One week down!

Hello everyone!

Well I can hardly believe I have been living in my new house for a week! I loooove my new host family, they are fantastic and sweet. The town seems pretty receptive to me, but I hardly know anyone other than my families relations (which is probably half the town..) and neighbors (who are also relatives). I was thinking to myself how the Ryan clan always jokes about living all together one days instead of just one week a year, and it might be something like I´m living in now... but with a lot less running water....

I don´t even know where to begin to explain my new home. I have a room with a bed and a bench in it. As I think I have mentioned, I don´t have electricity or running water. It is actually not bad thought because the family has car batteries that they use to have a light in the house at night, or candles when that runs out. What it means is that we usually don´t stay up past 9 or 10 and the family is up around 5 or 6am. The water is also not much of a problem because the family has a big bin of it that the kids fill up by running out to the feilds to get water from the wells. The ¨fields¨ are actually where the banana, mango and avacado trees grow and they are beautiful. Sometimes I go out with my younger siblings in search of fresh fruits, which we are NEVER lacking in. I eat tons of bananas and mangos whenever I am the slightest bit hungry... and sometimes when I am not because neighbor kids are always bringing them to me. Oh, and bathing? Also not a problem because there is a river near by. When I first hear I would be bathing in a river, I was less than thrilled... but now that I have experienced it, I realllly enjoy it! It feels so nice to swim around in the cold water durring the super hot days.

Overall, my experience my first week has been really nice. I have already started planning a summer school of english and environment with the principal of the local school. Other than that... I haven´t done much. I play a LOT of cards, and even taught my host siblings how to play poker.. which they love because I let them use my american change to gamble. I would feel bad about introducing gambling, but they gamble all the time on soccer games and chicken fights. Yes, cock fights. There is a cock fighting ring right next to my house! But there aren´t very many fights so far. I have only seen one, and it wasn´t to the death. I have to understand the logistics to cock fighting, but I do see men walk around with their roosters, petting them and treating them like kings.

Otherwise, it is hard to describe my life here. I am learning how to chace pigs and goats out of the house when they try to steal food. I always have to keep an eye out for one chicken that likes laying eggs on my bed (because I don´t have a door to my room yet). I lay on a hammock a lot and contemplate what I am going to do to start writing my diagnostic. My first project here in site is to spend three months writing a diagnostic about potential projects I can do in the town with the community. So, I basically need to talk to people and get to know people and things about the town. I´m glad they give us that buffer time, because it is overwhelming to be in a completely different lifestyle with completely different people and a different language and immediately start something productive.

I should also say that the people here, in particular my host family, are soooo nice. Everywhere I go, they bring me a chair to sit down (which is sometime awkward when everyone else is standing). They are always asking me if I need or want anything, and if they mention something and ask if I like it and I say yes, they will proceed to buy that thing for the next meal. Considering I am living with a very poor family, this kind of generosity is almost too much for me sometimes. I don´t know how to even begin to thank them for letting me share their home and food for such a long time.