Two deliciously sweet mangos and approximately 87 maggi bites later, I returned home and took a shower, never appreciating so much the feel of cool water running down my bitten-to-pieces legs. I really would have worn long pants had I known we were going on a wild-"fruit" chase, but I tend to not understand the magnitude of these activities that I get myself into with my muchachos until I'm in right in the middle of them…and of course by then, it's too late to put on long pants, etc!
I know I write a lot about bugs but…that's kind of my life here. Bugs and fruit and coffee and sweat. That said, I noticed a huge spider in the shower with me today in the opposite corner from where I stand (which is really not all that far in this shower) and actually said out loud "Oh, I didn’t know YOU were in here", eye roll and exasperated tone of voice included. I take this as proof that I'm going crazy, and probably would omit this story out of embarrassment if I wasn't so sure that there are at least a few of you out there who'll get a good laugh out of it!
If Peace Corps is good for anything (and that's just a turn of phrase, because it’s actually good for a lot!), then it's the perfect cure for stage fright. Not only are we put in front of large, critical audiences, but we have to speak in Spanish! Por ejemplo (for example): Today, I arrived 15 minutes early at the school in my community, with all my little papers and books, prepared to give a "charla", or chat, to ONE class of 8th graders on trees and deforestation. Over an hour later ("la hora Dominicana", or Dominican time), I found myself performing surprisingly well in front of about 50 students between 6th and 8th grade. You just can't be afraid to make mistakes, and that's that. (Also, it's better to just come to terms with the fact that nothing will go as planned, i.e. 50 students instead of 20 and starting nearly an hour late.) The worst part of these charlas is that sometimes I can't understand the students who actually speak up to answer my questions (a minority) when all I really want to do is show my enthusiasm that they answered at all. They're very understanding though, and over all it went well. I'm giving the chat two more times this week, and should be a pro by the end! Although my vocabulary most likely still resembles that of a 6th grader, it should serve me well tomorrow as my group will consist of 3rd-5th graders.
No comments:
Post a Comment