Falta Necesidad

Ok, Gramma says it's time to blog again, though I feel I may have little to say.  Anyone reading this is prolly relieved to hear that.  Let's start with the good.

The Good:

• I went to some hot springs today with my mom.  All day long.  It was super awesome.
• I actually love cuy.  I was eating it for lunch today and realized that I now seem to find it one of the most delicious foods ever.  Only took one hundred or so times to finally work its way into my heart.
• Science Club finished almost all our projects.  We now play with microscopes and telescopes and look at our world mural while eating foods from countries around the world and listen to music that I pretend is from that country.  It's nice.
• It's Christmas.  I love Christmas.
• I had a couple great trips of late.  Thanksgiving in a friend's site on the beach near Trujillo with like 40 friggin volunteers.  Ate the most delicious foods ever.  Ran my first 5k.  Went to Lima to see the boy.  Got stuck in Chiclayo eating pizza for an extra couple of days due to roadblocks.
• The strike is over.  Or at least suspended while they militarize before they try building the mine again.
• We had a little Xmas party in Chota, where we ate a bunch of delicious food around the family dining table, exchanged white elephant gifts, and then went and ate cecina that was more delicious than I knew cecina could be, and drank all the beers.
• One of my banks is nearing completion of its first year!  Every member is excited to restart for another year and there are members lining up to join.  More banks are on the way...
• I have less than 8 months left...  Then I get to see my family and eat a real cheeseburger again!
• They finished widening and gravelling the road all the way from Chiclayo to here!  Now they are working there way from here to Chota!  It's amazing.  My road is almost reasonable now.

The Bad:

• At the hot springs today, I learned that it's official.  I do not like playing with children.  Except for specific children that I like, such as my friends kids and my nieces and such.  But random groups of children of strangers?  Leave me alone.
• The Muni finally grew a pair and told me to give up on the library idea, as they were never going to help me and were never going to encourage anyone else to help me because reading is stupid and no one wants to do it.  They admitted that the many many promises were all lies.  I will instead be setting up a library at one lucky school.  They love it.
• It's Christmas.  Christmas makes me miss my family and my Gramma's house.  Also, my facebook feed is full of every other volunteer and their lovely trips home for Xmas.  Wimps.  Dammit.
• Rainy season is upon us.  My family leaves on Saturday for four months.   The rest of the town will be following right behind.  It is going to be a long, hard, and lonely one.  I am currently seeking new projects to keep myself sane.
• No  matter how much they fix up the road, they don't make the drivers be any less drunk.
• I have a sore throat.  Almost always.
• Did I mention rainy season?

The Strange:

• I am scared of going home in eight months.
• I am a rollercoaster less than ever.  I love-hate this place.  It doesn't even change anymore.  I don't go back and forth on loving it then hating it.  I both all the time.  It will never cease to amaze and fascinate me.  Home seems so sterile compared.  But hot water...

The Things I Miss:

• English
• Anonymity
• Bagels
• Yards
• Maple trees
• Bacon
• Various People
• Closets
• Not feeling awkward
• Convenience stores
• Convenience in general
• Quiet
• Stocked kitchens
• Toasters
• Tiled bathroom floors
• Clean pets
• Couches and comfy chairs
• Even remote punctuality
• Melty cheeses and bready breads
• Room to walk down the sidewalk
• Lawsuits
• Customer service
• Ice cubes
• Hot water on tap
• Drinking water on tap
• Snow
• Comfortable vehicles
• Safe Vehicles
• Functional vehicles
• Variety in music
• Polite children
• Polite adults
• To-go cups
• Hours of operation
• Diversity
• Readers
• TV
• Clean smells
• Washing machines
• Dryers
• Autumn leaves

Things I Will Miss:

• CuyAnticuchoCecinaPapasRellenasCevicheAjiDeGallinaHuancayina
• Daily dangers
• Castillos
• Dogs with their own lives & personalities
• Huayno
• Various people
• Lima
• The selva
• Taxi cab conversations
• Strange volunteer culture
• Standard volunteer conversations
• Mind blowing absurdity

Why am I writing this right now?  I shouls save this for when I am actually leaving...

I will be on the beach in Mancora for New Yers.  Y'all should come.  Sounds like a retarded version of Spring Break Cancun.  Why am I doing this?  Hahaha.  I need to sleep.  Chao.