Volunteer visit

Hello, hello! Well, I am back from my site visit, and it was really great! It was a really urban site, but it was a holiday weekend (Mother's Day was on Monday) so there wasn't a whole lot going on. I went with another girl from my program, Christine. We were a little worried about finding the bus stop in San Jose, but we got there without a problem. The scenery during the bus ride was amazing—we went through the mountains and a lot of it was out in the country and there were tons of trees and plants. Then we got down the mountain and it was hot hot! When we got on the bus, we asked the bus driver if he stopped at the church in “San Ramon” (note: I put quotes around that since that is the made up name, since I'm not allowed to put exact locations on here...you know, just in case anyone wanted to stalk me or something). So anyhow, he said, “Sure, just pull the cord”. Aka, “I have no idea where that is”. Unfortunately, neither did we. Apparently that wasn't the only place he didn't know—after a wrong turn, followed by him backing the bus up through the intersection and going the other way, then following another bus for a while, then having passengers on the bus directing him, Christine and I were a little worried about finding our stop. Fortunately, we noticed a sign on the side of the road that said “San Ramon” (again, not really) and saw a church, so I yanked on the cord. But the bell wasn't ringing! Ahh! Then I realized I was pulling on the curtain rod rope...

The bus ride was a bit longer than expected, but we made it in one piece, and to the right place, so that is what counts. Kelly (the volunteer we visited) is really cool, and even though she was once mugged at machete-point (if that is a word, which I doubt), her neighborhood seemed pretty cool too. We ate dinner in town that night, and of course, the TVs in the restaurant were all playing “Bailando por un Sueno”. The funniest thing about that show is that people totally vote for the sueno (dream, aka charity cause) and not based on the skill of the dancers. That would never happen in the US! Their way probably makes more sense if you think about it. One of the worst couples, in terms of dancing skills, is trying to get a plastic surgery operation for a little girl who has no nose or eyes and breaths through a hole in her neck (it is really pretty sad), and I would place money on them to win the whole thing.

Anyway, the next day a bunch of other volunteers in the area and their respective trainees who were visiting them met up and we rode the ferry across the water to the peninsula and then back again. It is really cool to meet other volunteers and hear about their experiences etc. I definitely learned a lot and got a lot of advice, which I think will be really helpful.

Yesterday we had interviews with our program directors to talk more specifically about our site preferences, and on Friday we find out where we're going!!! Aaah! I am so excited! However, you all will remain in suspense, since as I already mentioned, I cannot give out exact locations. If you really want to know though, you can email me. What else was I going to say? Oh yeah, so I had a session at the school yesterday. I have one more on Monday and then I'm done, which I'm kind of sad about because I really like those kids! Afterward I ran into Angela, who was also at the school, and we were talking outside when the policeman walked by. We said hi, and he came over and was talking to us. He was talking about all kinds of stuff and then next thing I know, he's pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and starts reading us poems he's written! It is not every day that a police officer, in uniform and everything, is out on the street reading you poetry...

What else? Well, yesterday I freaked out for a second because I thought I saw a dead horse on the side of the road. As it turned out, it was just a log and some dead palm branches. Oh, and of course, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Livviebelle! (Em, you'll have to pass that along since as far as I'm aware, Liv has yet to learn how to read). Wow, three years old! I actually remember my third birthday. I remember sneaking into the closet and finding my presents, including a Ken outfit, and I was so excited since I hardly had any clothes for him. Then the whole time I was actually opening my presents, I was wondering, “Where is that Ken outfit??”, and it was the last thing I opened, but I was worried someone had found out that I peeked and decided to not give it to me after all. Okay that was just a bit of a tangent...anyway! I guess childhood memories aren't really the purpose of a blog, hey? Whatev... Well that is pretty much all anyway. Bye! Oh! I just remembered, I saw the movie “Volunteers”, which in case you are unaware, is about the Peace Corps. It has Tom Hanks in it, and it is actually pretty funny. It's about a guy who owes a bunch of money, so he runs away to the Peace Corps to hide. The best line was when he says, “It's not that I can't help these people, it's just that I don't want to!”. Rent it, and if they don't have that, rent “School Ties” instead... (hahaha)