Gulp

Nothing interesting to report since all I´ve done since yesterday´s blog has been to eat diner, sleep and go to class. Today the activity was supposed to be a football game, but since no one signed up we are going to watch Maria Full of Grace, a movie about a columbian girl who acts as a drug mule by ferrying cocaine internally (hence the title of this entry). My teacher is the one who runs the activities this week and asked me for movie suggestions, and I suggested this one because I´ve been wanting to see it. So I for one am excited about the afternoon. I would have much rather gone to watch a futbol game than to play in one

I am a little sorry not to be staying longer here because at least the school and family here is a known and I know I like it, unlike Ecuador. But, I´m not really being social here, partly because it doesnt feel like it worth investing a lot since I know I will be leaving. I also dont really want to hang out with the American university students, who are young, and whenever I am out of the country and then around a lot or even just a few Americans, they are annoying (SA peeps, remember the girls in the internet cafe at the wash ñ´web?). It is funny how for me at least, Americans arent always so annoying when I am home and surrounded by them and therefore used to it (and being American and probably annoying myself). So maybe getting on to Ecuador, where I´m going to feel like it is worth it to make an effort to create a life for myself, is worth it. In any case I´ll be going on Sunday!

Last night the host mother was talking about how it works with the school - getting paid, getting students etc. As I suspected, she considers having students to be her job, but I do think she really enjoys it, so it doesn´t really matter that it is what she does for money in terms of my experience (unlike, I would say, the family in Antigua). I dont think she likes the school much - she said she always asks for more money - but when she doesnt have students in the house she gets depressed. While students are allowed to ask to switch families, the family cant say they want certain students to leave, and she talked about two American students (who, as she put it - and I hope I dont offend anyone by repeating this - had brown faces), one of whom wanted Doris to do something about the fly flying near her during dinner, and after Doris said she wouldn´t because she wasnt the housekeeper, one or two of the girls peed in the bed - but they wanted to stay for 2 more weeks with her! If I didnt have a ticket to be leaving for Ecuador I would have felt like she was trying to guilt me into staying longer in the house - although I would gladly stay in spite of that because I am comfortable there.

PS - I read a great article about how they convert the US school buses into chicken buses. If anyone else thinks it might be interested, see www.chickenbus.net. And I was right, they do put in new, longer seats! As well as a much more powerful motor with 6 manual speeds.