Plantain Pancakes?

Due to an alteration in Lydia’s schedule we were given the opportunity to sleep in today. How glorious! We had a relaxing morning of chocolate chip pancakes and fried plantains. I attempted to make a plantain pancake, but sadly it wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be. I then packed some leftovers and made the 30 minute walk out to the school. It was a windy and cold day and I made the great judgment to leave my jacket behind. When I got out there, there was a family working in the field next to school. As I can up it seemed that all of the children were interested in me, but when I greeted them they fled. Still after three days of being stared at everywhere I go, I am still not used to it. I worked on the map all afternoon, making a grid, which is a lot harder, more time consuming, and tedious than it sounds. Finally I started to transfer the map from the pieces of paper to the wall. I got Alaska and Hawaii done, a solid start.
Yesterday I got to sit in on a workshop Lydia and her site mate gave to the directors of the 25 schools in the area. I had watched her prepare for the days leading up to it, making posters, PowerPoint’s, and practicing her part. Seeing all the effort she put into it and listening to her speak professionally (I think, I couldn’t understand all of it but it looked professional) made me realize how hard it is to be a peace corps volunteer, not only because you are living in a foreign country and culture where you know very few people, but also the dedication it takes to learn the skills that you have to pass on to the community you are in. I also went to a youth group meeting with Lydia yesterday. The leader had me introduce myself, but the kids were having trouble saying Wiley so I said they could call me Nicolas if it was easier. And then today I was walking home and a girl said “Adios Nicolas”, it was nice to be addressed personally. Anyways…I look forward to seeing what other great things Lydia is doing here and making new friends in the days to come.