mail count and getting back into the swing of things

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Ah travelblog has been sucking and I finally got on and hopefully this post will, well, post.

First of all, I HAVE MAIL! Lovely letters and packages, which I have not yet opened because I am super excited to get home and open all of them!

Okay, well, I did open the card from China and from my awesome mbuxton because I really really wanted to see what kind of Chinglish was inside of the Santa and Reindeer card. And here it is:

front of card:
merry christmas The deep blessing. the silk friendship. the string missing. turns to a gift, keeps in your heart.
inside of card:
merry christmas. Missing you, in spring´s misty rain Worrrying you, in first summer´s sunny day Blessing you, in autumn´s fallen leaves Thinking you, in winter´s white snow

awwww that just makes my heart glow!

So! I have DOS packages from my lovely lbgraham of baton rouge and aabeyta of mexico city and I am sooooo excited to go home and open up the glory! Letters-cards from: mbuxton of beijing, sfox of chicago, eicenogle of arlington, and two from the baade´s of spencer creek. THANK YOU ALL I CANNOT WAIT TO GET HOME AND OPEN UP ALL OF THEM!

Keep the mail count updated so y´all know when/if your stuff arrives.

In other news, saw another gringa on my bus this morning and we caught up - turns out she´s the other Ag Volunteer here in Madriz. There are only three of us up here. Everyone else is from Health.

Okay, I really don´t have much more to report. Back in the site. Asked the family if I could stay in my ass-tiny-room-that-I-am-going-to-make-liveable for two years and they said cool. Told them I want zinc, so that´s ruminating in their minds for a bit. As soon as I came to the conclusion, my whole perspective changed. Now I can actually unpack everything and really move in to my community. I have been holding back for the past month because I didn´t know if I was going to pick up and move to another house in the community. But hott damn, if I´m staying, THINGS ARE GOING TO CHANGE and that´s all there is to it.

I am still frustrated by my lack of Spanish abilities and not being able to say everything that is on my mind. Thus, my fully cool leather journal that I bought myself from the alley leading to Houhai in Beijing, the one I thought could last for two years? Yeah, not gonna get me through my first year at this rate.

So, I spend hours a day translating things I want to say. Which I find more useful than just studying in the traditional way. I wrote a whole manifesto and had my school teacher Aunt read and correct it. That was good. I have always been able to express myself in writing better than verbally in English, and the same is true for Spanish. With Chinese, though, totally the opposite. Was essentially illiterate in Beijing.

Okay, now I´m just rambling. I´m hungry. I want a smoothie. Gonna go get me one of those.

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Comments

[Ben]

Spañol
I can help you with spanish. I mean I am aware you are speaking more spanish than me at the moment but I am confident I can help. Mucha suerte.