Sunday, February 04, 2007

I'm back!




I’ve been back in country for almost a month now. It was hard to get back into the swing of things but now I am well on my way to finishing up the last leg of my service. Just about 8 months left. School starts this week so I will be busy helping the teacher get the classroom ready for the next group of preschoolers to come on through. Last week we celebrated Tony’s 6th birthday at the orphanage. He had fun helping me make his cake. See pictures above.

So I experienced something last week that seemed like the epitome of a typical Peace Corps moment until things got weird. I was out for a jog in my barrio last Wednesday evening when I ran into a group of little boys whom I know from the school. “Teacher! Teacher!” they yelled when they saw me and proceeded to beg me to listen to my MP3 player. I wouldn’t give it to them. They were headed in the opposite direction of where I was going but then decided to go on my exercise run with me. Uno, dos, tres!....and we all took off running. These little 10 and unders could outrun me on the rocky, dirt path and barefoot any day. It was neat to see these little boys taking interest in what I was doing and running a large lap around the neighborhood with me. This is what Peace Corps memories are made of I thought to myself. Then things took a turn for the worst. This little 5 year old, Alberto, who had been in my class last year, thought it would be fun to poke the Gringa in the butt with his finger. Not are we just talking about my butt, but rather my ‘culo”. Yes folks, for the next 20 minutes, I had a group of 4 10 and unders trying to poke me in the asshole with their fingers. As much as I tried to run behind the pack, they would try their darndest to get me from behind. To make matters worse, all the towns people were out in front of their houses watching the evening’s amusement take place. So much for my new exercise route through the barrio. Best to go solo next time.