Not only is
this the first moment I’ve had to write an update since the last one, but it’s
also the first chance I’ve had to sit down and breathe since then. To say the past month was busy is an
understatement. I’ve emerged from it
with the following lesson learned: I seriously prefer my months of doing
nothing. Well, the ideal would be
limited productivity, but this is Guatemala (TIG) and my life here knows no
happy medium. Sighhhh haha
What
occupied most of my waking hours (of which there were too many) was putting
together the project proposal I mentioned, to build a warehouse for the Trigales
onions. I managed to get all the basic
paperwork in before I left for Costa Rica, but my vacation was rudely
interrupted by an email asking for more supporting documents (at which point I almost
decided to talk the group out of it…I warned you about my predilection towards
doing nothing). So I returned from my
incredibly relaxing week in paradise only to wind my body up with stress once
again. The group and I got everything
else together in record time, but due to confusion over the deadline, I submitted
the whole proposal too late to be considered this month and now have to wait
until August to find out if the project will be approved for USAID
funding. I hope it will be. I’ve also been working with my ag leaders
group on a far more basic project proposal for producing mushrooms, which will
have to be majorly amped up if they’re serious about applying for a $25,000+
grant from the Inter American Foundation we learned about!
The other
main thing keeping me busy was getting together the GAD (gender and development
committee) raffle for our annual 4th of July party (held on the 3rd this year,
don’t ask me why). I spent a weekend hounding
and cajoling last-minute donors, and then doing the same to poor PCVs so they’d
buy tickets, and I’m proud of it, and of my awesome committee. We raised about Q5,300 ($684ish), which is only
about 75% of last year’s raffle sales, but with half the number of volunteers
and amount of prizes. Idk I’d call that
a success :) The party was fun even
without the presence of all the friends who’d left. It was just too bad that this was the second
year I’ve worked the party without getting to fully enjoy it (read: I was sad
because I was too tired to dance the night away at the after-party lol).
Now that I’m
finally done with all that, get me back to COSTA RICA! I flew in a day earlier than my parents to
hang out in San Jose with Anais and Melissa, who made a special stop on her
Central American post-PC journey to meet up with us (I also had the very lovely
pleasure of sending her off from Guatemala when she finally said goodbye on the
3rd). We bonded over the terrible acting
and direction of
Prometheus
(seriously?) and the wonders of Costa Rican supermarkets :) And then it was off the next morning to the
airport to meet mumsyyy and daddyyy! I
hadn’t seen them since Thanksgiving, but time had really flown this time. So basically I was equally excited to see
them as I was to see the hotels mumsy had booked for us ;) Let’s just say she knows how to do her job…fantastic
(look
here
and
here)! Two nights at a private waterfall park/botanical
gardens/exotic petting zoo close to San Jose and four nights in the wonderful
combination of beach, mountains, and forest known as Manuel Antonio National
Park. Horseback riding, whitewater rafting,
ATV-driving, forest-walking…all great (with the exception of horseback riding –
never again) yet strangely dangerous. I
knocked my dad out of the raft while falling out myself, rode my ATV off the
road and into a ditch (so much for proving to my parents that I still knew how
to drive…quote of the trip was mumsy’s “where’s my hija??”), and gashed open my
toe before even stepping into the park.
I think I’m channeling the combined forces of both Darren and Kate’s klutziness
lol. Nothing a good dose of sunbathing, sleeping,
and eating and drinking couldn’t cure :)
And of course the daily sightings of sloths (I want one…I want to be
one), monkeys (adorable), and Jesus Christ lizards (we saw them running across
the top of the pool!) didn’t hurt – I must get back!
