Aug 13
Well, I’ve been slacking on the blog writing, there no denying it. This is partly due to the fact that the Peace Corps keeps us really busy, and the little free time I have is spent sleeping or reading. I’ve been reading a lot since it my only escape from speaking Spanish, which I can only do for so many hours a day. I’ve finished Obama’s Audacity of Hope which was really a good read and made me more proud and enthusiastic than ever about being an American. Although we get cynical and focus on problems a lot, I really believe it is one of the best places to live and we should keep trying to fix the problems and not give up. I also read Living Poor which was written about a PC volunteer’s experience in the late 60’s in Ecuador. That book sure made it feel easy here, the people in the book we so poor that a pair of shoes, a complete diet and a night sleeping in a bed were luxuries. Hard to complain after reading that, but I do anyway.
I went to a local waterpark last week with some a couple of families from my town. We piled about 10 people into the bed of a pickup and drove for about an hour and a half, with about one hour being in a large circle that I never figured out the purpose of. It starting raining really hard too, and it turns out that raindrops kind of hurt at 60MPH, but it was really fun anyway. The water park was fairly large, with two major pools, a slide, waterfalls, a zipline and other features. The pools were un-chlorinated and filled with small fish that like to nibble at legs. The water was probably really dirty since so many people were in it, but I’ve haven’t gotten sick yet.
I also bought a large machete at the market the other day, complete with frilly sheath. The people in my town thought it was pretty funny, but I know I will need it at some point. I haven’t found anybody to sharpen it yet, since apparently the first time you should use a sharpening machine and not just a file. Should be good to hack at some foliage and give me some credito de la calle (street credit).
Today we went to the American Embassy, which was a strange place after walking around the dilapidated caipital. We had to go through security complete with xray machine, which then lead to a huge courtyard. We filed into the very formal and posh ambassadors’’ house, which decorated how I imagine the white house is. We talked for a while with the head honcho (there is no ambassador right now, they are in the process of appointing one) and had lunch. It was fully catered by butlers on gold-plated dishes. It was probably the fanciest place I have ever been, and was a culture shock after roughing out in the country for a month.
I finally got a cell phone, my number is (001)503 7516-3289, the best time to call is 5-9 my time, which is an hour ahead of California time. I would love to hear from anyone who wants to talk!