So, plenty of people have been asking about my family, living situation, daily rutine, etc. This is my attempt to address just a few of those.
I am currently living with 6 other people in a single-level house. My host mom is the head of the house, and I live with her, her husband, their daughter and her husband, and their one-year-old son and one-month-old daughter. It isn´t particularly crowded, but I don´t think we could fit many more. I do have a room to myself with a bed, a nightstand, a desk and stool, and some wire racks where I store clothes. I also have a window right next to my desk which is great for airing out the room, but the view consists of the bars over the window and the VW bus that has been parked outside since I arrived. We do have power constatly (thus far) and I am able to plug in my iPod and speakers now and then to listen to a little bit of music. The only real shortage I´ve run into relates to the bathroom. With five adults in the house it is in high demand, but no crisis thus far. :)
Though reserved, everyone in my family is very friendly. The only tension was with the one year old boy, but I can hardly blame him. I am living in what used to be his room, and I arrived barely one week after his baby sister. Talk about some major changes for the little guy! However, we are getting along much better and this week he started to put his arms up for I hug when I came home. I´m looking forward to doing more playing in the recent future!
My daily schedule is a little bit more difficult because it changes a bit depending on the day. Mondays I am at the Peace Corps office for medical, technical, safety, and cultural training. On those days we are in Santa Lucia all day so our lunch is packed for us (it´s a little bit like being in kindergarten again). There are also random days for technical training, meetings, and activities, but an average day with Spanish class looks something like this;
6:00am - Wake up, shower (hopefully not too cold), get dressed, clean room
6:45am - Go outside and around the house to the kitchen door, and go into the kitchen where breakfast is usually waiting for me. Average breakfast: eggs, hot milk, and bread.
7:30am - Go back around to my room to pack my bag for school
7:45am - Leave the house and go to get Kelly (the other female volunteer) so we can walk to the house where class is being held that day.
8:00am - Spanish class
10:00am - The Doña of the house brings us a yummy snack
12:30pm - Go back home for lunch. Average lunch: soup, vegitables, atol (any thick hot drink), and bread.
2:00pm - Leave the house and go to Kelly´s to work on whatever project we are currently supposed to be working on and Spanish homework. A snack is usually involved.
6:30pm - Go back home and visit with my family
7:00 - Eat dinner. Average dinner: beans, atol, meat, more bread.
8:00 - Bedtime. I usually read a bit and review more Spanish words while listing to the really loud music from the evangelical church with which I share a wall.
As you can see food, and bread, are in good supply here. Needless to say, the Peace Corps diet is more likely than not a myth. I have heard rumors that the average weight change of a Peace Corps volunteer is an addition of 13 pounds. Drat. Still, some of you have asked my about care packages. I know that mailing things internationally is expensive, so I certainly don´t expect anything (except maybe a letter now and again), but here is a list if you feel so inclined:
- Sugar-free speramint gum
- Sunflower butter
- Cinnamon Teddygrahms
- Cheddar Goldfish crackers
- Dark Chocolate (I promise, it doesn´t exist here!)
- Nonni´s biscotti
- Hot chocolate mix
- Your hugs
Vaya bien,
Morgan
I am currently living with 6 other people in a single-level house. My host mom is the head of the house, and I live with her, her husband, their daughter and her husband, and their one-year-old son and one-month-old daughter. It isn´t particularly crowded, but I don´t think we could fit many more. I do have a room to myself with a bed, a nightstand, a desk and stool, and some wire racks where I store clothes. I also have a window right next to my desk which is great for airing out the room, but the view consists of the bars over the window and the VW bus that has been parked outside since I arrived. We do have power constatly (thus far) and I am able to plug in my iPod and speakers now and then to listen to a little bit of music. The only real shortage I´ve run into relates to the bathroom. With five adults in the house it is in high demand, but no crisis thus far. :)
Though reserved, everyone in my family is very friendly. The only tension was with the one year old boy, but I can hardly blame him. I am living in what used to be his room, and I arrived barely one week after his baby sister. Talk about some major changes for the little guy! However, we are getting along much better and this week he started to put his arms up for I hug when I came home. I´m looking forward to doing more playing in the recent future!
My daily schedule is a little bit more difficult because it changes a bit depending on the day. Mondays I am at the Peace Corps office for medical, technical, safety, and cultural training. On those days we are in Santa Lucia all day so our lunch is packed for us (it´s a little bit like being in kindergarten again). There are also random days for technical training, meetings, and activities, but an average day with Spanish class looks something like this;
6:00am - Wake up, shower (hopefully not too cold), get dressed, clean room
6:45am - Go outside and around the house to the kitchen door, and go into the kitchen where breakfast is usually waiting for me. Average breakfast: eggs, hot milk, and bread.
7:30am - Go back around to my room to pack my bag for school
7:45am - Leave the house and go to get Kelly (the other female volunteer) so we can walk to the house where class is being held that day.
8:00am - Spanish class
10:00am - The Doña of the house brings us a yummy snack
12:30pm - Go back home for lunch. Average lunch: soup, vegitables, atol (any thick hot drink), and bread.
2:00pm - Leave the house and go to Kelly´s to work on whatever project we are currently supposed to be working on and Spanish homework. A snack is usually involved.
6:30pm - Go back home and visit with my family
7:00 - Eat dinner. Average dinner: beans, atol, meat, more bread.
8:00 - Bedtime. I usually read a bit and review more Spanish words while listing to the really loud music from the evangelical church with which I share a wall.
As you can see food, and bread, are in good supply here. Needless to say, the Peace Corps diet is more likely than not a myth. I have heard rumors that the average weight change of a Peace Corps volunteer is an addition of 13 pounds. Drat. Still, some of you have asked my about care packages. I know that mailing things internationally is expensive, so I certainly don´t expect anything (except maybe a letter now and again), but here is a list if you feel so inclined:
- Sugar-free speramint gum
- Sunflower butter
- Cinnamon Teddygrahms
- Cheddar Goldfish crackers
- Dark Chocolate (I promise, it doesn´t exist here!)
- Nonni´s biscotti
- Hot chocolate mix
- Your hugs
Vaya bien,
Morgan
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