Gettin by with a little help from my friends

Not feeling too bloggy lately. I was thinking about it today, wondering why. Perhaps I am just more focused on living my life here now. And I suppose there's not as much that seems new and strange as there was in the beginning. I've been here almost seven months!? That's well on it's way to a year! LoL, well just one month over the hump really. But still.


And so, where am I at now? how are things coming along? Well... I'm having a great week this week, but the last couple of weeks were, emotionally, the toughest ones I think I have been through since coming here. Honestly, I went a bit crazy. Gave myself too much time to think that's for sure. But I'm better now :) gracias a Dios, and starting to see many possibilities for work and projects to get busy on when I get back from Texas.

I plan to help the school with a Pensando en verde project and will be working with the kids teaching them how to make organic compost and tending to gardens. Not that I know how to do any of that... but PC has lots of resources and there are plenty of volunteers that have experience with growing stuff that I can consult. It will be fun for me especially to learn something new and about how to do this!

After talking with my towns Comite de Salud about fundraising for their health projects they liked my idea of making and selling shampoo. Luckily I learned how to do this during my training, and the women are really excited about learning how to make it! We plan to use the money to help pay for the trash pick up after we do a community clean up.

What else? Yes! There's more!

I'm on this Comite Interinstitucional and after going to last weeks meeting I finally figured out what the heck the purpose of this committee is, which is actually really cool. Apparently it's all about the leaders of the community from the school, the police, the ADESCO, and an NGO coming together to plan educational charlas for youth on things like career prep, family planning, gang violence, drugs, etc. I'm all for giving a charla... So i'm meeting with them on Friday!

Planning to do various fundraisers to help the school purchase a refrigerator. They really need one with all the food they prepare for the kids everyday, the tienda that sells food and beverage, and the teachers that need to guardar their comida while they are at work.

It's amazing how a few weeks ago, I felt like there was NOTHING for me to do here... and now- all this stuff! And I'm supposed to be helping get the clinic repaired and form a Comite de Jovenes when I get back as well... Ay. It will be nice to be so busy... Although I realize... I am just one person and I can't do it all at once. Poco a poco. But hey, here's to being excited about work again.

I have been enjoying being here in the campo more lately. Aside from getting charged and nearly attacked by cow the other day, the mouse I saw on my porch that was quickly pecked at and eaten by a chicken, the huge snake I almost stepped on on my way to my house tonight, being hot and covered in dirt all the time, and the fact that things never run on time here and nothing hardly ever goes as planned- I can appreciate this place for what it is more now... And my neighbors, I feel like they are starting to get to know me more- like they aren't seeing me so much as the gringa foreigner, but just Amy. It's good, they're getting used to me I can tell... and I'm getting more used to being here.

I imagine it seems crazy, all the ups and downs and rollercoaster of emotions I go through. But asi es en Cuerpo de Paz- that's how it is, for many of us at least. Well, and I admit, I have always been an emotional person. And being here living this life, it's intense. Good to be on the other side of the low... I'm on the up... And things are looking good again.

It also helps that I have great people in my life that were there for me when the going got tough for me over the last weeks. I am so lucky to have such good friends, parents, and a wonderful boyfriend who give me their ears and are there for me. I don't know how I could do this without the support of you all. Ok.... Sappy? :) Maybe. But really- I owe many thanks. Love.

Off to bed!

Paz y amor.
 
p.s. 2 weeks from today at this time... i'll be in... TEXAS!