praxis weekend
Hola tod@s. My arms are peeling off (rather, my skin, due to the sunburn from the beach) and I'm recovering from a cold, but otherwise I'm super. Mainly because I just finished an essay and that always feels nice. I'm writing this late Monday night/early Tuesday morning because I still feel awake and I'm sure I'll be short on time tomorrow because I always am.
Praxis weekend went well. I was talking to another student, Colin, on the bus on the way there, and he said what you want is to be outside your comfort zone but not in your panic zone. Throughout the weekend I kept thinking how that was a perfect description for the experience. I was definitely out of my comfort zone much of the time, but I never got to the point where I felt I couldn't handle it. Part of the discomfort was not knowing what was going on most of the time and not being able to communicate well, and part of the discomfort was being faced with the reality of how these people have to live, and the discomfort of feeling my own privilege and having to deal with that. The only way to bathe is standing outside and using the pila. It's like a big thing that holds water in the middle and has shallower spaces on either side where you can do your clothes-washing, etc. We use our pila to wash our clothes, but at Angelica's house in Tepecoyo, that's where all the water comes from. (Clothes, dishes, bathing, etc.) They have running water, but I'm pretty sure it's a single faucet which they use to fill the pila. The toilet is basically just an outhouse. Angelica has a stove and oven, but I think that's pretty unusual. At other houses we visited, people were doing their cooking on wood fires built on an outside structure. When we made pupusas at Angelica's (which was AWESOME), we did it over a fire. Making tortillas and pupusas was probably my favorite part of the weekend. That and little Angelica, grown-up Angelica's niece, who truly is an angel. She is full of love and her presence made the experience ten times better than it would have been otherwise. Also little Brayan (a nephew), who is one and a half and always running around, making funny noises, and falling over. He's a constant source of amusement. The family unit is very large here. At Angelica's house, there is very little distinction between immediate families, and all the aunts and uncles and cousins basically live together.
Praxis has definitely been a challenge for me, especially my lack of control over the situation and my usually not knowing what's going on, and most of all my inability to understand people. The accents can be really really strong and it's a major challenge. I know some of these challenges will get easier with time, but it can be frustrating.
Classes are going pretty well but my habit of procrastination hasn't changed, and even though I thought I would have lots of free time this semester, I definitely don't, so I'm behind on my reading, as usual. Ah well, that's life as a college student.
Praxis weekend went well. I was talking to another student, Colin, on the bus on the way there, and he said what you want is to be outside your comfort zone but not in your panic zone. Throughout the weekend I kept thinking how that was a perfect description for the experience. I was definitely out of my comfort zone much of the time, but I never got to the point where I felt I couldn't handle it. Part of the discomfort was not knowing what was going on most of the time and not being able to communicate well, and part of the discomfort was being faced with the reality of how these people have to live, and the discomfort of feeling my own privilege and having to deal with that. The only way to bathe is standing outside and using the pila. It's like a big thing that holds water in the middle and has shallower spaces on either side where you can do your clothes-washing, etc. We use our pila to wash our clothes, but at Angelica's house in Tepecoyo, that's where all the water comes from. (Clothes, dishes, bathing, etc.) They have running water, but I'm pretty sure it's a single faucet which they use to fill the pila. The toilet is basically just an outhouse. Angelica has a stove and oven, but I think that's pretty unusual. At other houses we visited, people were doing their cooking on wood fires built on an outside structure. When we made pupusas at Angelica's (which was AWESOME), we did it over a fire. Making tortillas and pupusas was probably my favorite part of the weekend. That and little Angelica, grown-up Angelica's niece, who truly is an angel. She is full of love and her presence made the experience ten times better than it would have been otherwise. Also little Brayan (a nephew), who is one and a half and always running around, making funny noises, and falling over. He's a constant source of amusement. The family unit is very large here. At Angelica's house, there is very little distinction between immediate families, and all the aunts and uncles and cousins basically live together.
Praxis has definitely been a challenge for me, especially my lack of control over the situation and my usually not knowing what's going on, and most of all my inability to understand people. The accents can be really really strong and it's a major challenge. I know some of these challenges will get easier with time, but it can be frustrating.
Classes are going pretty well but my habit of procrastination hasn't changed, and even though I thought I would have lots of free time this semester, I definitely don't, so I'm behind on my reading, as usual. Ah well, that's life as a college student.
posted by Amber at 3:23 PM
3 Comments:
perhaps you should post pictures to help illustrate your experience
Hey, Amber, It's great to read your experiences, as I sit here in the glass cubicle at Newman. It's finally raining in the Bay Area, and it's a quiet Friday afternoon. Your Dad opened your blog for me, and it's great!
Best, Constance
I want a pupusa!
What's a pupusa?
I still want one.
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