My house has become some sort of wildlife sanctuary...

Or something…heavy rains force little creatures inside. I´ve gotten used to the constant presence of millipedes, centipedes and spiders and most don´t bother me. Though when I do find the random tarantula I try to make it stay where it is until Deyvis can come and kill it. This usually involves shutting a door then sticking a towel on the ground to block the space between it and the floor. Scorpions still freak me out. I found one last Saturday as I was looking in a shoe box that I had gone through the day before. I screamed and dropped everything and the scorpion fell to the ground and stared at me with its tail raised and its pinchers ready. Oh…and this happened during my class with 20 sixth grade girls sitting in my living room staring at me and trying not to laugh. Then one got up and killed it for me. Thank you, Olimpia.

Last night I came home and found a crab in my living room…that´s right, a crab. Mind you I live in the mountains where it’s quite far from large bodies of water. He wasn´t a huge guy, could fit in the palm of your hand. I didn´t worry about it too much and just figure he´d go out the way he came in. After all, a crab pinch probably hurts a lot less than a scorpion sting. I woke up in the morning, went to the bathroom, got dressed fed Lola then went to open my window before leaving the house. I stopped…the crab was in my bedroom under the window…about 2ft from my bed. I don´t know when he entered but my door was shut all night. I´m assuming it was warmer there than in the living room. Once again this was a job for the fearless Deyvis. He picked it up and held its claws and set it outside. Shortly later he was gone…let’s hope not back into the house.

Cooking adventures continue. I finally filled up the gas tank for my stove and tried out the grill top that Adam sent me. Some friends were coming for the weekend so I splurged in town when I found boneless, skinless chicken breasts at the little grocery store. Oh my f-ing god! It was the best thing I´ve put in my mouth in the last year! Until we made homemade cinnamon rolls, that is! J It was a splurge on delicious food weekend. I think it was a splurge in general weekend…I broke down and got a new toaster oven after I found a good deal and a friend who had bought the same one told me she cooked two entire chickens in it. I also found a pair of American Eagle jeans and two shirts at the thrift store for a total of $7.40.

My class with the 6th grade girls is going well. We were meeting every day, but that was just too much work and stress on me. These classes are normally only 1-2hrs each, but the prep time necessary for visual aids, materials and whatnot is a lot more. And when I also have two English classes to prepare for as well as meals and dishes…it was a little too much. I figure 3x a week will spread it out enough that I get a little free time.

On a final note…Lola can now sit, shake and lay down almost anytime (not quite always) that you tell her. Like any large dog she responds better to food and gets easily distracted….

Parrots like Perogies

What is a perogie you ask and why is the parrot eating it? Well, I was left alone in Florida for a weekend while Deyvis had class and I get bored when I’m alone. When I get bored, I like to bake or cook…and lately I’ve been making things that I’ve never attempted even in the US…like perogies, which are a Polish yumminess consisting of a pasta-like shell in a half circle shape and normally filled with mashed potatoes, onions and sour cream. Fruit filling can also be made, but the potato is more typical. They’re cooked first by boiling to give a nice suave texture, then sautéed with a little oil to add just a bit of crisp. I didn’t buy or make tortillas this particular day and had nothing else to feed the parrot so he got a perogie and was quite happy about it. I also was quite happy about my accomplishment of making some Polish food for the first time and turning out surprisingly well. It will be repeated.

I also introduced Deyvis to biscotti…though he joked about how hard it turned out even though I told him a couple times that’s how it was supposed to be. Teriyaki and chipotle citrus marinades have also been enjoyed by Deyvis thanks to my bro. Red pepper chile flakes have become a necessity with almost every meal…courtesy of dad. It’s nice to change things up every once in awhile. As much as I love beans, eggs and tortillas you start to get bored after a year. I also splurged and paid for some olive oil which Deyvis was shocked at how much I paid and started to scold me. I explained that this is something special that only I’m allowed to touch…and we don’t use it to cook eggs, beans, etc. And that his mom is to go nowhere near it…I about died after being in the mountain with her for a couple of days and seeing how much Crisco (yes, Crisco…not even oil) she puts into everything. I’ve mentioned a few times to Deyvis about the excessive oil/manteca usage (okay…actually I say it a lot) and he’s finally mentioned it to his mom when she started talking about her health. Let’s hope for positive changes. A couple friends are coming this weekend and I want to make an attempt at cinnamon rolls or cinnamon raisin bread...I really hate my toaster oven though...it burns almost everything bc its super hot and doesn´t have temperature control. Usually the first time making something is more of an experiment of how long to cook it for using either the bottom, top, or combination of both for just the right amount of time. Usually with slight blackening...

It’s been a long while since I’ve updated and I feel like a lot has happened but at the same time not so much. Things started rolling with work and I felt semi-occupied…then the coup and all the strikes my teachers in town participate in have put me back into the position of a lot of book reading and housework. With my 3rd level English class we had figured out last week that if we continue with 2 classes per week we can finish by the end of Aug. instead of the end of Oct. But then there was a huge march in Tegus…so my teachers cancelled class for last week and said that maybe they’ll be back this week. Luckily they came back today, but they don´t know if they´ll be working next week or not. So its been a lot of lazy days...which has given me time to start reading the Harry Potter series (in Spanish).

This week I’m starting a Girls Empowerment class that focuses on abstinence, self-esteem and decision making. I want to start with the 6th grade girls here in town and if it turns out to be a pretty good program I can apply for a grant to get funding to do it again with various groups. It’s designed for ages 10-15…and they’re almost finished with a version for the boys.

We’ve finally got a few things going on in the library…with limited participation unfortunately. But Zona X (the teen group) is finally meeting again, and this is where I’d prefer to help most in programs concerning the library. Right now it’s just the teens that live with the church that are coming, but we should be able to get a few more locals…if not, oh well. We also started again with the story hour, early stimulation and reading club.

That´s about it for now...with my computer mostly running and internet access back at the library (for now) I should be able to post a little more often....Until the next time!