Olocuilta

Wow!!! It's hot here! Since it's still raining off and on, the first few days weren't too bad. But now I'm WILTING. My body is so confused, normally it's getting prepared for winter...

And there was a change of plans. My roommate and I will be traveling to Olocuilta soon to help out their community instead of going to the school. We can visit the children in the near future though :)

Even though I'm having bunches of good times here, I'm definitely still getting used to things. Never before had I seen such poverty and wealth living in close proximity. For example, yesterday we assisted with the jr. youth celebration near Lourdes. On the drive there were glimpses of the reality of the Third World. The kids were great though! They performed music, dance and skits. Later in the evening, we went to a birthday party. It was in another guarded/gated neighborhood, like the one I'm staying in now. All the friends and family there were dressed real nice, the living room had a chandelier, etc. And today we passed through a shady area and within a couple miles was a nice shopping center. All this aside, it's the atmosphere of the country and welcoming people that has captured my heart.

Some more new things: a common way of saying "guys" is "bichos". And if the group is several girls, one would address them as "bichas". Haha! The accents around the country are pretty different too. One of the most challenging things is learning the region-specific words. And some days my Spanish doesn't quite work, but it's coming along :) Oh, and the food is AMAZING!