The Busy Month of June

June started sweatier than usual as I packed up all my things and moved four houses down, the dirt road, to the my new host family’s place.  After living in El Padre’s compound, for lack of a better description, I really got used to having quality time to myself; After meeting the seven members of my new family (not including the flying cockroaches) I quickly realized that quality self reflection time was no longer going to happen everyday.  Before I could even memorize all of their names or save the cell phone numbers of my new loving host family I was rushed off to the hospital.

I came home one day from work and felt really faint and actually a little chilly- I know chilly when weather.com says if feels like 114.  So I tried to Sietsta off the illness, but I couldn’t even fall asleep because the splitting headache, my aching spine and knees, and the shifting from violent shivers to the soaking in my own sweat.  After having a few delirious conversations with the PC doctor I was instructed to head to the approved Peace Corps hospital, which is in the ‘poopy’ part of town, not anywhere near La Boquilla.  I was so sick that I couldn’t even call a cab or stand up, so I did the logical thing and started yelling my host moms name from my room, after knowing her for 48 hours, she began to help me like I really was her son.  She not only called a cab, but came with me to the hospital and did not leave my side for the next three days (I highly doubt the Padre would have done this).  After using about a roll of toilet paper each day and fighting the aching pains in my spine and knees, I was finally told I had a fever and a bacterial infection in my stomach.  So to say the least I would not wish this illness on my worst enemy and will now take more of a caucus approach to drinking the water here.  As I spent the next few days recovering and eating what was supposed to be bland food (All food is fried on the coast and is thus hardly bland) I finally got to get to know my new family and could not be happier at the new place.

After I felt 100% I finally got started on a secondary project I knew I wanted to pursue the second I got the invitation to be a volunteer on the Colombian coast, where the people live and breathe baseball.  So the firstly, my community counterpart, Fidel, and I sat down for a nice fish, firied plantain, and coconut rice lunch and discussed a master plan.  We decided it was best to hit up each of the four elementary schools in the community and advertise the baseball and softball ‘school‘ we were going to start; with the idea that when we receive equipment we would start an interscholastic league--better to dream big and then change your plans that not have any at all.  

My counterpart throwing some soft toss

Some early morning stretching

"fielding position everyone"

This girl can play!

So after a few weeks of practice we have had as many as 70ish kids and as few as 20ish kids and with only the two of us, Fidel and myself, 6 gloves, 5 baseballs, and 2 bats there is plenty of ‘disorden,‘ but it is great to see how enthusiastic these kids are and there is some serious 10 year old talent in La Boquilla.  

A plea for help- If you are reading this and have any baseball equipment that you don’t use anymore I would be more than happy to take it off your hands.  Please email me at mband1115@gmail.com so we can figure out a way to get it down to Colombia.  Thank you all for keeping up with the blog!   

I will leave you with a picture of my community class

        

To New Beginnings

Last Thursday night I received a Text message that informed me I had to find a new host family to live with because four new priests were going to be moving into, what is now my old, house.  If it wasn’t bad enough that I received this information via text, it wasn’t even sent from the Padre, but rather a Peace Corps employee.  Quite frankly it felt like I was broken up with through a text message sent by a friend of my girlfriend, who I had been seeing for 5 months.  To make matters worse, I still had to live in the same house with her for the next week.  I guess the Padre was only obeying Costeño commandment 10, thou shalt avoid conflict as all means.  

On Friday morning I met with one of my community connections, a mother of a student, and told her all about what had happened.  Together we went and explained what went down to La Hermana.  It turns out she can express frustration in Spanish a hell of a lot better than I can so I’m glad I called her!  Although La Hermana told us not to worry, after the meeting my community connection/friend and I decided it was better to start doing some investigating on our own.  I knew it was going to be difficult to find a house in La Boquilla that met all the Peace Corps standards because when the Peace Corps had months find a house here before I initially started my service, it was thrown together last minute.         

For a week straight we walked around La Boquilla looking for possible host families and the majority of the time realizing that things were not going to work out for one reason or another or that the family simply didn’t have enough room to take me in.  Although it was quite frustrating walking around in mid 90s heat and humidity, that can only be described as having the density of a brick wall, all week I remained hopeful.  This is in large part due to the wise words of a Peace Corps Colombia Response Volunteer, Erich.  He told me the only way to survive is to, “Just go with the flow.”  And this living situation was the flow so I was trying my best to just go with it.  To this day I think this is the best advise I have received since in Colombia.  

Exactly one week from talking to La Hermana about the housing situation, some of the Peace Corps staff came down to La Boquilla to help me with my search.  With the PC staff, I went back to her office  to share the news of the unfruitful house hunt with her.  As we entered the office, she was sitting behind her desk with her usual warm smile.  The first words that came from her moth were, “I FOUND A HOUSE (in Spanish obviously)”!  This news brought a collective sigh of relief from myself and all of the PC staff.  Together, the whole gang of us approached the new house and there were greeted by my new host mom, Janeth (Tidbit: Janeth has died red hair).  After asking her a few questions about her family and seeing the room I already started to feel at home.  

Saturday I said good bye to the Direct TV and the bachelor lifestyle at the Padre’s house and moved all my stuff four houses down to my new residence.  I was greeted my new host mother (Janeth), my two host sisters (Irina and Julie, both in their 20s), Irina’s  daughter (Valeria, 2) my host brother (Delys, 19), his son (Delys, 3 months), his girlfriend (Fiama) and a bunch of cousins.  For the next two hours instead of unpacking my stuff, I got to know a little bit more about the family while two girl cousins combed my hair, put it in braids and then in a pony tail.  I do have to say I really did miss this family aspect when living with the priest.  So all in all, I am happily moved into a new house and still going with the flow of Costeño life.  Also if you figure that 50% (generous number) of La Boquilla go to the Catholic church, now each 300 people have their own priest.           

Pictures Before My Camera Was Stolen

Some of my students after school

I am still not sure how this Anteater ended up in La Boquilla

Beer cans hanging from a wire infront of one of the schools I work at

Some pigs I saw when I was leaving school one day

The road I take to get to my schools 

Just some pants and an animal carcass out to dry 

School assembly 

Some  of my 4th graders hard at work

Helped on translating the school slogan into English

Teaching my 3rd grade the days of the week in tune to the Adam's Family theme.

There's Monday and there's Tuesday
There's Wednesday and there's Thursday
There's Friday and there's Saturday
And then there's Sunday
Days of the Week (X2 with snaps)
Days of the week (X3 with snaps at the end)