i am sitting on the roof of sembrandopaz. this is the first time i've been comfortable all day...except for this morning when i was in the shower. it is so freaking hot! generally, sincelejo is heaven compared to zambrano beacuse it is closer to the caribbean so its a lot cooler with more of a breeze. not today. o yesterday. my feet are swollen from heat.
last night, in fact, after rolling around in bed for a number of sleepless hours (something i haven't experienced since early days of sst in santo domingo with no fan and a tiny window), i angrily got up, being absolutely exhausted, and went to sleep on the hammock. the problem with the hammock is that motorcyles dominate this city, even at 2 am, and they are not quiet. however, i did get good sleep on the hammock, and was able to make myself sleep a few hours in the morning, albeit the noisy street below me.
on the upside, however, on sunday we went to the beach, which is never bad news. it was a lovely day of frolicking in the water of the caribbean sea, throwing frisbee, and eating coconut that was sold as people walked by. my highlight of the day, however, was a very long walk with ricardo. we walked a mile or two up the beach and back, talking. i was able to talk really openly about how i felt about zambrano and we got into a lot of theological discussion. it was a blessing to hear some of his thoughts and realize that we are really very much on the same page. i really appreciate and respect how he invisions the work he's trying to do here on the coast and i fit into that vision really easily. so after a bit of worry about so many differences with the community of zambrano and the church there, it felt really good to realize i had a good friend and advocate here i will be able to do a lot of processing with. and its just good to feel like my "boss" (not really, but kind of) and i are really on the same page.
i had been feeling really bored, as i mentioned last blog, and i talked to ricardo about that too. so they gave me some books to read, i've been at a number of meetings, and today one of the workers here gave me 24 pages to translate into english by thursday. now i wish i were bored again.
no, but really it has been nice to be a bit more buys, even though translation is excessively difficult due to the format of what i'm supposed to be translating - grant proposals for USAID. but thursday i leave for zambrano again for a number of days and i'll be buying a bed, a fridge, an oven/stove, and taking a number of stuff out to start getting my apartment livable. we'll also begin conversations about which projects i'll plug n with first, which i'm excited aboout.
on saturday, i'll be heading to the beach and to spend a few days in cartagena...mostly just for the heck of it...with torin and doda and a few friends from out here...and we'll celebrate my birthday. cartagena is a very historical city and i'm looking forward to seeing some of the cites. its located right on the water and is the city where all afro-colombian slaves were brought in. so there are all kinds of museums and artisan markets and such. and the caribbean never hurts. :) so i'm looking forward to that.
then, monday, the actual day of celebration, bonnie (country rep) is coming to the coast for a few days, so i'll be spending quite a bit of time with her, moving more permanently to zambrano toward the end of the week, and then expecting my lovely friend nicole for a visit! life is looking good. just praying for a bit of rain to cool us down here...
as i enter this 23rd year of life. well, actually i'm entering the 24th year, right? anyway, i look forward to a year of learning a lot. a tough year, i think, but i'm ready to take it head on. i wish you were all here to celebrate with. so i'll be thinking of you as i wade in the caribbean. i miss you daily and love you always. ...and i promise pictures next blog after all this activity of the next week or two! :) love love...