Hello Everybody

Hey there, how´s it going? I have just arrived in Bouquete, and I really have no clue where I am supposed to be but my phone is dead and I can´t call to find out. So I am sitting here charging my phone. I also have a video tour of my house. It is nice to have my own space, but I always feel rushed to get things done so I can´t really kick back and relax and enjoy it to the fullest extent. Also, the floor is really damp because of the damp ground beneath it, so the water keeps sweating up through the cement. I hope that doesn´t last for a long time. . . and I also hope that when I return in a few days the whole place won´t be covered in mold because it is shut up and dark. I thought about leaving a key with the neighbors to open it up and air it out, but I didn´t really like that idea either. I will take my chances with the mold.

It is nice to be able to cook for myself. The other day I made crepes, and I took some over to share with the neighbors. They thought that was pretty awesome. I also discovered a new and easy way to satisfy both my cravings for dairy and sugar. All I have to do is take some powdered milk, stir in a little water so it is really thick and creamy, and add lots and lots of sugar. Mmmm, it sure is good. Also I like to make ginger tea with lots of milk and sugar. However, I am having issues with my matches getting damp and not working, so I need to buy a lighter so I can cook and have light. Also my flashlight has been really unreliable lately and I think it is time to get a new one. It didn´t work at all last night, which sucks when you have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. A lamp would be nice too. There are so many more things I need to buy still. Like a machete. Yes, a machete is pretty much essential here, it´s the main number one tool for everything. It is the lawn mower, the pruner, the cattle deterrant, the snake and scorpion killer, the axe, the saw, the pocket knife, the spade, you name it and the machete could probably fill the function.

Loli likes to hang out with me, A LOT. I don´t mind except for when I am trying to work or when I am cooking and she keeps touching my food and utensils with her grubby little hands or lounging on my bed, which at the moment is the only place to sit in the house. I don´t blame her for attaching herself to me and preferring to be in this environment. She is constantly getting yelled at by her parents. They help her with her homework, but to me it isn´t much help because they yell at her the whole time. Their tone of voice is just awful, and they keep it up for hours at a time. I know I wouldn´t be able to learn under conditions like that. I also know that she is a bright little girl and could probably learn quickly under the right conditions. I think that is part of the problem with learning English around here, it is like there is a mental block for most people. For example, when I was teaching the alphabet, they would struggle and say schi for T, even when I tried to explain that it was the same thing as the word ti in Spanish and they should be able to say it just fine. If they think something is english, then to them it is automatically too hard and they don´t want to try. Anyway, I wish I would have known how much the neighbors are going to be screaming at their kids before I built my house there, it kind of sucks having to listen to that all afternoon. Also it doesn´t speak well for that part of their character if they can´t be decent with their kids. I can see nagging once in a while, but they hardly ever have a civil word for them lately now that the house is built.

Well, I guess I need to find out what the heck I am doing here in Bouquete. So far it seems to be a pretty nice town, it kind of reminds me of the town we stayed in in Oregon. Plus I want to find something to eat, I ate a couple empanadas and a banana and milk in David, all of which are scarce in my neck of the woods. Plus I have two more bananas, since they were three for 25 cents. Mmmm, fruit. You would think that fruit would be more abundant but in the comarca they have stopped planting stuff and they keep slashing and burning until most of the area is deforested. So I take what I can get when I can get it. I wonder if there would be a way to organize a farmers market so people don´t have to wait for the produce truck to come up or leave to buy their vegetables. Hmm, yet another possible project. I sure hope they send a business volunteer to Chichica because I don´t think I can handle everything. Anyway, later!

Yenifer