Site Visit!

Yesterday was a really really interesting day. It was our first "field trip" up to visit other volunteers who have been in country for 1-2 years.

We split our group into smaller groups of 4 and drove to different sites.

My group went to a site of a girl who has been serving for just over a year named Ellen. Ellen was a very interesting person to visit due to her amazing streak of luck...bad luck.

In her first year of service Ellen was:

-In a serious chicken-bus accident where multiple people died
-Robbed at least five times (she showed us the jeans where one guy cut into the pocket with a knife to get her wallet while she was on the bus)
-Threatened by locals with large knives because they thought she was kidnapping children
- Her grandma died
-and had a really unhelpful counterpart to work with.

So...while the other people met people who were having a great time, and nothing much had happened to them but illness or petty theft, we met someone who really, really had to struggle. But honestly it was cool, because we talked and she was telling us about her experiences and we met the women and clinics she was working with and even after all of that, she stayed.

It was really nice to see how hard she worked and what she had accomplished, and while of course I hope that I won't have to struggle quite as hard, and I won't have quite as many obsicles, it was cool to see what we could get through if we had to.

On an unrealated note, yesterday was also my birthday (23?!) and my homestay family was so wonderful.

They made an ENOURMOUS special dinner for me including (but not limited to...) Tacos, BBQ, Fried Chicken, Cake, Pie, Fried Plantanes, rice, Chilie and lots of orange soda!

When the cake came out, they sang to me in English and Spanish, and then Leo, my 11 year old brother shoved my head into the cake (thus the pie...it was kinda like the second cake).

It was so nice and delicous!

OK MUST RUN as I've used up most of my lunchtime!