There are a lot of different questions that I get asked by friends and family, so I thought I'd cover a few of them here!
1) What's the food like?
A typical meal so far here is a slab of beef, some potatoes, and rice. Variations of this have been: a fried slice of meat, meat with a fried egg on top, fried chicken, and yuca. Yuca is like a potato, only drier and with a completely different flavor that I'm not going to try to explain. It's all been really good! OH! And Coca-Cola! SO MUCH Coke! We drink that more than Washingtonians drink coffee!
2) And the weather?
Goodness gracious, the weather here is the weirdest! It's almost always really, really, really hot. But every once in awhile, the wind will pick up and you need a light jacket. Or it will pour rain for five mins. Today I heard thunder too! To describe the weather in one word: Unpredictable. And hot :)
3) How is your Spanish?
Honestly, I am a little frustrated with it. It is hard to sound dumb all the time! But I know that it will improve and Helen just told me today that I'm doing better than she was when she first got here. I just need patience! I'm pretty happy with my comprehension, most of the time.
4) Why are you there again?
I'm completing an internship with Etta Projects so I can graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Community Health in December! (PS My BA in Spanish is already complete, just in case you were confused!)
5) How long are you going to be there?
I'll be here until December 10th! Three months.
6) Do you miss people?
Um, YES! But technology has made being so far away pretty easy! And I haven't cried yet, so that's always good.
7) Are you safe?
Yes, mostly. I get stared at pretty often but I haven't felt threatened, except for once, when Helen and I went out after dark by ourselves (that lasted one block and then we turned around, back to the house!). Katie, my director, has been robbed at gunpoint twice but she is much more adventurous than I am. I don't carry a purse with me, ever. Honestly, I'm not that worried about it but I am trying to be wise! You are always safest where God wants you anyway!
8) What are your housemates like?
They are fun-loving group of people, for sure! Fabi has grown up in Montero her whole life and is a real jokester! Guillermo is originally from Peru - he is a fantastic cook and serenades us every night with his guitara. Helen is the other intern from Michigan. Her and I have bedrooms right across from each other and share a bathroom. She's great and plays the violin like nobody's buisness!
9) What's your address? And can you post pictures?
The mail here is really unpredictable so I'm not giving out my address. Sometimes it takes up to four months for something to get here, in which case -you can just give it to me when I come back! Pictures are on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150296639897747.333906.562022746&l=ad1b7d9dfe&type=1
10) Are you sick?
NO! I'm not! Que bueno, no? I do get some sharp pains in my stomach daily, so my stomach has noticed that something is different but other than that, I've been totally fine! I'd like to thank close family friend, Jen Penrose for suggesting that I take pro-biotics. I think that they are working! And God for answering my prayers for a stomach of steel!
11) How was practicing injections yesterday?
Ok, so no one asked this, I just wanted to share :) It was great! We went to a village about two hours away with first aid kits for the neighboring seven communities. Each community has two health promoters that met us there to learn basic first aid -which here includes giving injections! I got to learn that too and practiced on my friend Mirna! It was awesome! Although that needle was seriously looooooong. And don't worry, I was fair and let her practice on me too! It was another great day!
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