a quick rundown

So, I realized that it had been about a week since my last post. Each day, something great or funny or interesting happens and I think, "Oh, I should post this." However, by the time I actually sit down at a computer and have time to go to the blog, my thought escapes me. So, here goes a rundown of a few things that happened this week.

I have befriended a woman named Katie (said with a Spanish accent of course), who is the mother of two little boys I teach. Ismael is 6 and Carlos Alfredo is 3. Carlos Alfredo is really shy and doesn't speak much, everyone in the village calls him Bebe (baby). He's super cute. Whenever we sing songs he doesn't say the words, he simply sways his body from side to side with a huge grin from ear to ear. Whenever I see him at his house (which is connected to the colmado) he either won't stop saying hi and waving or plays a game where he hides his face from me.

Anyway, Katie owns a colmado, which is basically like a convinience store in the middle of the neighborhood. Everyday this past week it seems like, whenever I have walked up to say hello, she offers me some sort of treat from her colmado. Some kids brought her a bag of fruit they had picked from a tree from an abandoned house. She gave them 10 pesos and then uses it to make juice. I don't remember the type of fruit, but it was good.

I always ask her what things are and inevitably, she will hand me a little piece to try. I am always learning new things, and sometimes get laughed at for not knowing them. For example, a common thing here is to take black beans and make them sweet. You cook them with a few other things then add sugar and it becomes almost like a milkshake, (yeah, who would have thought?)

Dona Mercedes (or Vilila to the people that know her) is so generous as well. You remember Vilila, she is the older woman who always has a chair waiting for me on her porch to sit and visit. I continually say to her and her family that I don't need to sit down or have a cafecito (little coffee), but its as if they never hear me say it. She will also sometimes bring me a glass of freshly squeezed juice or a piece of fruit recently bought. She calls me 'mi hija' (my daughter) as do many of the women in both villages (don't worry Mom, this is simply a term of endearment!) And of course, her granddaughter Janebel is still dancing and her daughter Andrea (who is mute) still tries to tell me things all the time and I just smile and nod.

Sidenote- I told Katie this week that with learning all about these new foods of her's that I would need to start going to the gym, which I joined last Tuesday. Which brought about another instant where I found myself grinning and laughing on the inside, as the class started doing pelvic thrusts led by our instructor. (no joke).

There is another group of adults that I am starting to befriend. They all know my name (because of their kids) which is so great, but I have yet to ask for theirs. Every afternoon a game of dominoes is played in front of the house, which is across the street from the school. EVERYONE in this country plays dominoes. I had mentioned that I wanted them to teach me, and then on Thursday watched them play a few rounds and even kept score. I never knew dominoes could be so intense!! They throw their domino down with authority when it is their turn to play, and get so excited when they win they begin to bounce in their chairs like little children.

It is fun getting to see the character come out in the villages. The hospitality continues to overwhelm me, a chair is always offered and conversation is always had.

Tomorrow morning I am headed off to Santiago for the weekend which I am really looking forward to. So, hopefully another update will come soon!