Two weeks in...

Well, for those who were attempting to enter the challenging Call Liz event in the Peace Corps Communication Games, I am sorry to say that all the medals have been awarded. In first place by a landslide we have Trimble, with a considerable lead in the time trials, clocking in a full week before the silver medalist, and receiving extra marks with the judges for one failed call attempt and a short preliminary call made while I was out to dinner. A well deserved gold, Trimble. Well done. Connor pulled out a strong second about two weeks ago, with an endurance run in which our conversation lasted almost an hour. You all should also look out for him in the Visitation games starting up in August, because I think he may go for the gold in the friend division, as well as medal overall, competing against the family bracket. An ambitious one, he is. Excellent work, Connor. The bronze was clinched only yesterday by a surprise entry in the Year and Under friend bracket. Dan pulled out a shocking and well deserved 3rd place with an excellent and successful call while he was in Northern VA traffic on the way home from work. I am trying to get him to enter the Visitation games as well, but only time will tell. I am also awarding an honorable mention to Austen in the otherwise uncontested girls division, as she claims an attempted, though ultimately unsuccessful, call. While technically unconfirmed, this alleged call attempt gets extra weight as she is in the final stages of her wedding plans. I appreciate your efforts, girl, and we hope to see you in the V-Games this fall. I have to say that the girls have really fallen behind to a shocking degree, sad to say. I dont how to analyze these results, but I do want everyone to know that there is also a junior division that everyone can enter, and that is instant messaging. 1-809-723-9787, look into it, it works! All kidding around, I really appreciate so much all of you have called me, emailed, written letters, and the couple of packages that I have gotten from the front runners have been wonderful. I realized yesterday after talking to Dan that every little bit of contact I have with my life at home really makes what I am doing here easier to handle. I honestly get very lonely here sometimes, and my Dominican friends are of course nothing like the ones that I left in the States, much less family, so every time I get a connection to home, it rejuvenates me and really gives me a great pickup. Also, being able to talk about what I am doing here makes me realize that while I some days I may never leave the front porch, I am in fact doing something of substance, and it makes the bad days seem less oppressive.

In related news, another thing that has helped me with my transition in my community is the newest addition to the Cairns family, Geronimo. He is about 2 months old with a black head and black and white markings, and he really has given me something to connect to. My neighbors brought him to me from only God knows where, and he is the cutest puppy. Of course, he will most likely grow up to look just like every other street dog here, but I am hoping that with a nutritional diet, he can at least avoid that hollowed look. He is very well behaved for his age- always comes when he calls, tries his hardest not to go to the bathroom during the night, and a very loving temperament. We are going through a chewing phase right now that my tennis shoe laces didnt take very kindly to, and we still have a little problem with crossing the road at inopportune times, but all in all I think that it is going very well. As for my community, it is a slow process, and it can be frustrating at times, but I think that it is coming along. Unfortunately, integrating into a community is a slow process that consists of a lot of similar conversations, a lot of cups of coffee and food I dont want to eat, a considerable number of trips to church (is 4 times a week a lot?), and an impressive amount of time sitting on the porch doing absolutely nothing. I have been here two weeks now, and I am onto my 7th book. Dont worry, none of them were under 200 pages, and the 500-some pages of Jane Eyre, which I caught at a particularly dull period, only took 2 days. So, if my previous paragraph inspired any of you to look into package sending, any particularly good books that you happen to have read recently would be very much appreciated. However, I am trying to remind myself that getting to know your neighbors is really something that you cannot rush, and the dullest part is hopefully behind me. I will be starting to write my community diagnostic next week, which requires that I visit and interview every household in El Yayal, as well as any outlying communities, community groups, organizations, and businesses. It should take up most of my time for the next 2.5 months, during which I will also be looking for my own house to live in, which is an exciting prospect. So when the winners of the fall trials come to call, hopefully you will have your very own rancho to come and stay in. Exciting, I know, but dont hold your breath. Nothing in this country is easy to accomplish; it usually takes forever and the process is completely counterproductive and stupid. But I am getting used to it. And on the bright side, I havent gotten sick yet. That will be a whole other blog.