My favorite place

We went to my favorite place today. It's like Los Pinos, but with more trees and plants. And pigs. There are pigs running free. When I commented on the pigs my friend explained that people bought pigs to fatten up for Christmas dinner. This one was enormous. Kids were leaping on and riding it like a horse when I first saw it. It's entertainment for the whole neighborhood!

It is also puppy season. We saw a ton of puppies. I have cute photos of kids with puppies, and the cutest photo ever of a boy sitting up in a tree playing a tiny guitar. But I can't print those for privacy reasons. That's the only down-side to my job.

Today we did another questionnaire. We were supposed to visit 40 families. By 1 p.m. we caught up with 32 of the 40 families. Quite an accomplishment! This questionnaire is to assess how the construction projects we did there have helped the community. What I learned is these construction projects really brought the community together. Home after home explained that they had never known their neighbors before. However, they worked together building each other's latrines, roofs and pilas. Now the neighbors trust each other on a deeper level and are living in "community".

A new pila!

Today we drove in with the "sticker". My guess was right. It is a magnetic sign they stick on the side of the car. Our driver kept rolling the windows down and up, depending where we were. Some places are more safe with the windows all of the way down because the people on the streets need to see who is inside the vehicle. In some places he even told us to roll down the back windows. He really wanted us to go with a security guard today. I am not sure why. We were fine without security.

I wore a baseball cap. I didn't realize how much attention my hair attracts. I am going to wear a cap from now on. Nobody called me a gringa all day.

But I did have a run in with a crazy man. He is related to a woman I interviewed. He kept saying all sorts of crazy stuff and poking me with his finger in my arm. The woman I was interviewing said, "Don't be scared." I said, "I'm not." I wasn't scared. I was just eager to get the interview done so he would stop poking me.

Here is one of my favorite parts of this place:

I don't know why I love it, but it is so cool to me! The trees make it feel like a tunnel. I am guessing they put up these big "walls" so nobody could jump out of the bushes.

I was able to snap this photo too:

After we finished my co-worker invited us all to go out to eat. They never let me pay for anything - buses, taxis, snacks or food. I have to start thinking more proactively and treat them. My co-workers are very generous.

Today we went to the mall and had a nice meal. After we ate there was still time before security came to pick us up. We sat and talked. I told them about some of my funniest mistakes with the Spanish language.

Like the time I said I was the best napkin, when I wanted to say I was the best waitress. "Servieta" is "napkin", but I thought it meant server.

Or when I said I told Santos I had ants falling from my chest. The ants were actually falling from my roof, which is "techo". Chest is "pecho".

And then there was the time I tried to say I am hungry every night at midnight. Instead of saying "I have hunger" I said, "I have men every night at midnight.")

We were laughing so hard my co-worders were afraid we would get kicked out of the mall. It was really funny and it felt great to laugh that hard. They said they feel 10 years younger from hanging out with me. We also took these photos:

From left: psychologist; psych intern; mentor; me; my immediate boss.
It was my immediate boss who got her visa to visit her husband in the US!

After I got home I told Fany I spent the whole day in my favorite place with my co-workers. I told her we laughed hard and had lots of fun! She asked me where we had gone. I said, "La cantina." She said, "Whaaaat?" I said "La (and then I realized my mistake) Cantera!"

"La Cantera" is an area of the city. "La cantina" means bar. I told Fany my favorite place is a bar and I spent all day there laughing with co-workers. After almost four years, I will continue to make mistakes. My co-workers and I will get a good laugh out of this!

Tomorrow morning I leave for a Women of Purpose Retreat. It starts at 4 pm, but if we get there early we can get free manicures, pedicures or hair cuts. Last year when I went to this retreat my whole life changed. I look forward to going this year. I am in a much better place in so many ways!

Adios for now. See you after the retreat!

One last thing - The missionary who evaluated the budget of  the refuge for sexually abused girls said they are spending double what they should each month. She asked a few questions about how they are spending. One thing we discovered is that they are paying the commercial rate for their electricity, which they shouldn't be. They have asked for reduced rates, but were told there is no such thing. Friday, armed with more knowledge, they are going to the electric company to get it straightened out. My hope is if they can cut the budget in half, the owners will agree to keep the refuge open.