Week 11 (Day 72, 73, 74, 75, & 76); Back in Xela

So this week was about settling in and trying to create a life for myself here in Xela.  I was originally supposed to be leaving to go back to Denver March 2nd, in a week, but my time here has passed so rapidly that I want and need to stay longer to improve my Spanish.  First task was to acquire funding in order to keep me alive during my extended stay.  Amazingly, I had a few very generous supporters.  I will likely still need money for other odds and ends if you still have interest in contributing.

http://www.gofundme.com/maqig4

I started back at my old school in Xela and have the wife of the teacher I really liked before.  My new teacher, Thelma accompanied me this week in setting up my volunteer placement and looking for an apartment.  By Thursday I had finally started at my volunteer work.  I am torn about moving out of my homestay though.  Claudia and Roberto are amazing hosts!  They also have two kids that are quite friendly.

I feel some relief at not having the time constraint of learning Spanish so rapidly.  It still feels like it is such a long and difficult process though.  I've been very hard on myself this week on not understanding people and feeling like I never will.  Also, I'm not completely crazy about Xela.  There really are a lot of other foreigners and it is difficult for me to avoid them.  I ran into a girl I met one of my first weeks traveling over 2 months ago which was nice but also strange to live in such small circles.  And it always seems to be a party with them, every night going out.  I can't keep up, not with classes and volunteering...

Also, I am struggling with my sense of loyalty, allegiance, or attachment.  It's so strange not to have a connection with my old teacher, Ari.  After 45 hours of classes together, just the two of us, I had felt a sort of dedication to him.  But now he has other students and no time for me and he feels so distant.  Things move so rapidly here.  I thought it was strange in grad school where I became so connected to my teachers for 2 years only to have them repeat the process with the next class of students.  But this moves even quicker.  The teachers here are constantly gaining and losing, people coming and going, you build a connection, then it's gone.

I'm having those same feelings with my one friend, Patrick, that is still here from when I was here before.  In the time I was gone, he has formed new friendships and the connection I once had with him seems to have weakened.  But in a week, he too will be gone.  How will I find some stability for myself in these months to come now that I have decided to settle with connections that are so transient?

Oh, I also started a salsa class which has been quite lovely.  Every Monday-Thursday evening though it's quite difficult to fit it in with my volunteer work and having to be back home for the family meal.  Another reason why it might be better for me to have an apartment.

Well, folks, that's all.  With my extended stay, I don't see myself continuing a daily blog post that will likely bore you anyway.  My count-up complete, I think Day 75 is a good place to stop.  I hope to transition to writing regularly about my volunteer work on the website for the awesome organization that I found my placement through.  Please follow me there instead.

https://www.omprakash.org/volunteer/profile/kirsten-young

Other than that, I will perhaps post on occasion here too but feel that it will be too much to keep up with and a bit boring now that I'm staying in one place for awhile.