Saturday, June 11, 2011

Cow Pies


I'm going to edit this post state side with pics, video, and obviously my misspelings :-)

Well I guess I've got to tell you all a little about my schedule here. I think a chart will work best.



Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Mornings
Teaching English to 7th & 6th grades
Teaching English to 8th & 7th grades
Watching the Internas
Free Morning (I usually try to fill it with something)
Watching the Internas
Afternoons
Helping the First Grade Teacher
Helping the First Grade Teacher
Communities
Communities
Communities
Evenings
Internas (I want to start teaching advanced English classes)
Internas (I want to start doing a study hall here)
Internas (I want to start doing some sort of sport day)
Church
Volunteer Hang out night


Sat and Sunday I'm free but I really try to keep busy by going up and helping at other Volunteer sites or blogging a little. The other girls do Chatecism and another job I have is to use the water system to make Clean water for people. I usually fit that in somewhere and I'm probably going to go do that here pretty soon.

Well let's focus on Communities for today. I'll refer to this chart a lot but right now just communities. This is when we go out to the boonies and play with little kids. It's a blast because I get to practice my soccer skills against 10 yearolds. Which is a huge ego boost and also fun.

Why? Cuz I always win! Muahahahaha. Nah actually cuz I get to teach them and work with them rather than being a tird. Which I hope rubs off and teaches them to treat others similarly.

We also watch movies and just hang out. It's supposed to be a time for us to get to know the kids and give them some positive role models. Apparently, we used to go for the entire day, but apparently the government cut their funding for gas. Now we go for the afternoons only.

Well either way we have a great time and if any of you want to send stuff that I share with the kids, like jump ropes, etc. lemme know.

Well one particular day we were playing and I was feeling expecially energetic. We started off with a game of football (keep away). My team was winning for obvious reasons! This particular field had cow pies all over it. I mean it looked like they were strategically place.

We all know I can be cocky sometimes... To my detriment most of the time but not today! After I got the lay of the land I decided to start doing diving rolls on the field to recover the ball. I was super careful so as not to hit any of the nasty pies.



It was a freaking blast.... Until... The inevitable happened. I jumped before I looked.

That's right guys, my dumb butt rolled right into a cow pie. A double cow pie actually!

I had it all over my back, legs, everywhere. The kids (Carmen that means you too) thought it was hillarious. After a brief photo shoot, we decided that it would be best if I rinsed off. There was a hand washing sink that the kids were more than willing to use to “clean” me off. At this stage I was not only dirty but wet.

We decided to call it a day right about then and I got to ride in the truck bed yet again. Dirty, wet and cold.

Ah, the stupid things I do for a little laugh.

Watch out for those mines,
Eric

Monday, June 6, 2011

Warning: don't flush the toilet paper!


The first thing you learn when traveling is that you can't take anything for granted! I learned this lesson when I my sister told me, “Don't flush the toilet paper.” Aparently it causes an almost instantaneous reaction with the septic systems down here. Why? Because the plumbing sucks. I've heard a few horror stories that I'm not going to share, but this got me thinking.

Why do Americans have so many signs around. Are we that stupid that we can't figure things out on our own? Because guess what we have an OVER abundance of warnings.

Does this over sign-age make weaker people? Do we create a society where the weak and strong survive into their breeding years making a stupider race? Are we heading to the future predicted in Idiocracy?

I don't think so. During my time here I've seen that people learn the lessons of survival by trying and learning. When you fall from a tree it hurts, when your friend gets near a ratteling noise (more on this later) he gets bit. We learn through experience and not through the warnings that are posted out there.

We each have a built in system for survival, fear. There is a book called the gift of Fear. I haven't read it yet and I wouldn't suggest it to everyone, but it is a great book. We live longer through fear, and we achieve greatness, and weakness based on our ability to selectively overcome this feeling.

A little story:

A few weeks ago we were driving home from one of our communities. And I spilled hot McDonalds coffee on my lap. I should sue!!!

Ha just kidding, but I was riding in the bed taking in the scenery. It's beautiful here, yet the dirt roads suck and sometimes you just can't stop in time. There is also sugar cane strewn all over and it's usually not worth dodging.

As an aside, sugarcane is long, straight, and tubular. When ran over it can curve a little, but it is also brown and many creatures match it's color to blend in while hunting in the fields.

This day was no exception and there was a piece of cane in the road. Carmen, who was driving, thought “why risk losing control when you can just drive over it!!!”

CRUNCH???

Huh... Sugar Cane doesn't go CRUNCH it goes “snap.” Yup you guessed it we had ran over a freaking snake. I knew imediately because our sugar can began to curl into a ball. Carmen stopped the car and Michelle got out.

What is an good red blooded American's first instinct? Get a picture!!! I have to give credit when credit is due, Michelle (who has had Bechos 5 times) has nerves of steel. Yet she must not have seen the sign the last American put on that rattler, “Warning: this shit will kill you!”

I can honestly say that I don't think she'd have gotten that close but I still lost it. I fervently told her to get into the bed of the truck as we tried to back over it again. My built in fear meter was reading GTFO and my imagination was all visions of us racing home on dirt roads wondering how long it takes for venom to kill.

Luckily she yielded and got in the truck and we continued to back toward the injured snake.

In the end hesitation won the day as our injured snake got away (hopefully it recoveres and lives a happy human free life. I'm sure of two things, I'll never go near a snake I see and the snake will definitely stay away from big green trucks.

Later I found out that Michelle thought the snake was dead...

So what's the moral of that story? I'm not sure there is one. Trust your gut? Nah, we just need to tag every snake out there with a sign that say, “This snake is of the bite and kill you genius so stay at least 7 feet / 3.128798237439 meters away.”

Maybe it means, don't take anything for granted... I'm not sure. I just know I don't want to see another snake like that again!

Be safe guys,
Eric