Semana Tres

In a couple hours I will start my third week of volunteering. I wonder what this week will bring. Almost every day before I go, especially on Mondays and Wednesdays when I have all morning at home, I kind of wish I didn't have to go because there are a million things I could be doing at home and I'm nervous about how the day will go. Usually once I arrive it's fun and the time flies, but last week was fairly uneven. I'm still trying to come up with a schedule for myself and arrive each day with activities in mind, but it's hard with so little organization on the part of the professional staff. It's also hard when other volunteers are there for the day--various school groups, church groups, etc. visit the Villa periodically--because then my normal role of support and special activities is accomplished by people who can actually communicate effectively. I think some of the girls are beginning to lose interest in me since they realize I don't understand them that well, which bruises the ego a little bit. At the end of my first week I was fairly confident that I was contributing to the Villa as much as they were contributing to me (i.e. allowing me to practice my Spanish), but now I'm not so sure. But regardless, I have 2 more weeks to make the best of it, so I'll see what happens.

Now that I'm busy 7 hours a day with volunteering, I'm also busy with a million other things outside of work too, of course. Lunch/dinner/drink plans with friends, this weekend I went to a national park for hiking and relaxing outside of the city, and I might be traveling the next couple weekends as well. Of course it's great to be busy and to be taking advantage of the travel and social opportunities here, but eek time is flying and I have other things to accomplish too--like finding something to do in Peru. I starting thinking about it over a month ago but haven't followed up that much--how is November almost over?!