thursday

On Thursday Miguel came to the school in Pancho Mateo along with another worker to rebuild the fence that goes around the school. A guy named Fernando who lives in the village also helped out. Whenever I am at the schoolhouse, kids come all the time and hang out in front of the building. They can be really loud, and sometimes will run in and out of the schoolhouse. Very disruptive, I know. I have had to close the front door of the schoolhouse before so that the class won't be interupted. With no air circulation though the heat is nearly unbearable. Here is where the idea of the new fence came in. Now we have a fence around the area with a gate that can lock. Woo-hoo!

On another interesting note about this day, I was offered a marriage proposal by one man and was asked to be in a relationship with another! Oh dear, sometimes the culture here just makes me laugh. The older woman Vilila, that I visit nearly everyday in Pancho Mateo, told me that she had a grandson that she wanted me to date. He came over to her house that afternoon and tried to get my phone number and kept saying that I was hermosa.

Just before this, Vilila's son in law (who is married to her daughter Andrea, the woman who is mute) was hypothetically asking about marriage between me and a dominican. Saying that if I married him (for example) that he could therefore have access to traveling to the United States. I told him yes that would be true. In which he preceeding in saying that we should get married so that he could have a better life and be provided for. (Because you see, he is blind, his wife is mute, and his mother in law is cripple. Janibel is his daughter, who is in my class). I tried explaining to everyone that they are my friends and nothing more, and tried to quickly finish up the conversation so I could be on my way.

The culture here about love and marriage is very different. Everyone cannot believe that neither Alexia nor myself are not married and without children being the ages that we are. Many people here are 'married' by common law, in that, they move in together and start having kids. It is also common for men to have multiple 'wives.' Very few people actually go through the process of having a wedding in the church (like Jennie and Miguel are doing in January and like my friend Katie who owns the colmado and her husband did).

So Thursday was an eventful and interesting day for me to say the least!