Amazing Voyage

So I'm back in the city getting ready to head out to our Reconnect meeting (at the beach!). Reconnect is meeting that each incoming group has after 3 months at site... kinda a 'check-in' time. For one of the first times I was able to take the bus from my site to the city during the daytime and it was amazing! Usually we have to take a madrugada bus (earlybird) at 3am out of site because it's the only one offered during the rainy season. I don't know if it was watching the sunset with the setting or what, but it felt life-changing! Okay, maybe not life-changing, but it had a great affect on my mood. This may also be attributed to the fact that there was a sunset. I realized on this trip that even though I love rain and hadn't consciously felt affected by the lack of sun, when we got out of the clouds I did feel a noticeable change. I felt happy before, but the sun made me feel so much better. I guess I took it for granted living in New Mexico. The summer evening feeling made me want to play soccer like I used to at UNM everyday that I could. The trip started out at my site where we go through the green mountains with many windy turns (like the black range in NM) and lots of mud. It's not unusual to have to stop at least once to push... usually just the guys. After about 3 hours of that, we entered the green ricefield plains surrounded by steep green mountains. There is a huge mix of plant types here including those trees that are more fat in the middle than the top or bottom. I always forget the name of those. There's also moss that grows on the trees and bright red and yellow wildflowers. After the ricefield plaines with a sweet river between, we went into another green lowlands area that is a lush green forest covered by vegetation. All this was enhanced by the fact that it was sunset. This made me a pretty happy camper... yes: happy camper.

In other news... I've started to realize that I am getting used to the strange things that occur here without noticing. I don't know what's weird anymore. For example, the other day I was on the phone with my mom and she asked 'What's that noise in the background?' and I told her 'Oh yeah... that's just the parlante (loudspeaker) for the town. ' I remembered that we don't have those in the US. They give annoucements throughout the day mainly about municipality stuff, but also sometimes when people are selling things and whats on the menu for one of the local 'restaurants'. She said 'You didn't tell me about that' as if I am able to tell her everything that I see and do here (my Mom is so cute). Once I thought about it, I realized the loudspeaker thing started here in Peru. They're not in the US because it would be considered noise pollution and/or violation of people's rights... huh weird. Maybe that's why Im annoyed at 6am on Sunday mornings when I have to listen to Peruvian ballads when I just... would rather not.

But one thing that I have not yet gotten used to (gotten?) is that fact that people throw trash around like their planting seeds or something. It makes me cringe, especially because of the beautiful place they have here and how neglectful they are (not all). On the very trip here I saw the cobrador (guy who collects the money/tickets) throw a glass bottle out the window. He was finished with his drink, and just tossed it out the window... done and done. Really? It feels like watching someone poop right in someone else's house (sorry for the analogy). I guess it's just what they know. They know it's bad, but the actions do not always reflect the knowledge as I have learned a great deal these last few months.

On a mental update, I'm doing pretty well. I'm here; I'm doing what I can; and enjoying as much as possible. My Spanish is still a little frusterating. I actually do get annoyed every once in a while when I get laughed at. It's good that I have a lot of patience. I will go talk to a group of guys that I only kind of know and talk with them for a while and when I walk off I hear them laughing. I'm like... Mannnnn... I know they're laughing at me. Which is fine. It's normal. But after a long day of exhausting Spanish and other issues, sometimes I'm not in the mood to be laughed at. Most of the time, I just laugh at the fact that I'm being laughed at, but again, not always. I think I'm learning Spanish slowly, but I'll keep working at it.

Other than that, when it doesn't rain I play fulbito, which I'm finally getting good at. I am finishing up doing surveys of my area. I mainly did them in the surrounding small villages called caserios. I mostly enjoyed doing them even though it can be exhausting. There are some that go really well. I visisted an old couple a couple weeks ago and after a little bit of talking they really oppened up and were just so happy to have a visitor. There are a lot of issues with the elderly here because once they are unable to work, they need someone to rely on. This couple was really good to me and treated me to boiled potatoes and queso fresco... campo cheese. In the campo when we get offered something, we kinda have to eat it... and all of it. It probably wasn't the most sanitary meal, but I was actually happy about it because I was hungry. I realized I can eat a lot of weird things. Luckily I haven't had stomach problems thus far.

I also finished up teaching summer school last month and there was a little ceremony. I enjoy working with the kids here more than anything. The little kids are awesome. I try not to have favorites, but I can't help it.

I get to go to Ayacucho this month as well to visit my World Vision sponsor child. I got assigned to him about a year before Peace Corps and now that I just happen to be in Peru for Peace Corps, I get to visit. I'm pretty excited about it. This month will be busy with a lot of traveling between this reconnect, visiting my sponsor child, and then a Project Development meeting which we attend with our socios. Should be interesting, so I will try to keep ya posted. Congrats to Keith and Iphigenia getting married! The pics were amazing!

(a congrejo-crab I found in my house & an example of the trail I walk to get to the caserios... there are crabs in the mountains of Peru... weird)

I Live in the Clouds

Seriously… I live in the clouds. This zone is justly called a Cloud Forest; so much humidity that plants grow on power lines and roofs. My experience thus far has also had a cloudening affect on my mind. I don’t know how long it will be until I consider this my reality, but I do know the ups and downs of this life are definitely more varied than I had expected. I feel as though I have been in a long dream since I had arrived in Peru. This second life has been amazing in so many ways and I realize I am actually living the dream that I had for so many years by living in another country in an attempt to serve others. I don’t know how long it will be until I consider this my reality, but I do know the ups and downs of this life are definitely more varied than I had expected.

Since the last (real) post, I have done a couple interesting things. The first of which includes helping in the slaughtering… wow, harsh word… the killing (not much better) of a pig. I was invited by a community member to help in this ‘event’ as it serves as a tradition as well as a overall cultural experience here. It’s more than just the killing of the pig, in the campo, it’s a community event in which everyone takes part in and the meat along with other food components are shared afterwards as a type of celebration. For some reason, it takes place in the madrugada (early morning) at 3AM. This could be for one or each of three reasons, 1) a simple precedent set by tradition, 2) it takes a whole day and many helpers to kill the pig and make all the meal preparations, or 3) The screaming of the pig will not annoy people during the day… but on second thought it has the opposite effect of people sleeping at night. First, I help walk the pig in front of the house of my friend, then a huge pot of boiling water was readied. Once the water was boiling, a group of 5 people tied up the pigs hands and feet and when the pig was secure, the butcher stabbed the pig in the chest aiming for the heart, which I was later surprised he has achieved with amazing accuracy. The blood was drained into a bin (and kept for later) and the pig slowly died. Then the hot water was used to burn off all the hair on the pigs body and helped along with knifes. After all the hair was removed, everyone began cutting the pig apart very methodically. All parts of the pig was kept. The intestines were saved to be cleaned out and used as sausage, the skins made chicharrones, and of course the meat makes everything else. For some reason, people are interested in buying the head and feet, which I guess they also prepare in a certain way? The pig parts were then weighed and reported, and the cooking began. I ate everything they gave me.

Another interesting thing that I started was teaching English and Math at vacaciones utiles, a type of summer school. I have been teaching the secondary (mid and high school kids) and been having fun getting to know them. However this program has problems keeping kids to go to class since they go by shear will and are held by nothing. The little primary school kids, or minis as I like to call them, are super cute. I have fun playing with them. The whole school had an outing to a nearby (and beautiful) seminary where we played games and got to interact. It’s so weird to be the non-separation of church and state… something I’m not used to yet. There’s signs in the school that says “God Loves You”. Of course I have no problem with it since I’m Catholic, but I’m sure other volunteers are not too fond of this. To make a long story short, Engineering is fun, but there are definite thoughts of joining my family in the teaching thing. Oh yeah, and school is amazing! It’s nothing special in terms of it’s structure, but it overlooks a beautiful view of the surrounding green lush mountains and overlapping clouds.

I have also started doing encuestas (surveys) that are necessary for Peace Corps. I like this because I get to meet the families from the campo and many times, the offer me food or drink, which can be interesting, but I haven’t had problems eating any of it so far. I get scared that I will be full from the previous house and not be able to finish something… can be disrespectful, but so far, so good.

There have been some other interesting things that have also happened, including the issues that have come up with the building of a new water treatment facility in my site, but I will get into some interesting customs that I have witnessed thus far. These things are not necessarily restricted to Peru, but at least what I have seen in my specific community. For example, sometimes when I ask a ‘Si’ or ‘No’ question, I get a response that is ‘Si’ but while sucking in. I don’t quite understand it. It’s almost like a hiccup, but after the 50th time hearing it, I realize that that’s just something people do. Also, I live in the land of the mud right now, and my clothes definitely reflect it. How in the hell do Peruvians keep their stuff so clean… ESPECIALLY THEIR SHOES! I seriously make an effort, but after a couple minutes of walking, I have mud stains on my pants, and my shoes are noticeably dirty. Peruvians judge people a lot by their clothes and appearance and I know I get some looks and some ‘So you were in the campo huh?’ I want to say… ‘no, I just live here in the mud’. Actually that’s no so bad - next time I will say that. There’s more, but I guess I forgot right now, so I will come back to that another time.

My schedule recently has been teaching two classes in the mornings from 9-1 on Monday’s and Tuesday’s, and usually working with the JASS (Junta Administradora de Servicios Sanitario – the elected group in charge of the water) as they are transitioning to the new water system. I have been able to get close with the two engineers on the project that have had a lot of patience with me and my Spanish and have overall helped me a lot. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been doing that much, but I haven’t been home very often except for the last couple days, which I have needed. So this wasn’t the amazing post that I promised, and for that I am very sorry, but I think you will forgive me, yeah?

As for my outlook on life: it varies so much here, I cannot keep up with my own emotions. At times I feel like I am living my dream and could not picture a better way to be spending my two years (in a badass place!) and other times I feel like I am wasting my time, other people’s time, the government’s money, and being away from my family for no reason. No matter strong I thought I was, I at times encounter that fragileness that cuts to my soul where I can actually physically feel pain in my heart. I think it’s important to experience this state of being because this nakedness of comfort makes you realize your true being and what and who you really are

It's on its way... It's on its way I promise!

What up peeps. So I've been very behind on my posts, and for this I apologize. A little bit of business, and a little bit of virus issues are to blame but the next one will be a fun-filled adventure-packed wild-ride kinda blog. So since I have set the bar a bit high, I better start on it and live up to these expectations I have just set.

Wishing you all well, and could someone maybe send me a frisbe or two, and/or hacky-sac? The kids here really like simple games asi. Oh.. and/or maybe a football (regular size or mini). I have a lot of kids asking me about American football.



Meanwhile... here's a sweet pic of the paisaje.

Bienvenida 2009

Happy New Year everyone! 2009 huh… weird right? I made sure and switched my cell to Spanish before I made a couple texts to my friends. Feliz ano is different than feliz año.

So here, as in many latin cultures, it is tradition to stay up late on holidays partying. Here, the town fiesta goes until 6am, and the drinking… whenever you can make it home I guess. I had a great time and was able to stay pretty sober throughout -to my astonishment. I had made sure to eat a lot beforehand and take a little nap to raise my tolerance. I made it through 3 drinking circles and had a decent amount of beer, but for the first time in Peru, I held my own. The circles included one of community members, one of my friends, and then a circle with the family (mainly the uncles).

You may be catching a sense of sourness from me toward alcohol, and I guess I should admit that I am definitely starting to feel this way. After seeing the effects it has on the community as a whole, I am really developing a bit of detestation for alcohol. I want to point out that even though I perceive alcohol in such a bad light, I don’t really sit and judge the people (or the culture or community) that drinks. With the way it’s handled here and accepted, I am in no place to judge why people make the decisions that they do because it’s not something that I can understand since I am not from here. But I hate the fact that I know some great people here who are great friends but change into Mr. Hyde when they hit a certain point. One incident that I won’t talk too much about on this blog left a cute little 5 yr. old girl (who was alone) crying in the middle of the fiesta at 4am after a drunk guy stumbled by her with a rock in his hand looking to fight another guy. I got her to sit with the family for a bit and thankfully she felt better after I let her take some pictures with my camera.

Well, turning the mood a little bit (sorry to get so downer), I did have a good time and enjoyed experiencing the New Year’s fiesta in a place I would never expect to be at this time… rural Peru. I stayed up late and it took me about a day to get back to things.

This morning I was able to get back to my routine of running in the morning and was very glad that I did. The community was soooo beautiful this morning. Everything is getting greener from the rains and the community was covered in a giant cloud. As I ran in the hills above I was ran through the clouds and as I was coming down the clouds were clearing a bit and I could see the community below along with the sunrise. Later in the morning the clouds were huddled around the surrounding steep mountains. I think I am starting the take the beautiful setting for granted a bit, but this morning I realized how lucky I am to be in this place.

In answering some questions asked, I will get into some of my everyday life here. Many of tasks are outlined and highly recommended by Peace Corps (with good reason in my opinion). For example, during these first three months, it is most important for me to become submersed into the community and become ‘known’. This also provides a method of security because as we become accepted into the community, the community will begin to look out for us. Also, trust (confianza) is a huge deal, especially in more rural areas. It is key to build this throughout our time here as a volunteer. In the meantime while trust is being built through interaction with the members of the community, we are also collecting information about the community. This information guides us as to what types of projects are needed/useful and desired by the community. I highlight desired because even if the community needs something, but doesn’t want it, this will not be a sustainable venture and will end up being a waste of our time. Moving on from preaching a bit, my tasks up to now have therefore been participating with the people here and visiting the diverse groups within my community (the mayor, municipality employees, doctors, store owners, lay people, etc.). From this data I can assess what types of activities into which I can put my time. Possible ideas are working with the wastewater system (because right now it goes straight to the river), working with building latrines in the surrounding more rural areas, and capacitating the JASS’s (groups that deal with the water and sanitation services) to be more effective. My location is a little different that most Peace Corps volunteers because I am in a bigger community. With this comes some great advantages (internet, higher probability of toilets, diverse types of people, less isolation), but then there are also disadvantages (more work to be known, more complex community dynamic, bad community habits are amplified).

As I said before, I don’t really have a normal Peace Corps living situation with a host family, but I am really getting to know and like my ‘host brother’ Humberto who is the owner of my apartment and his brother Cesar who lives next door to me. Yes, washing myself and my clothes can be hard because I don’t have a tap inside my house and going to the bathroom can be inconvenient as it is outside, but day-by-day it turns out fine and I know I am in a much better living situation than my fellow PCV’s without light, water, walls, doors, and other such ‘necessities’. After talking with Humberto today, I found out it might be possible for me to put in a spiket and drain right outside my door to nowhere on the’ balcony’. Speaking about my other family, I spend a lot of time with Sasha’s host family, who also accept me as part of their family. The mom, Charo, is a teacher in segundaria, and the husband Felizardo is a tech at the health post. They have 2 daughters, Caty 18, and Cinthia 23, and one son, Paul 25, who were all home for the holidays along with other cousins and aunts and uncles. They are a very modern family for my community in many ways.

Ryan on speaking Spanish: So, as you may or may not know, I am pretty annoyed with my lack of Spanish speaking ability. I think I may have some learning deficiency or something in this area. I really feel like I’m going nowhere with it sometimes. But I try to have fun with it a little and am learning to read people’s faces, which is pretty hilarious sometimes. I wonder ‘Did I just say what I meant to say?’ or ‘Did they ask me how long I’ve been here or how long I’m staying?’. In short, I am making some progress, but not as fast as I would like and hoped. I know you’re thinking ‘you’re from NM and your family speaks and therefore it should be easier for you’, but maybe that was the problem. I knew a few phrases and accents and such, but maybe I tuned out the rest growing up because I couldn’t understand what my mom was telling my grandma so I gave up on listening, and now I’m used to tuning Spanish out…. Or something. Yeah… that will be my excuse K. I usually do not get too tired of speaking it as some of my PC friends do, but then again I have Sasha here as an English outlet.

Wow… kinda long blog this time, yeah. Well, I will get to more questions another day along with the upcoming story of tomorrow morning: The slaughtering of a pig followed by: The eating of a pig. Hope you guys all had a Happy New Year’s and begin the year right!

Quick Catch Up….

So I have been behind on blogs because there has been a lot going on. Things are going pretty great here, but I think I’m starting to emerge out of the ‘honeymoon’ phase, as PC calls it. This is basically the time where the changes are fresh a new and therefore exciting for the sake of being different. I think the next phase is where things start to get a little complicated, so I hope I’m ready.

Now Christmas is over, and I’m getting ready for New Years. I’m trying to decide if I want to stay in site or head out to Piura. I would like to not necessarily be here in site because there are a lot of drunks around anyway, and I think New Years will have even more borrachos around… yay. Although it can be a little funny at times to see drunk men passed out in the middle of the street, it shouldn’t be something common, right? Maybe this is just my conservative US mentality that thinks this is sad and maybe this is one example of how my perspective on things will change. But I need to ask: do I want to change? I’ll leave that as is for now because that’s something very long and complicated (and boring).

But to catch up on what I’ve been doing, here’s a few things with pictures to show you some of what my site looks like. The first couple weeks I was mainly just getting to know people, set up my room, and organize some ideas. I got to meet a couple of the engineers working on the new water treatment plant that is almost done being built. Currently, there is pretty much no treatment of the town’s water of which the source is a nearby river that is already highly contaminated. I’ve heard different accounts of if there is even chlorination that is being carried out (but I think not). The water from the tap in Santo Domingo is visibly dirty and does not have odor but definitely has particles. I have also recently found out from a water test in October that there is a fecal coliform count of 102 fcu /100ml....cfu = colony forming units (Although coliforms are not hazardous to people’s health, this measure is used as an indicator for other types of contaminants in the water. I don’t know for sure the acceptable level in the US, but I believe this level should be somewhere below 1. I’ll get back to you on that (Kelly?). It seems that most people boil their water and/or use other in-house treatment methods like ceramic filters. I will look more into this when I conduct my surveys next month. Getting back to the engineers, they have been great in explaining things to me slowly so that I understand in Spanish and clearly. They have been great friends as well. Good contacts to have in Peru. At times, they have probably thought that I am an idiot, but have been nice to me anyways. I’m impressed at the workmanship on the system considering the absence of machinery.

Also, I got to sit in on some ‘educative sessions’ (formerly known as Charlas) that Sasha gave in Environmental Health and I also gave a couple little educative sessions to a 6th grade class and a kindergarten class. Pretty much all I did in the kindergarten class was talk about how cool water is and that I thought it looked better without trash in it. I’m not sure if this is effective to talk to kids of this age about the importance of water, but I sure had fun drawing pictures of rivers and rain and coloring with them. Just kidding, I think that above getting to know these cute kids, they got something out of it.

Fun and exciting news: I finally got to eat cuy! The counterpart of Sasha, my site mate, invited us to eat cuy (guinea pig) with her family. Sasha actually had the honor of killing a couple of the cuyes. She’s pretty tough. It was good the way it was made for us; similar to chicken. Supposedly it contains a lot protein and very little cholesterol. I didn’t really like the head of the cuy (see pics). It has a different flavor.

Well thanks for those of you who read my blog. I hope you are enjoying it. If you want to hear about something specific, feel free to email me or comment. I’m actually getting on answering your suggestions Sonya. See next blog. Life has changed so much for me, and I am now realizing that I am taking for granted those changes from my ‘normal’ life I the states. I don’t realize what is strange anymore; as I told my mother ‘Not much here surprises me anymore.’ Oh yeah… that reminds me of a quick story. Because of the new water system, many of the streets are being dug up to put and remove pipeline. For this reason, there are huge holes in the street and the other day I saw a donkey fall into one loaded with wood. It was crazy and I wanted to take a picture, but I felt it was a little inappropriate for some reason at the time. Poor donkey. This was right before I saw two bulls fighting on the street. Random yeah? Hasta luego!

Navidad Abroadidad

First starting of with a celebration of Hanakah in Piura city for Sasha and Peter, a series of more unusual feelings began. This is something that I am now much accustomed to in the Peace Corps: mixes of feelings. A group of us, Peru 12 volunteers in Piura, arranged to meet up in Piura city last weekend to take care of some more errands, purchasing of household items, and to just hang out a bit after our first couple weeks. It really can be energizing to get out of the campo for a bit to regain perspective and take a break, or in many cases like mine, a shower. All involved included Jessica, Lindsey, Eric, Matteo, Mark, Sasha, me, and a special guest from Tumbes, Sarah Walker, who had a medical checkup on her leg which she hurt from getting robbed a few weeks ago (see her blog for more details). It didn’t really feel like Christmas for a while because the weather is so hot here. But then I went into a shopping center and heard the Christmas music (in English) and saw the big Christmas tree and decorations in the plaza downtown. It made me a little sad to realize that it actually was Christmas and that my family back home was doing all the things that I was used to doing for Christmas that I was going to miss out on.

On my return, I was greeted by a beautiful dead mouse/rat on my floor in front of the doorway. Kinda gross. What’s the difference between a mouse and a rat, anyone know? I think it was a mouse. I feel much better now about my living situation because now I have a ropero (closet-thing), a gas stove, more tinas (plastic bins to store water and wash things), a bucket to try to make a soil filter, and more blankets. I still have to figure out a better way to wash myself and my clothes, but I have more utilities now. I feel a little spoiled because my apartment is pretty big, but I am very happy to have a lot of room!

I had a great time on Christmas Eve spending it with Sasha’s host family. The other host brother and sister, Paul and Cyntia, who are studying in Piura City, came home on the same bus as us to spend Christmas with the family. I went to the late mass at the church where the kids put on a little play of the posadas which is apparently a tradition for that mass here. After I got back from mass, we ate a good meal of chicken, salad, rice, and of course paneton and chocolatada. This family is very dynamic and has a lot of personality. At midnight, everyone shared hugs and wished each other ‘Feliz Navidad’ which was really nice to see along with the absence of presents. We had a good time eating, listening to music, and talking. After eating, Paul, Caty, Sasha, and I went on a hike in the dark up to the road out of town to see the stars. It was super tranquil and I had to remind myself that I wasn’t back in NM due to the clear sky and the scenery of the mountains in the dark.

Overall I had a great Christmas in spite of not being able to be with my family. I thought it could be hard, but it really helped just being around a family and feeling somewhat a part of that family. It was interesting being away from home, but in all, it was not super-different than what I am used to. I think a lot of it has to do with similarities throughout latin culture. I hope you all had a great Christmas and were someone where you felt at home.

Bull Fights and More

Today I saw a bullfight. No, not a normal bullfight with matadors and a stadium and such, but two bulls actually fighting. The downfall was that it was not spontaneous; it is an arranged event here where I live where people put their bulls up against others’ bulls in a huge soccer field and everyone surrounds the bulls until they fight (which apparently is inevitable with time). There is definitely a certain appeal to it, but my better nature wins out and I feel overall that it is an event that is a little cruel since it has nothing to do with the will of the animal and is simply for the pleasure of watching and betting. Although, I feel that it is not the worst thing since neither of the bulls ever seems to get hurt. I was glad that I went overall to get a firsthand glimpse at this cultural event and decide for myself what I thought of it. It was interesting because the scenery was gorgeous. A huge soccer field surrounded by steep, green mountains covered by clouds and hills filled with campo Peruvians and their gigantic hats watching from each opportune vista. These bulls were huge, which is surprising considering the lack of food that the Peruvians who raise them endure.

After getting over a brief sickness, things seem to be looking okay. I think I finally made it through a rough spell of a stomach bacterial infection that lasted about 4 days. Unfortunately, this was coupled with a really difficult night of the flu which amplified the discomfort (engineering word usage for you, Scott and Kelly). Getting sick REALLY SUCKS when you live alone –hope you don’t read this mom-, but Sasha and her family were close by and Sasha checked on me that night to make sure I wasn’t dead. Jay Kay. I’m fine, it was just a hard night. I am really happy that I didn’t quite resort to taking CIPRO.

On a lighter note, my house is pretty awesome. I have a two-room place with more space that I need for the little that I have. The first room from the street I am using for storage and my future kitchen where I will put my gas stove when I buy it. The second room is a little smaller and long which I use as my bedroom where my bed is and my clothes. I have a sweet door near my bed that opens up to a scenic view of a creek and the mountains in back. I am stoked because I love to have space and spread out.
I have a unique case as a volunteer in Peru where I am actually kinda renting from a family rather than having a host family. The Peace Corps in Peru uses host families in almost all cases for many reasons. First of all, it provides safety to be located within a family structure as the family provides protection for the volunteer. Also it helps the volunteer integrate into the culture through becoming part of a Peruvian family and also creates more opportunity to meet others through the family. Therefore, there are definite ups and downs to having my own place, but realizing the downsides helps me to understand the initiatives that I must take to achieve the same benefits. For example, I am currently eating with the host family of Sasha, and am therefore a pseudo-host member of their family as well where I can integrate with them, speak Spanish with them, but go home when I need some freedom. I feel like I get the best of both worlds, but I try not to make things too easy for myself. So like I was saying… my house is super nice and spacious and has an awesome view… but my bathroom and shower situation is not ideal. It is by no meals terrible, but more difficult than I would like. There is a shower and toilet facility behind my house near the river that I can see out my back door near my bed. The toilet now has a door, which is awesome, but the water in the shower doesn’t work and needs a curtain to the outside (actually has a curtain with a big hole). The hard part of the situation is that I have a door in back, but it is located on the 2nd floor and lacks a staircase. So the door is more like a window. To use the bathroom, I go out my front door, walk down the street a bit, unlock another door to an alleyway, walk down the alleyway and through a borage of rosters, hens, etc., and a garden to use the bathroom which until yesterday, I didn’t know how to flush (I know… I know). The flushing is another story, but the jest of it is that it lacked a handle to flush, but the top was open, therefore I knew I just open up the chamber to allow for flow. The problem was that there was no device that I could see outside of the water in the tank to make the chamber open, and with no light and knowledge of super-dirty water in the tank, I thought ‘No way do they stick their hands in the water every time to flush’… but yeah… I found out that is what needs to happen. Luckily the landlord caught the idea of my problem and attached a string to the chamber opening in the water, so now we don’t have to stick our hands in the water. Sorry for the long description, but it could have been worse by incorporating the logistics of when there was not water for a couple days. Oh yeah… and also my sickness and semi-frequent visits to the bathroom with no knowledge of how to flush the toilet is another story not appropriate for blogs.
Another story includes my first ‘bath’ since I got here to Santo Domingo. Considering the aforementioned shower situation, I decided it would be most easy and overall less cold and awkward to try and use wash clothes with water in plastic buckets to bath myself inside my house. I don’t think this was necessarily a bad idea, but it definitely lacked thought. It was a bit of a mess, and took around 1 hour to prepare, wash, and clean up, but I learned a lot from it and laughed a little about how weird it was. I realize that since I will most likely go into the city every 2 or 3 weekends or so, I will bath every 5 – 7 days (on average), and will only have to bath like ~3 times a month, which I think I can do as long as I don’t get too dirty. We’ll see how this works out.
Well these are my recent thoughts. My overall humor lately since coming out of my sickness is pretty good and optimistic. I met a lot of people today and am feeling more and more integrated. I know there are rough days ahead and days where I don’t feel like being social but should be anyways. Right now I am very satisfied with the situation and am amazed at the beauty of the land that I get to call home for the next two years. Don’t be surprised if my next blog sounds totally opposite.