Y mi casa...

So out of the blue on Saturday, while lounging at another volunteer's site in Juan de Herrera, I received a phone call from my project partner telling me to "ven aca" ASAP. Turns out, after some conversation, I snagged a 4-bedroom, fully furnished house to live in!! They are even, as I write, putting in an inversor (a generator) they had lying around, so I will most likely have 24-hour luz (electricity). They left me everything from the full-size fridge to the lavadora (vaguely like a washing machine, vaguely not) to the glasses. There is a little shaded front porch and a little private space in the back to hang. It even has my metal roof so I can listen to the sounds of the rain falling. The only condition is that these people live in la capital and they want to be able to return and use the other bedrooms during Easter weekend and Christmas. I told them I would try and cook for them, but I couldn't promise anything (grilled cheese, anyone?). So around August 13th, I'm going to move into my very own place and people can start coming to visitarme!! Yayyyy! Peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat bread all day every day. Aaaah, the life.

Picture This…

Night time. A 24-year-old chica stands outside her house with an overstuffed backpack on (looking a little Dora the Explorer) yelling…shouting…hollering…howling for her mom or dad to come open the door because she’s locked out.

Yes, that chica was me Wednesday night. This pathetic scene only served as a reminder that I do not yet have my own place to live come August. And while I love my host family dearly (especially that Mama Yudelka), I need my own space. But as the house-hunting process has been so incredibly difficult and more than a little depressing, I’ve kind of given up. However, I awoke Thursday morning with renewed vigor…and then I talked with some people in the afternoon and remembered what a hassle this whole process is. Vamos a ver.

In other news, I’ve started my English classes this week! They are still a work-in-progress, but they seem to be going really well and everyone is having lots of fun. My dear brother sent me the alphabet song he used when he was an English teacher in Japan, and yesterday I had my classes sing along to it. I was afraid it’d be a little corny for them, but they went nuts! They loved it. Teaching is also making me feel a lot more settled in here, as it finally gives me some purpose. All in all, very good week.

And a brief note on last weekend: I went to Paraiso (“Paradise”) to spend July 4^th with some other voluntarios—camping on the beach, making s’mores, that sort of business. It was incredibly relaxing and lots of fun. And a great reminder that, hey, I get to live in the freaking Caribbean for 2 years! How lucky am I?!

In future news, I’m supposed to go to the beach in Barahona this Sunday for a day-trip with my community’s evangelical church. This one should be a cultural shockwave. Forget about wearing a 2-piece, evangelical women don’t wear anything but long skirts and sleeved shirts! The pastor’s daughter in a traje de baño?! Scandalous.