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Dear Mrs. Rasnick,

Do you remember my peculiar Drama I class? You said it was peculiar because for the most part our class was not in Drama because we wanted to learn about the origins of theater, Thespes and the like. We were in Drama because we wanted to play games. I am writing today to tell you that although I have not used algebra here in Guatemala, nor history, nor even very much English, I have used the games you taught me, and used then well.

The fellows recently took a trip to Belize. We stayed in a guest house in a Mayan Indian village called San Antonio. There was no electricity, and after dark there was not much to do out there in the jungle (Really, the jungle. We saw a huge scorpion–a SCORPION– in the bathroom one night.) But the families who took care of the guest house had lots of children and were just generally the kindest and friendliest people I think I’ve ever met. And–something I did not know about Belize– they spoke ENGLISH. It was like Christmas.

Darkness fell as we waited for dinner time, and we all gathered in the guest house with two candles lit. We were just chatting, and as there were no chairs we formed a loose, standing circle. Somehow we got onto the subject of games– and Whoosh-Bong came to mind.

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Tags: culture, friends, games, relationships, theater

pickin’ up good vibrations

Since I basically live on the edge of Sebikotane, opposite from Gaya, Hilary, and the places where our activities are, I walk about two or three miles every day to get around. I could take a ndiaga-ndiaye for about 15 cents, as my Senegalese family and friends encourage me to do, but I prefer to walk for two reasons. First of all, it keeps my lower body, which has been expanding alarmingly due to Senegalese food and the enthusiastic women who feed me, in check. Secondly – and more importantly, I suppose – the walk becomes sort of a social event. Ever since my last post, I’ve started being a lot more insistent in doing what I want to get done, and thus have met many new people and become much more familiar with those I already knew.

So now, on my daily walks, I have to factor in a few extra minutes to account for all the stopping. I stop to shake hands with, chat with, and receive meal invitations from teachers, co-workers, extended family members, and, because this is Senegal, many other “family members.” I am not excluded from these broad familial definitions – the children at the preschool call the teachers “Tata,” which means “auntie.” It never fails to make me smile to hear all these little voices shouting “Tata Victoria!” and waving frenetically when I pass by on the road. Most enjoyable for me are all the new friendships I’m building thanks to the high school English club that Gaya and I have started. I have never before realized how essential it is to my happiness and well-being to have friends my age, and my appreciation for my friends, both back home and here, has deepened greatly. › Continue reading

Tags: friends, homestay