Lazy

I´ve been slacking in keeping up with my blog. I just don´t know how to put into words what I´ve been experiencing here. There hasn´t been any embarrassing/funny incidents, or big news.. just the usual day-to-day things that make this experience different. I´ll try explaining a little of what I´ve been doing here. It probably will sound boring, but I know Grandma Toole has been waiting for another post.
Soooo, life in Southern Ecuador has been.. different. I can´t really describe it any other way. It´s good, it´s bad, but mostly it´s different. It has taken a lot to get used to. Training was definitely a big adjustment in itself, but being put into a community by myself was even more of a shock. I´ve been living in my community for a month now. I go into ´work´ at the Sub-centro every Monday-Friday. Right now, my job is just to integrate into the community. I´ve been doing a lot of hanging out, just getting to know different people in the community. Although this is a slow process, ít´s crucial for me to become influencial in the community. Without gaining the trust of the people I will be working with, they will not listen to me, and my work will be a waste. So, right now, I´m just making sure that people see my face in the community, especially on the weekends when all the other Doctors and Nurses who work in the sub-centro head back to their houses and families in Loja.
Fortunately, I think people are starting to open up to me. I was invited on Saturday to head to my friend´s aunt´s house in the campo. We spent the day just hanging out there with the family. Although the house was about an hour walk from town, it was really neat. They had lots of animals including chickens, pigs, cuy (guinea pigs), and tilapia. They also grew plantains, papaya, yuca, mandarinas and lemons. The afternoon we spent draining one of the ponds and catching the tilapia, which we then fried up for dinner. Sunday, I went to the river with some of the jovenes in town where there is a place to play volleyball, basketball and futbol, and swimming of course. Although it´s about a 30 minute car ride on a rough road, it was beautiful and definitely worth it to get out of town for the afternoon. I already have plans to go back next weekend.
I´m not sure what to write about, as things here happen, but its just little things. So Grandma, for my next blog, what would you like to hear about?

P.S. I´ve started to REALLY miss my family. Especially my sisters. Grace lost her 8th took the other day and called to tell me about it. Bonas has family weekend on Saturday and I wish I could go down with mom.