That was August?

I need more Glee. I’m not going to tell you how fast I went through the first season or how many times I watched it, but I will say that some of my social life was sacrificed.  After scouring Quito for a weekend about two months ago (ie: asking in three video stores, shrugging, and giving up), I had decided that this show would have to be one enjoyed post Peace Corps.  Until a friend of mine returned from her vacation in the States with a brand new copy of season one.  Glee does a perfect job of illustrating a philosophy I have believed in for over twenty-four years: any situation in life can be turned in to an opportunity to participate in organized song and dance.  Not to say that the idea was basically mine but…I’m just sayin.  I need more Glee.

That was August?  (And half of September?) Fastest 31 days ever?  Maybe last month just seemed to fly by because there was a lot going on.  For me, August was a month of visitors.  My college friend Angie and her boyfriend were first.  Since they had planned on spending a long weekend checking out my site, I gave them the V.I.P. four-day tour of San Vicente (one that some would argue could be done in 45 minutes) and they (unnecessarily) expressed their gratitude by stocking my pantry with Wheat Thins and Doritos.  Angie and Rick were my first visitors to come from the States, so it was great to see familiar faces and show them firsthand what my life has been like for the past year. 

After Rick and Angie came Corey, a new PCV fresh out of training from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Due to some wacky miscommunication, Corey was stranded in San Vicente for the weekend.  Lucky for her I still had the extra mattress from Angie and Rick´s visit.  Lucky for me she had the new Carrie Underwood album on her ipod.  When she let me listen to “Cowboy Casanova” more than 10 times straight without looking at me sideways, I knew that we would get along just fine. 

And just when I thought that August would come to an end with a quiet weekend alone in the apartment, a couple of PCV friends called to say they were coming to the beach for the weekend.  We had a good time cooking with a campfire outside my apartment, eating copious amounts of cake and guacamole (not together), and engaging in intense games of spoons.  It was a full house, but we like it that way. 

August was also cool because I decided that I would be heading home for a three-week visit in December.  Am I setting myself up for failure by going straight from summer on the coast of Ecuador to winter in Minnesota?  Possibly.  Will it be worth it to eat Chipotle, watch bad reality TV with my sister, spend Christmas with the fam and meet my adorable niece for the first time?  You betchya.  Three months and counting!

A week ago I was biking home from after school when I saw a black fur ball on the side of the road.  I stopped to see if the fur ball was alive. When I realized that it was I had no choice but to take it home and name it while I looked for a new home for it.  It’s a kitten by the way.  Viche (veech-ay) (also the name of my province’s favorite peanut-based seafood soup), and I spent 4 wonderful days together.  She had a cozy bed, a homemade litter box, a luxurious dining room, and a personal gym.  I was avidly looking for a nice home for her (ie: no little boys, male cats, or hungry dogs) and mentioned her to a PCV close by.  She came over to check her out and the rest is history.  I am happy to have found her a good home, and I am sure Viche (now Cleo) is happy to be living a life unimaginable to an Ecuadorian stray kitten.  Here are a couple pics of our short time together:

August also marked our Omnibus’s one year in site.  This means that we are now on our way downhill in respect to our service here in Ecuador.  One year in site also means it’s time for our mid-service conference, where we will have the opportunity to catch up with each other, indulge in hot showers, discuss projects, fill cavities and deparasite among other things.  Mid-service will take place at the end of this month in Quito and you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be on the hunt for season two of Glee (is it even out yet?). 

Oh and I should probably clear something up in respect to my last post.  After more than a handful of people asked me how things were going with my cockroach-killing neighbor, I realized that maybe I had made it sound like that interaction had the potential to go somewhere.  My bad.  While I found him to be handsome and smooth (oh so very smooth), I have no plans of adding any new names to the family Secret Santa hat.  And if something were to change, I would be sure to let the necessary people know before blogging about it.  ;)

How are things going work-wise?  Not too bad.  I continue to give sex-ed/HIV AIDS talks at the high school, self-esteem workshops at an elementary school, help out at the special needs school, and am hanging in there with the after school program.  Basketball is going fine as well, but we haven’t practiced with a couple of the teams for about a month.  I am having a hard time getting the school to lend me the key to the court where we were practicing (basically the new lady janitor has it out for me – I am longing for the days when the janitor was a guy) so we have decided to take a break for this month.  I have, however, found an interested group of kids in the neighborhood where I live.  We have been shooting around a couple of days a week.  The best part about this group is that they practice…even when I’m not there.  Which naturally makes me want to seek the paperwork to adopt each and every one of them.  Here’s a pic of my new peeps!

And before I go, here are a few things I can never have enough of here, just in case you are super bored one afternoon and find forty or so dollars laying around that you can think of no use for:

-         Flip flops (Old Navy)

-         Markers

-         New music

Thanks in advance!

Write!