Laugh at the Little Things in Life...No, Really!

The second week of training was almost a hard pill to swallow because I had officially come to the realization that I would be living under these conditions for the next two years (dunn, duuNNN, DUUNNNNN!!). Being broke was something that I had been used to during college, but not quite like this. This is a different level of poverty. We currently get an allowance of about $12 a week which is technically approximately about $C300 of Nica dollars which helps pay for transportation, and small odds and ends that we may need during the week since our family provides us with three meals per day.  By Wednesday afternoon, I was nearly choking in tears from being overwhelmed by the language barrier and culture shock. It can become quite frustrating when you are not able to pick up to phone and call your best friends, Fraternity/Sorority sisters/brothers, or church or family members to support you when you are basically being stripped from what you are used to doing or knowing and encouraged to adapt rather quickly to a different cultural perspective and language. Thank God I pledged a Sorority….several times on so many different levels!

Over this week however, I have built quite the “confianca” or trust with my training mates who are completely awesome by the way (Traci, Preston, Emily) and I wouldn’t change them or my training site (Catarina) for the world.  There were definitely several things that bothered me during my second week of training that I so graciously tried to ignore like the unidentified flying insects that randomly circle around my room only to be conquered by a surreptitious Geico who’d been chilling behind my curtain awaiting his next victory (named Jose by the way). 

Or the phrases that do not translate to English whatsoever but makes perfect sense in the Spanish language. Or the Piropos (Pee-Rhope-Poes), known as womanizers, that constantly undress women with their eyes and limit their vocabulary to short phrases of “Que Rico”, “Hola, Morena”, “Princessa”,”Hermosa” and occasionally a disgusting air kiss at the end.  Or itching myself to death from the side effects of our potent Malaria medication (which is truly helpful, yet has annoying side effects). Or finding out that real roosters can “alarm” you at ANY time of the night to inform you that they are indubitably awake. Or lastly, the infamous ice cold bucket showers that I have now created the name “Buckeeta” as the fun verb to use while referring to my bathing process. I have realized that this is my life and a darn good one at that because I am learning to laugh at smallest things in life and be content with what I don’t know how to say or do.Lesson of the week: Learn to laugh at the small things that life gives us…including yourself.

#thelittlethings....