January 7th - Interviews and Doughnuts

Mercredi 7 Janivar 2015

I had some trouble falling asleep last night because it was loud (between the bar [there was one right down the road] and the animals) and it was SO COLD! I got up at one point to put on fuzzy socks. I got up around 7:30am and had yogurt, and peanut butter on egg toast [egg bread, toasted], and tea. We saw the gross mouse and are waiting for it to be trapped. Amy came over and I gave her the camera [that I brought over, it's a funny story actually but you'll find out later in the trip] and went over [with] her to Pauline to get measured for my skirt. I'm using the navy and yellow fabric and it's [going to be] modeled off of the one that Barka was wearing during prayer last night. I was thinking about getting ones made for mom and [the] sisters. I also need to remember to get gifts for the other people as well.

After that I went to go talk to Barto about education and stuff and it was super interesting but also tiring. We talked for like three hours. I got a ton of information and am really excited about where this project could end up going. I had a really good time learning about things that his father told him about colonization and such as well as [about] when he went to school in the village. I also had some papaya from his garden, it was good - I've never had [papaya] before. [...] It was fun to tell him about my school experience and school in the US, but also explain that we have a problem with inner city schools. It was also interesting [I think?] for him to hear about how God wasn't in our schools like he is here. When we were talking, I did the thing [I can't remember where I read/learned about this] where I would just not say anything once the conversation stopped and he would think a while and then start talking again. It worked really well and that's where I got some of my most interesting stories. I really appreciated how interested he seemed in what I was doing.

Doughnut lady

After we were done I went to go see the embroidery on Tante Marie's skirt [too see if I wanted any of my material embroidered] and Coral had me show her a picture of me and Sr. Linda (the OCC [Operation Christmas Child] one), because she has been here for 14 years and so obviously knows Linda. [I also heard many a time that we "all secretly work for Tante Marie"]

Now I need to talk to more people, take Steve to play, and figure out this dance thing. I can't believe I only have a week left! I don't want to go!

My fried dough-ball with some cinnamon sugar

We went to the market to get some things, we went to Isaki's (he speaks very good English) and bought veggies from a street vendor. I'm really craving a nice granny smith apple but we can't seem to find any anywhere. We stopped at a side of the road vendor for a fried doughnut ball. The whole scene was pretty gross [dead animals, dirty children...] but it tasted good so whatever.

The unknown girl, Steve, and Elsa

After, I went to play with Steve, Elsa, and this other little girl (who kept calling me Nasara). One of my favorite things was when they were all running up the stairs and down the slide (eventually after posing for a picture), I think it was good for them to use all that energy - they'll sleep well tonight. They had a blast with the camera - both taking pictures and being in them and their laughs were so pure and genuine. The quote about the first baby's laugh breaking into pieces that became fairies is SO TRUE! It was fantastic. Steve went to go "llave llave" [get washed up] and I went to go hold the babies for a bit until Coral had me come back to the house to work with her and Amy on the craft for the sponsorship program Saturday. We learned a lot about the kids from Amy and I want to take notes for sure at some point. Biba also brought the bracelets that she makes and I bought some. [...]

After they all left, we had a nice dinner with cooked squash and rice which was really good.

Ok just back from my first hot shower all week (good thing I talked to Coral hahaha [I was turning the dial the wrong way-so cold showers my first few nights]) and also noticed my left arm is looking a little red. Wear more sunscreen. Also my face is super dry [...]

After dinner we went out with the people studying and Daniel showed us the report cards from last semester. They weren't so hot. He helped me find someone studying English (Fanny) so I could work with [her]. I have to set up a time to talk with him [about my project] asap. Working with Fanny was fun. It was so cool to see English being learned as a second language. I was disappointed in her text book though. There were a lot of errors. Her pronunciation was good except for the "th" sound and saying cinnamon for cinema. I liked explaining [to] her things like snow because she had no idea what I was talking about. [Also explaining how weird English is] Tomorrow is her birthday and she gets to go into town and get fabrique for 2 skirts and a treat called "yawour" which I think is like a milkshake but she's going to show me mañana. She also showed me how to say "Happy Birthday" in French - Joyuex Aniversaire and Moré - Rogmetenré. The other girls thought it was hysterical when I tried to say it and Fanny told them to stop laughing but it was fine with me. I don't mind looking like a fool if I really want to learn something.

Example of a report card

I thought it was a really good day with a lot of relationship building which is super exciting and I think that's what's making this trip so worthwhile.

I think it's really cool that the girls use fabric that hasn't been made into skirts [actually most are panyas-wrap around skirts] yet as a shawl type thing to keep warm - speaking of warm the boys had a super messy room today so Mike took all the stuff that was on the floor - including blankets. With this weather, I think they'll be keeping their room cleaner in the future.

Winddinda got a very cute book from her family and it was so sweet to look at - God bless them. [...]

Bon Nuit!
Holly Rueger