Girls Camp and a little bit more

This past week was
a) the first week of mid-school break
b) the second week-long episode of "Chicas Poderosas"
c) the scene of a great cucaracha fight
d) the week before I travel to San Andres
e) all of above

Ding ding ding, the answer is E!

Sorry...I've been studying for the GRE's, which is a whole other barrel of not-laughs, since it's been actually a decade since my last math class and, well, have I ever told you that I majored in creative writing? 'Cause I did. My brain es aun chiquitica, I have space for only one academic skill. It...is not math.

Moving on! Last week, we finished Semester One of school. (woooot) Meanwhile, for various reasons, I've started to focus more of my energy away from my "primary" goal, which is co-teaching, and put it to other uses.

Like, for instance, leadership activities! This past week, I lead a girls leadership camp for seventh graders along with some other Barranquilla volunteers and my all-time favorites, the Scouts of Colombia. It was fantastic to have the older girls in Scouts help out and put their amazing leadership skills to use.

Of course, there's only a small bit of time between this and my next adventure, which includes flying to San Andres with the Ministry of Education on Tuesday. Each year, the Colombian government holds trainings for English teachers from all over the country in San Andres and Providencia, two of Colombia's (resort) islands. The interesting thing about these islands, aside from their coral reefs, volcanic beaches, and government-protected mountainous black crabs, is that they were originally an English colony. They speak a creole as well as a unique brand of English. Anyway, on a week's notice, I'm going with three other volunteers to teach workshops on different teaching methodology topics. We'll be there for two and a half weeks. Did I mention we only got a week's notice?!

In other news, tonight, my host mom, a fellow volunteer and I won a close fight with a cucaracha. You might say, three against one hardly seems fair. But when cucarachas have wings and are the size of a construction worker's thumb, I say, more than fair! Sandals are very handy missiles. Needless to say, both the dogs and cat ran away when the fight commenced. Cobardes!!

Speaking of Zanycat....he's doing well, thanks for asking!

Bus money?! Where we goin'?

Exercise is for pussies

Dinner for two...

My cat, Zany

This, dear friends, is a long overdue, if completely gratuitous post about my cat, Zany. Meet Zany!

Meoooww!

 Zany-cat was born in La Playa, to the cat of another volunteer’s family. (La Playa a neighborhood that is not actually a beach, despite its name…) His brother, Diego, has Jessica as his human.

Diego, also known as Dizzy, with his human Jessica

I’ve had Zany for about a month, now. His name is Zany because he’s awesome. Also short for Zanahoria, which means carrot (pronounced Zah-nee in Spanish). My host mom thinks that Zah-nee sounds like a girl’s name, so she calls him Zah-nee Monolo.

There are many good reasons for owning a pet in the Peace Corps, if your host family is in favor. A few:

• ·        They snuggle with you happily, NSA
• ·        They are bilingual
• ·        They are wonderful conversation starters/topics with people of every age
• ·        They are a great way to integrate with your family – you can go on a shopping trip for pet toys or pet food, or to the vet
• ·        When you have no words, you can bury your head in their fur and they purr in all-knowing sympathy
• ·        They are adorable and they make you smile.
• ·        They make your host family smile
• ·        They love you without reservation or judgment, and ask for no explanations
• ·        Showing pictures of your pet to successful students are highly motivating bribes in class
•     They give you a purpose in life, that, if highly specific (You are their human!) is clearly defined and never needs to be questioned

Zany is pretty sure that he is the greatest

Ready for more cat-crazy? Okay! Here is Zany’s origin story:

I never thought I’d own a cat--one, because I am highly allergic to cats. Two, because around here, cats are not a favored kind of pet. I don’t mean that there are dog people and cat people. Instead, folks here are reared to consider cats as rodent-equivalents—dirty, gross, vicious, etc. My last host family provided loving care to three incredibly yappy, completely un-housebroken Chihuahuas. When confronted with the thought of a cat, they screwed up their faces—“Ugh, the feel of a cat’s fur is disgusting! They leave spots on tiles!”

My current host family, perhaps convinced by my incessant talk of how wonderful kitties are, or perhaps just weary of my chatter, told me one day, “Why don’t you bring him home to us?” It also helps my host mom has a deep-seated fear of the rats that like to run up in the powerlines and over the roof of our house and sometimes come into the back patio…

Zany-Eats-World

(As for point 1, the houses here are made of tile and are wide open. A great way to avoid allergen accumulation! It’s working so far!)

And so, Zany came into my life. In the last month, he has made friends with the two Chihuahuas, my host parents, and the neighbors. He does cute things like steal into my host parents’ bed during the night and play with his host dog-sisters during the day. He curls up on my lap when I’m reading and softly purrs. He lies beside my chair on his back with his paws waving like tentacles, dreaming.

Zany's host-sister chihuahua, Mali, is the lump under the cover!

He does not-so-cute things occasionally, like shredding my yoga mat, or tracking kitty litter in my clean bathroom, or taking out an entire roll of toilet paper to nest in (okay, it’s actually super cute. Just messy!). But it’s okay. Because he is beautiful!

He makes an excellent door-stop

He also likes to climb me like a tree. All my life I’d read that cats like to sit on shoulders. Never saw this happen. Until Zany. He scrambles up my nearest side to my shoulder (claws extended) and sits, purring, while I brush my teeth, make my oatmeal, and get dressed. We are working on the clothed-versus-not-clothed distinction. (For now, I wear my cat-scratch-scars as a badge of his love!)

Whew. That was a lot of cat-crazy. But who wouldn’t be crazy for this guy?!

Zany says, hydrate!