Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Oreos y el Baño

I brought a large pack of oreos with me when I arrived and we demolished them in two days. Luckily the corner store has them so we restocked. Could we be more American?

Our bathroom REEKS. In China I thought this too as the water was always stagnent. Here, its a combo of stagnent and poop. Real fun. We can't leave the bathroom door open because then our room smells, but we cant keep the door closed because obvi that makes it worse. SO we went to the corner store today and bought a toilet bowl freshener of the pine variety and bamboo scented airspray which we spray any and every time we enter and exit the bathroom. So far it still smells like poop and stagnent water. We are hoping to change that to overwhelming fake-mountain smell. Also speaking of the water. Its pretty much brown. It doesnt look brown when it comes out of the faucets, but try squeezing out your hair post-shower over the sink, its brown. And no thats not my hair dye coming out.

In terms of the work week Katie's posts dont lie about being intense. The past three days I've sat in on what are called "Atencíon". They are basically intake appointments. People line up outside to come in and share their story in hopes that they can recieve some kind of aid from CAMIG (the org we're here with). It's story after story, spanish after more spanish. By lunch and especially by 3pm we're overly mentally stimulated and ready to crash. Its a lot to just hear these peoples lives and even more to make sure you can understand all of it. I went on a trip with my family to New Orleans in high school and there one of the volunteers told me that really as much as people need basic necessities, they also need someone to listen and to talk to. I've tried keeping that in mind when I get too overwhelmed.

Today too we went with one of the social workers to check on a family we've seen three times now who recieved first months rent from CAMIG. It took the three of us an hour by bus and a steep walk to find she wasn't home. Though disappointing, Katie and I really got to see the barrios which are so far on the outskirts of town. Luckily the government is making more of an effort to have transit be more accessible so they aren't cut off. The bus ride was like a mini driving tour.

Katie and I read a lot here. She just finished Eat Pray Love for the second time and I finished Women's Travel Writing 2008. We plan lots of trips in our minds after dinner. I'm now very slowly trying to plow through HP Goblet of Fire in Spanish. It's just as good in another language.

NIGHT
Chao, Katie and Roxie

3 comments:

  1. I'm impressed. Glad you are reading Women's Travel Writing 2008. Someday I'll read it, too. Ooohhh ohhhh...Carmen and Eric got me a Kindle for my b-day. Yes, I'll let you touch it.

    Your comment about the olfactory thrills reminds me from a line from a 1970s film I may or may not have seen called "The Boys in the Band" with the subtitle "Is not a musical..."

    Harold: How's the bathroom smell?
    Michael: Before it smelled like someone puked. Now it smells like someone puked in a gardenia patch.

    Hmmm...for years, I was saying petunia patch.

    Anyway, make good choices...love you!

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  2. Well here it smells like someone pooped on bamboo reeds.
    :)

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  3. omg
    you are reading it in spanish!?! i am impressed. can't wait to hear all your stories and i am still iffy about the taste of coke here. love you both!!!!!

    heidi

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