"Life in the Peace Corps will not be easy. There will be no salary and allowances will be at a level sufficient only to maintain health and meet basic needs. Men and women will be expected to work and live alongside the nationals of the country in which they are stationed - doing the same work, eating the same food, talking the same language.
But if the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying. For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps - who works in a foreign land - will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace." - JFK

Monday, September 16, 2013

Independence Day Weekend

I arrived back in site just in time for Independence Day weekend.  On Saturday, I ran with my school in a torch run where we went to the main road that leads into our community and were passed a flame that we carried into our community.  The kids were excited and next year I’ll actually know how long of a run I’ve gotten myself into.

 





One of my little third graders followed me home because he was curious as to where I lived, so we sat on my porch and after 5 minutes of small talk in Spanish (that’s always my limit with my students. IF you want to hang around for longer, I’m going to start teaching you English), we started going over colors and sadly he could only remember "blue."  An hour and a half later, we were still playing “I Spy, “ but hey, after that hour and a half the kid could name every color in English so I’ll consider it a worthwhile afternoon.

Later that night was a parade of farolas (I thiiiiink that’s how it’s spelt) which are basically lanterns.  I was super glad this was actually happening in my community and not just defaulting to going to Santa Cruz.  The community gathered at the pulperia near my house and we walked to the school roughly on the other side of town.  It was an especially great night because as I walked up and down the crowd of people, I knew over half of the faces and that was simply a great feeling.  I commented on my student’s creative homemade lanterns and introduced myself to some parents and all in all, it was a fantastic night.



Not the greatest pic, but you get the idea...




My Directora

The next day was off to Santa Cruz to watch the parade and boy, I don’t think those kids could have walked any slower.  My family & I purposely arrived an hour late and it was stillllllll quite a long ordeal.  It was great to watch though and even better to watch with other PCVs with whom you could discuss some of the more scandalous dancing outfits (Pictured below).




Referenced ridiculous outfits. 




The day ended with turkey sandwichs at the Mitchell’s house & a James Bond movie.  Then it was back to site to get ready for school the next day….oh wait. Nope.  No school the next day because of course we all need to rest from the parade…






The Mitchell Movie Theater
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