Week 3 begins...

Hey all,

Can’t believe I’m starting the 3^rd and final week of WT orientation today. This week is much more relaxed and intensive than the past two, if that makes any sense. On days when we do have stuff, I feel like I could go crazy with the pressure and stress, but then there are days when we have absolutely nothing.  Either tomorrow or Wednesday I am giving my final lesson to some students. It will be at a fourth grade level and we will be going over the concepts of democracy and majority rule. I’ll be turning the classroom into a democracy and we will ‘vote’ our way through the lesson. Should be an interesting experience. I’ll keep you guys updated on how it goes.

This weekend has been pretty productive with mundane chores for me, but there was some fun. I started Friday night off by going to Toa (the local bar/restaurant that turns into a karaoke bar late). It was a crazy downpour when we walked there, but we wanted some of that food so we didn’t care if we got wet. Within 5 minutes of the 20 minute walk we were drenched. When I finally got to the restaurant I could literally ring out my clothes. I WAS SOAKING. But, I did have some amazing food- teriyaki Ahi tuna cakes served over rice. Pair that with their local beer and I was a happy camper. It was nice to calm down after a whirlwind of a week.

Saturday I spent doing laundry and going to the seamstress and fabric shop to get all of my uniforms for school made. Yesterday was a mixture of class and fun. After spending a few hours inside the classroom, we all went to the park across the street from the school for a barbeque. Here’s a picture of the park. Crazy view, right? This is what I see every day. Unreal.

<-- This area was struck pretty bad by the Tsunami in 2009, so this park was apart of the rebuilding effort.

--> Here are the two stray dogs that always hang out in the park. I want so badly to just give them a home for a year, but I know they would be even worse off when I leave next summer.

After dinner we decided to toss the volleyball around and we were having a lot of fun. I decided to get super serious (mistake #1) and I dove for the ball (mistake #2). When I dove I didn’t see the massive boulder in my way and I completely smashed up my knee. I’m fine, but I made good use of the first-aid kit I brought with me. Thanks, Momma Jude! I’m such an idiot haha.

I found out a little bit more about my village. The oceanfront that is next to my house—the place where we would snorkel is known to have tiger sharks. Yep, the man-eating kind. I’m not even exaggerating; tiger sharks are the WORST for humans. Here’s to hoping I don’t get eaten alive. On the bright side, there haven’t been any attacks on humans that are documented. That’s comforting, right?

Enough from me. Thanks to all the family and friends I talked to yesterday, it was so nice to feel close to home again. I hope everyone had a good time at marathon!

Love, love.

Jess