Sweat And Mud
Jaime, the other volunteer who’s staying at the house with me, arrived last night. After 9 hours of traveling. She left the house in Managua around 10 am and got to Achuapa 9 hours later, hotter and sweatier and generally more exhausted.
Even though today was July 19th, the revolution celebration day (like July 4th), there were no festivities here. They celebrate more their personal village revolution that happened June 30th. Oh well. We just saw some boys in the street playing volleyball. As we were walking by the ball came sailing towards me and I thought ‘Weee! FUN!’ and got ready to hit it before some boy stole my glory. Jerk.
I need to start writing down some recipes. I think that would help my endeavor to make Nicaraguan food when I get home. I love everyone in the house, but Juan is never really around since he has a girlfriend. Oh well. No loss. He just sits around in a towel when he is home. Carlo, on the other hand, is my favorite. He’s so sweet. Today I taught him and Jaime how to play some card games since Jaime brought them some cards for a present for the family (they’re boston red sox cards. Carlo was not very pleased. Haaaahahaha. It’s a great ongoing joke, since he’s in love with the Yankees). So we played games for a while and hung out. It’s so nice to have someone to talk in English to.
My daily schedule has been realllly ridiculously slow. Wake up. Hang out. Lunch. Hang out. Dinner. Hang out. during ‘hang out’ time I’ve been reading, writing, talking to the family, napping, etc. It’s been really nice but a little boring. Hopefully tomorrow the library will work out, although I’ll be a little sad to not be able to hang out with Carlo. But he has school tomorrow so I wouldn’t be able to play with him anyways.
The deal with the library and the photo sessions is thus: there is a computer but the keyboard is broken. So the computer software is out. AND the electricity isn’t working in the library either since the transformer or something is broken. Someone was supposed to come for several days but has not yet shown up. So I’ll have to use the printer in my house and just work with the kids and the cameras during the day at the library.
I tried to wash my clothes today. ‘Tried’ being the keyword because I got through 4 items before wanting to be dead. It takes forever, arm strength, energy, water, soap, uugh. I used to read books about people paying one another to do the laundry and thought ‘PSH! So weird! Why PAY someone to do that. It’s just a little scrubbing!’ but you have to get your whole body into the scrubbing and then once something isn’t dirty anymore with sweat and mud you have to get the soap out. That’s the hardest part. So, I’m thinking that my clothing is going to feel a little starchy because I can’t get the soap out. OH FRICKIN WELL. GIVE ME STARCHY CLOTHES ANY DAY! My hands are red from it. And I have SO much more laundry to do.
Write back. Tell me specific things you want to hear about.
Love and Light, Hilary
P.S. What did Matt end up doing for his birthday? Anything exciting?
I think la chica never explained that she is/was planning to have the kids she works with set up a photo gallery. So cropping their own work should be a part of that — but maybe cannot be. Also, she told us but not the blog that there are 7 kids she’ll be working with. So I think she’ll start them shooting this afternoon — but 2PM to 4PM is when it rains there, every day.
Comment by la madre — July 20, 2005 @ 7:29 am
Hil, it seems to me that if you have enough time to write you have enough time to send us a digital photo or two.
Comment by michael — July 20, 2005 @ 5:38 pm
You know, Michael, if you don’t stop upping the ante she’s going to stop writing to you at all.
If YOU have time to make demands, you have enough time to answer the gril’s question.
Comment by la madre — July 20, 2005 @ 6:25 pm
Touche La Madre!
ItÃs hard to speak for Matt because I have no inside juicy detail knowledge, but when he woke up at noon on Saturday his mother and I sang him happy birthday. Then we gave him some assorted capitalistic junk that he seemed most happy to receive. The foremost of those items was one of those units that allows you to play your iPod tunes through any radio. Robby, from the back seat, had first demonstrated it to us on our way to pick Matt up from the airport.
That night he had his ìrealî party with all of his friends. Sunday morning we asked him who was there and he said, ìIÃm not naming ëem all.î Which meant he wasnÃt naming any of them, and that was that. He really is more talkative when you are around, Hil. After the party he slept at RobbyÃs with Joe and maybe Daryl.
Sunday we drove to NH and celebrated his birthday yet again with DianeÃs two sisters.
Comment by michael — July 20, 2005 @ 6:52 pm
Bravo Hilary with the laundry. I complain about putting the clothes from the washer into the dryer. Maybe I won’t do that anymore as you have demonstrated it could be a lot worse…I believe you when you say getting the soap out is the hardest part. One more thing for you to appreciate when you get home. That and the body cream you’ll need to take care of the itch from the, as you call them, “starchy” clothes.
Comment by christine — July 20, 2005 @ 7:02 pm
Michael, I would give you pictures for the blog if I knew how to upload them. I don¥t. I hate computers except for internet.
I realized that if IÂ¥m ever going to have more than one outfit of clean clothes IÂ¥ll need to wash clothes every morning for about an hour. That way I can get a few things done that I wore the day before and hopefully something more, so that maybe sometime at the end of the week next week I can CHOOSE clothes to wear instead of being forced by lack of decisions into something.
Oh well. Life could be worse.
Comment by LaChica — July 20, 2005 @ 9:33 pm
How about if I send you some of my clothes. You can wear them once and then throw them away. Or better yet, how about if I send you a drawer-full of Diane’s? She noticed a long time ago how quick I am to give her stuff away. But, really, this hour a day spent on a rock in the stream out back is truly impressive. I agree with Chris, life will look mighty comfy when you return.
Okay, if I can’t get current photos, how about last years ; ) ?
Comment by michael — July 21, 2005 @ 6:10 am
Or how about some from 15 years ago? Oh, wait, YOU have those.
Comment by la madre — July 21, 2005 @ 8:09 am