www.whyville.net Oct 25, 2001 Weekly Issue


Far-Flung Reporters, Part III

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Far-Flung Reporters, Part III


Spazchick
Far-Flung Correspondent

Day 3: Tuesday

At 7:00, the cell phone alarm went off, and I lay in bed until 7:45, taking advantage of indoor plumbing, and change. The ladies made us eggs without meat today!! They told us, "We know you like them this way". Isn't that sweet? We also had pancakes, bread, and oatmeal.

Afterwards, we headed on up to the parsonage. I helped out with scraping paint off the outside of the house. Then, I volunteered (stupid me), to carry a weedwacker -- UP THE HILL!, and I also got stuck with the fun (ahem) job of stirring paint for awhile.

After some scraping was taken care of, we headed back to the cabin to find that it was locked!! WOO HOO!! We find these cool, non-flushable toilets. Well, they do have a handle, but nothing really happens when you push it.

We ate lunch -- pork, rice & beans, salad, and fruit punch. Yes!! Now it's time to go back to the cabin and eat Cheerios! (I'm not saying that I didn't like it, it's just that I had the same thing the night before) When we got back, we realize the shutters/blinds open!! (They have the same kind in the parsonage and the cabins)

We headed back up to the house, again, and we paint/scraped more. Shannon and I took care of the doorknobs, and some other easy stuff. This really cute local girl gives the Spanish-speaking counselor, Amy, her address so they can be penpals!! Amy is also a Spanish teacher, so we know that she knows what she's saying.

After going back down, we planned on wetting the mudslide, but the hose was all the way back up at the house. Sergio also told us that we should wear jeans so we wouldn't cut ourselves on the roots... umm... right about then I was thinking, nevermind!!

I took a shower and it's time for dinner!! We have spaghetti and papaya, and bread.

Then we got slightly dressed up and go to the church. We join in an awesome service! (All in Spanish, of course) They love our songs, and we really notice the cultural differences. I didn't understand most of what they said. In their church, they pray out loud (very loud) and all at the same time, and I think that it's awesome that they have the guts to speak their minds like that.

It was really inspiring because most people we meet tried their hardest to speak English. I found it really moving, and sweet. One girl from the other church even sang in front of the whole church, which I really admire. When the service was over, we shook hands with everyone in the church. (It's a very small church.) Also, I noticed that the fashions over there are the same as here!! Some teenage girls showed up, and they had on outfits I see in magazines.

It's dark now!! We leave and go back to our cabins, when we find out that the other girls' cabin was ransacked!! Some people say that 2 guys were running away from it. Ironically, only a pair of army pants were found missing so far, and a visor. But, the $80 stethoscope and money were still there!! The wallets were out, too, but nothing in them was gone.

We had devotions by the pool -- we sang songs, read verses, and talked about the day. It was great!

After going back to our cabins. lots of people were still up!! The guys came by and made farting noises by our window, and one girl, Beth, asks if we've seen her shoes... um... Can't say I have!

Well, good night!! We heard a million roosters crowing, and tons of bugs right now, but it's all good.

Day 4: Wednesday

Time to get up again, breakfast is ready!! After that, we went to the parsonage and worked until we ran out of paint. We headed back down later, and just "chilled" for a little while.

Lunch time already? Yep! Afterwards, some volunteers (including me) learned/practiced a skit for the kids. We had to pretend to kick a guy out of everything we're doing. (He's a clown.) We played volleyball, and sang, and played other games, and when he tried to play we were supposed to push him away. I worried that it will give the kids the wrong impression, that Americans are evil, but maybe that's just my thought!

Later, we start going down the mudslide!! At first, I was like hmm... Laura, does that bruise hurt that bad? (Some people that went down had some type of injury.) But, YES! I went down it!! I have the picture to prove it!! I mudwrestled Shannon too!! My shirt is permanently brownish, and so is my underwear!! It was SOO worth it, though!

I got all cleaned up and watched the camp kids go down the slide. It started raining REALLY HARD, so we headed up the hill after it stopped! After cleaning off tons of brushes, etc, we saw Laura and Ashley, so we went to the store with them! (This one was closer than I thought.) It was a cute little bakery. For about 2 dollars, we got 2 loaves of this GREAT bread, Cheetos, and a pastry. It took us about 20 minutes to figure out the right words in Spanish, since the girl there didn't know any English. When we finally left, we met Elmer and Jonathon! Elmer was 22, and Jonathon was 18. Elmer could speak English, so he translated!! He's the coolest and he promised to bring his horse tomorrow (for us to ride)!

We had to hurry up, so we went back down the hill. We finished the loaves of bread on the way down the hill! We also saw Brenda, the girl that gave her address to Amy. She brought a friend, and they went down to the camp with us. We gave her horsey rides, which she thought was hilarious!

After dinner, we sang with the kids. Well, ok, clapped. It was all in Spanish. Laura and I sat behind this kid who thought he was sooo cool!! He was hilarious and adorable, though. He didn't speak English, but he could whistle really loud! He was really funny. Then, we did the skit we had worked on before. He made balloon animals, and told stories in Spanish. He knew we couldn't understand, so he translated a little bit. We hugged the kids and went to devotions! Me, Lindsay, and Shannon led them. Now we're in bed!! Yay! Good night!

Be sure to read Day 1 and Day 2 if you missed them!

 

 

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