Back after Spring Break

Alright, here is another time line of events for you to describe my day. The two really important things that I needed to do today was be at the high school by two o’clock and somehow contact my counterpart to tell her I wouldn’t be in to work today. (I told her I would because I thought I would be arriving to San Marcos on Sunday.)

6:30am: I get up and start organizing all of my things to get on the 8:00am bus. This includes repacking my wet sleeping bag and being really quiet because Tsutsuy and I are sharing a room with a stranger who is still sleeping (welcome to hostal life…)

7:30am: I call my director’s assistant because all the stores are closed and I can’t find a way to call my counterpart and tell her I won’t be in San Marcos until noon (8 + 3hour ride = noon). I have to leave a message. I’m still worried because sometimes she takes days to return messages.

7:45am: After breakfast (which was really good, by the way) we arrive at the bus station for our 8:00am bus. On our right are five creates of live chickens. Also, a lady with a cat in her bag. Also, a girl with a cardboard box which I am 85% confident contained a guinea pig or two. Also, many sacs of potatoes.

8:00am: Still at the bus station. No bus. I see an open “locutorio” across the street. I get excited. I go there are call the health center and talk to my favorite obstetrician and tell him to tell Marleny I will be late, maybe around one o’clock.

8:30am: The 8:30am bus shows up. Well, at least something’s on time. Unfortunately, this is not my bus. I here the words “No hay carro” from the lady behind the desk. This means there is no car. This is a bad thing for a bus station.

9:10am: A bus shows up! It’s the 8:00am bus. By the way, once you buy a bus ticket, you’re stuck so there is no refund and finding a taxi. There is just a lot of waiting.

9:30am: We leave the agency. (Ok, so I’ll be there at 12:30pm… I can run over to the hospital and apologize and make it to the high school by two!)

9:40am: The bus runs into another car stopped in the street. The break lights and trunk of the care are dented in and the headlights of the bus are broken. Lots of yelling.

10:00am: At the police station. Everyone gets out and looks at the damage. I doubt anybody had a pen. Other sidenote: Police took pictures of damage with camera cell phone. I thought this was humorous.

10:30am: Still at the police station…

11:00am: Another bus shows up to take us away to Conchucos. (Ok, I’ll show up at 2pm and book it to the high school, or run to the hospital and show up at the high school at 3pm…)

11:30am: This driver is nuts! He’s driving like a maniac!

12:00pm: Bus leans side to side at various angles, most of which are at least 20 degrees, on mountain roads, in the Andes. Various mudslides are seen from the window, we pick up speed.

1:00pm: I see strange motions out of my “periph.” Various people around me are throwing up. They do have plastic bags to use, of which I am grateful. I guess they didn’t read the sign at the front of the vehicle: “Prohibido arrojar.” – Vomiting prohibited.

1:50pm: We stop. Everyone is getting off. We ask if there was a problem. Oh no, we are eating lunch. Oh.

2:20pm: On the road again, turns out we were about 20 minutes from San Marcos when we took a half hour lunch break. (Although, this would have been about forty minutes walking, in the rain, so we did have to stay in the bus and wait.)

2:45pm: We arrive to my house! Some people say that a three hour bus ride isn’t that big of a deal but almost seven hours and several near death experiences later, I disagree…

3:00pm: I arrive to the high school just in case girls want to turn in their application forms for ALMA. (Actividades de Liderazgo para Mujeres Adolescentes: Activities of Leadership for Adolescent Women). Many children stare at me. They stare at my writing, (and not from a distance, from about six inches away from my face.) and drawing, and most of them are boys, which is not helpful. So, I move to where a lot of the girls are standing around idly (this is during school by the way, usually one assumes that there are classes going on during school.) I ask them if I talked to their class and we go over what ALMA is and why I’m standing there, looking like an idiot.

4:00pm: At the end of the hour, I actually have three applications in my hands. I’m only allowed to bring three girls so I hope no one turns in any more.

4:30pm: I go to the Health Center. Marleny talks to me for a total of 30 seconds. I say, “I’m sorry I’m so late! The bus was late and we got into a car crash.” She says, “Sonia called me, don’t worry about it.” I say, “Oh, ok. Shall I come in tomorrow to make up for today?” She says, “Nah, I’ll see you on Wednesday.” I say, “Oh, ok. Bye.” Oh that Marleny, such a chatterbox.

4:40pm: I walk home accompanied by another foreigner in San Marcos. She is a PhD student doing research here and is from Korea. She tells me, “I like walking with you. When I walk by myself, everybody stares at me. When I walk with you, everybody stares at you!” Cool, thanks for pointing that out.

5:00pm: I get home. It starts raining, hard. I sit in my room and unpack, etc.

8:00pm: Vigorous knocking on my door.
Me: “Who is it?”
Jesse: “Jesse.”
Me: “What would you like?”
Jesse: “Sal!” (This means “Come out!” but also, ironically means “Salt!”)
Me: “Why?”
…Silence…
I go back to what I was doing.
Vigorous knocking continues after a bit.
Me: “What?”
Jesse: “Sal!”
Me: “Why?”
….Silence….
I go back to what I was doing.
Vigorous knocking continues after a bit.
Me: “What?”
Jesse: “Sal!”
Me: “Why?”
Jesse: “Don’t you want to watch Pasiones Prohibidas?”
Me: “Why yes, I do.”
Then I come out and we sit on my host-mom’s bed (What? That’s where they moved the television..) and we watch my favorite soap opera.

9:20pm: Finally make it to my room.

So, that was my day. How was yours?

-- Note about arriving on Sunday to San Marcos by bus. The 8:00am bus that day arrived to San Marcos at 7pm. --