Our schedule here at the CCMT has changed in the last couple weeks. Each day is full full full...I'm finding it pretty demanding, and a little challenging to fit in all the language learning I can (especially cuz I get so tired!).
From 8-10am I am in classes with the students, then from 10-12p I am studying on my own Spanish. Then from 12-12:30p or 1pm I have Spanish tutoring. Then lunch and any chores I might have (dishes, cleaning, cooking, etc.). Then Siesta (oh blessed Siesta...my favorite time of day). From 3-7pm the 9 of us students have been doing physical labor around the campus. After a shower and some rest, I sometimes have another tutoring time...but usually its a time to prepare for dinner and relax. Curfew is at 11pm.
This schedule is only for Tuesday - Friday, Saturday and Sunday are another story .... we haven't had our full weekend schedule yet, but in the next weeks we will be doing evangelistic activities on Saturday afternoons and visiting various churches on Sundays.
Apparently in this time, as the students have been getting to know me, I've been breaking their stereo types of women from the United States. First, I eat everything that is given to me...without complaint. Second, I work hard. The boys made some comments of surprise when I would clean (frustrating me)....but after a week of hard work their comments changed :).
So, what exactly have I been doing? Well, lets start with today...I helped mow some of the lawn here and helped make cement, carrying buckets of sand to the mixers. Yesterday I sanded and painted doors. Last week I spent four hours mowing a field, another day painting doors, another day clearing out the bases of some of the trees and weeding flower beds. All of this has also increased my small appetite...yes, to many of your amazement I am eating a lot more than I used to...I can finish an entire plate of food...and sometimes more :p.
So I guess I'm proving to the students here, and to myself that I'm not a princess and that I can handle quite a bit :). Now, of course I haven't cooked yet for the group...that is my next challenge - and one I'm not really looking forward to ... all of this is new and if I can mow an entire field...then I can for sure cook a meal for 8 hungry students (6 of which are hungry boys).
Well...I'm off to have some maté...the evenings are so nice these days! Fall is in the air :)
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