1st month in site

My room and kitchen

The house where I live (you can't see my room from here)
Well I have def. moved into my site since the last time I wrote. My first couple of weeks there were really slow but I now have more or less of a schedule. I help out with the English class on Monday and on Tuesday I teach nutrition. On Wednesday I go to the women’s group meeting. The rest of the days are free but I usually visit my friends at their sites or come into the city sometimes or hang out in my community and talk to people. I went to a ¨tournament¨ type of thing where the nearby communities got together to play one another in different sports. It was mainly for the younger kids in the elementary schools. The next day the professors played eachother...and then drank. I also went to a mini festival at my friend’s site where I got to see lots of local/traditional dances and one which is really popular here in Tarija called the Chacarera. The music has guitar and violins but I had never heard it before I came to Tarija. The dancers were really good. The women wear these long dresses that they twirl around (think Flamenco but slower) and the men wear what I would call a Latino cowboy type of look with boots that they do a complicated stomping step in as the main part of the dance. Mainly I have been having a great time here getting to know the customs and culture of Tarija. More people in my community know me and I know them which is also very nice because I am beginning to feel like it is more of a home now. I bought a stove and have turned half my room into my kitchen so I can now cook which is great. I am also looking forward to the re-connect with my group in November beacuse I will be able to see my friends I have not seen for the past 4 months! Well it was a slow start at the beginning of August but I feel more confortable in my community now that more people know who I am. The kids I teach nutrition to are the younger ones (K-3rd grade) and they are really sweet. The older kids (4th-5th) work on the English. The challenge is in preparing activities that different grade levels can participate in all at the same time while still learning something. My counterpart has been really helpful in supporting me in the classroom so I am very thankful for that. The younger kids are what keeps me motivated because even though they might get off track sometimes you can generally tell they are happy and excited to learn about something different, especially when we play games. Well it’s the middle of September and I feel like I’ve just broken the ice in my community so I hope everything continues in a positive direction from here on out. I miss everyone back home dearly so feel free to send me an email anytime cuz I would love to hear from you: aliskov@wesleyan.edu Be well and take care!