Phases

Right now we are in the cockroach phase. Last week was the spider phase, and the week before was the chicken phase. I dont know why, but the animals here, large and small alike, are taking turns making my acquaintance. This is the second cockroach I have found in my bed in two days, and I believe that my leaving the first one dying on the floor for over 12 hours may have angered the second one, because he missed the boot and scurried away. My first cockroach was my first murder in this country, something I was very proud to have avoided during the spider week, as I was very tempted to hurtle something at the Lady Arachne the size of my hand that lives behind the toilet. I have decided that although I understand that my bedroom is free domain for all living creatures, inside my mosquito net very close to my pillow is a no-fly zone, and the punishment is death. Plus, cockroaches dont eat mosquitoes, so they have less bargaining power. Just as the fauna is rotating in my life, I have discovered that my time here also goes through phases. There are times when I love the food and eat everything in front of me, and there are times when the thought of yucca and salami for the 5th time this week makes me want to contemplate ascetic Hindu fasting until I start living on my own in 4 months. There are also times when I love to spend time with my host family and others when I cant even think of how to say the simplest things in Spanish. I am not always happy here, but I am not always lonely either. I guess this really is my life now though, and that is the way that life goes. I am not on vacation and I am no longer in school, and this reality is going to take some getting used to. I only have one month before I become a full-fledged volunteer and get to start actually putting some of this technical and Spanish training into practice. I went to an organic coffee farm last week, and we are going to an organic cacao plantation tomorrow, and experiences like these are beginning to show me what my volunteer experience really could be like. It is also an interesting time right now because Chris, the volunteer who has been helping us with our training, completes his term of service and goes back to Colorado on Thursday morning, so in a lot of ways I feel like I am coming full circle. He had a going away party thrown for him by the Forestry School this Saturday, and a lot of volunteers came into town to see him off, so it was really interesting to talk to them and see all the different stages of their service that these volunteers were in. Samantha is on the upswing- so busy right now that she doesnt have time to eat and has been sustaining herself with Club crackers and multivitamins. Grant is on the downswing- riding out the last two months of his service and so ready to get out of here and be American again he cant even stand it. Emily is taking her project to a new level and nationalizing her Environmental youth program by transitioning it into a government subsidized and run project. Carlos is in the process of traveling all over the island relishing the experience of exploring what it has to offer. Sarah is at a low point with her first attack of giardia. From what I gather, I will experience all of these stages at some point, if I am lucky. Also, I am getting the impression that I havent seen ANYTHING yet, and only the craziest is left to come. Ill keep you posted.