, I don´t think, what all those Peace Corps brochures had in mind when they said I would discover talents I never knew I had.
Kíon and I are finally becoming a family. We still struggle with his running with the wrong crowd in Jocos, but treats and positive re-enforcement are helping. So is the constant presence of the leash. He is getting bigger every day and is now nearly knee height (my knee) at the shoulders. He will never be hefty, rather he will be like me - tall and thin with huge ears! They really are massive (his, not mine)!
I´m still working on getting pictures out to everyone (or at least a couple up on the blog), but it will have to wait until I go back into Cajamarca. I do have the pictures on CDs so that is a step in the right direction.
More in a couple of weeks. . .
posted by Kellie | 11:30 AM
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