lady killer!

the past few weeks have been a challenge. things happen so differently in this country than they do back home and i've had to do a lot of adjusting and stretch my patience pretty thin. but i am writing to you today from the comfort of my apartment (well it could be more comfortable *cough, cough HEAT* but it sure beats sitting out on the sidewalk to get the internets)! it took a while to get here but i now have wireless and can get online anytime i want, night or day, rain or shine. i'm loving it.

i am at home right now thinking i would get some things done during my 2 hour break before my next class only to find that for some reason the water is not running. guess those dishes won't get done for a little while longer. hopefully i have better luck when i get home later this afternoon. today was a challenging day, having to fill in for 3 of my counterparts classes because she was out sick today. my first class at 8 am was pretty rough. there was a huge language barrier and they really had no interest in anything i had to say. we ended up playing hangman...and it was in english so i convinced myself i was being productive with them. the other classes weren't bad at all. i actually fell in love with a 9th grade class and i'm hoping that my counterpart will consider letting me in on that one. the kids were amazing. they invited me to go and watch a group of them put on a hip hop dance performance which i am so excited about. and the girls on the handball team asked me to take sara to their game tomorrow! so i am about to make the walk back to school for 2 more hours of classes and then back home to eat something before my plans for the evening.

so today is sara's bday (SHOUT OUT) and i am super excited that her and breanna are coming to my site tomorrow. they are my very first visitors. my apartment doesn't have much to offer yet but we have quite a busy schedule until pretty much bed time to i think we can manage. then on saturday it's off to the city to meet up with clela (another volunteer that lives pretty close to me). it'll be nice to just hang out at her place for the night. cook a good meal. have some good conversation. a relaxing weekend is something i think we all really need right now.

did i mention that i weaseled my way into getting fridays off! i got very lucky and all of the teachers i work with are amazing and sooo helpful. and there is my counterpart and mentor that always welcome me into their homes and feed me, even do my laundry for me. i can't wait to share my life here with other volunteers! each day here is more exhausting than the one before...but far more rewarding. it's the little moments that pull a smile on my face and remind me of why i'm here in the first place. this is one of those moments from my week...

gosh i love my life!!!!!