Ah, but how did I get sunburned you ask. Let me tell you! It happened on my first day of interning with the gardener (okay, so I'm not REALLY interning with him, more like following him around bugging him to let me help him.) As would be expected on my first day, I was put to work doing menial tasks, namely bagging saplings for three hours in the sun. He showed me what to do and left me so he could go take care of his other work. It was actually really great, probably the quietest moment that I've had at the orphanage. I sat there on a log, digging out baby pine trees that had been started in the green house and then clumped together in the garden while they waited for bigger pots. I would fill a plastic bag with a combination of wood shavings and chicken manure, put a little tree in there, pack down all the filler and then line it up against the fence. It was mind-numbingly repetitive which is actually a good thing in my book. I love having time to zone out and let my mind wander, I feel like I dont have enough opportunities for that. I've watched The Karate Kid enough times to know that seemingly boring work assigned by master's in their field are never without lessons; lesson number one: wear a hat when you're outside. My head is on fire! And I know in three days I'll have to deal with a peeling scalp which is always horribly embarrassing.
The tree comes out of the ground. The tree goes in the bag. Repeat times 50.
The gardening was a lot of fun though and I told him that I want to start doing it every Saturday morning (which he seemed happy to hear). I'm hoping that as my gardening-vocabulary increases I'll be able to start learning a lot more from him. It helps that he has a special interest in foreigners, so maybe we can become chummy :) I'm already looking forward to next weekend!
After my garden stint I went into Antigua for English class with Juan Carlos. I worry that I started a bad trend with him, he's already asking if we can go on another trip together. Part of me is considering taking advantage of the offer since it's an easy and free way for me to see the country, but I really want to be having these experiences with my friends. I was able to brush him off but I know he's going to ask me again. I'll have to think about it this week. We did have a very interesting conversation this week about a wood stove he's building in his backyard though. He's using sugar cane and salt to cure it which sounds absolutely fascinating to me. I asked him if I could go to his house and check it out when it's done; the idea of cooking my food all with firewood is really appealing, especially if I'm going to off the grid. I doubt it would be something I could do all the time, but a wood fire pizza is always delightful ;) Anyway, I love to learn about construction and since I have limited masonry experience, it'd be a cool thing to see. And hello?! Curing with sugar cane?! Sounds super cool! He told me that he's afraid of spiders and scorpions (which apparently are NUMEROUS at his house) crawling into the cabinet he has for wood storage but he's afraid of using saws. If it looks simple enough I might offer to build some doors for him. Also, he wants to build a small pond in his yard and since I have some experience with that I might help him out with that too. He wants to build a filtration system that works with plants and rocks which sounds really interesting. I read about something similar a few weeks ago on a blog; its nice when different parts of my life line up nicely.
After class yesterday I hung out in Antigua with Charlotte and Stephanie. We went to see The Mechanic which was ridiculous but enjoyable since it was free. After the movie we went to this new American bar that went in a few weeks ago. I might have mentioned it in a past post, we went there a few weeks ago too. It was ok, not quite as enjoyable as the first time though (this could be because I didn't order mozzarella sticks last night). It's still nice hearing American music though. Nothing like some Sweet Home Alabama to make you feel like you're at home ;)
I hung out with my section today and watched Beauty and the Beast. For a lot of them it was the first time which I LOVE! I get such a kick out of them getting into the movie, laughing hysterically at the furniture fighting off the angry villagers and then getting amazingly silent when the Beast dies. It was a lot of fun.
Missing my family and friends a lot today. Only 11 more weeks, sounds like so much even though I know it'll go fast :(
I can't end on a depressing note, so here's my latest installment of "Look at this super cute kid I found"
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