Floating...

My whole life has been spent floating down a stream, just allowing the water to push me in the direction that was the easiest. Whenever I came upon a branch in the stream, I never tried to fight the current to get to the other side, I just kept right on floating down the stream. But at this point in my life I am no longer “going with the flow” or floating down the stream; I am now swimming upstream, against the current, in the toughest experience I have had to face yet. I am in my third week in my site, and I am just starting to become accustomed to living here, even though I am still in a transitional phase waiting until I can move into Rebecca's place and actually feel at home. Things are starting to progress with work though. I have been talking with my counterparts and after our trip to Cuenca we will finally be able to start really planning for my next few months. I have communicated with them that for the first few months all I can do are interviews with the families to get some information about the resources and knowledge available to the people in my communities. This task is going to be difficult for me, because it involves pushing myself onto people and into their lives, but it is a necessary step in my integration and familiarization of these communities. It will also be a big help in developing my language skills, which are drastically improved from when I arrived in country, but still leave a lot to be desired.
I am spending a lot time in my new cement box of home, but trying more everyday to get out there and let my face become known in the community. Peace Corps says that all new volunteers have to live with host families for the first three months, but I was put in my community in an empty house that consists of three empty rooms; my bedroom which is 6 ½ feet by 10 feet with one teeny tiny window in the top right corner of my box, my bathroom which is actually kind of nice but had no toilet seat when I moved in and no hot water, and my kitchen with only a sink and nothing more. I spent the first week here doing a bunch of nothing, and the second week I got off my but and started trying to make my temporary home a little nicer. I still don't have a stove, but as I will moving into Rebecca's house soon, I don't see the need to purchase a gas tank for $50 when I will be inheriting hers. I did manage to obtain a bed, borrowed from my counterpart. This made my life here dramatically better, as I didn't have to sleep on the cement floor any longer!! This week I have been doing a lot of thinking about how to make my new home more homey feeling so I will be happy here. I am trying to make plans to construct a sofa, which will be a large undertaking for me, but with the possibility of a great outcome!!! I am also learning how to crochet and knit, with the hope that I can eventually make blankets!!! I am trying to keep busy so I won't think about the fact that I have 2 years ahead of me here. I have to take it slowly and think short term. I can do this. It is a challenge that I am not going to back down from.