I miss sports!

Hey guys! I wish I could have more exciting stuff to write about, but not much new is happening in my site. I’m still going to door to door trying to get about 100 surveys done at my site, before the end of this month. By mid-March, I would like to get 15-25 surveys at the neighboring casarios, before I head to Reconnect.

I did get to watch the Super Bowl and I thought it was a great game. That interception return by Harrison was pretty much the turning point because it was at least a 10 point swing before the break, but there were a lot of great plays made. Warner had a great game, and so did Fitzgerald. That slant for the a touchdown could’ve been a deciding factor, but Big Ben came back with amazing throws, and their receivers made some great catches, especially that game winning one by the MVP. Very Cris Carter-esque.

As most of you know, I’m a sports-nerd. Its probably the one thing I miss the most about the states. Whenever I have time at the internet café, and I’m finished checking e-mail, I usually am reading about sports, and it could be anything. From tennis (with Nadal winning the Australian) to basketball (Kobe scoring 61 against the Knicks, and then beating the Celtics) to soccer (US vs. Mexico this Wednesday), I love everything about sports. Only a couple of people share my passion for it here in the Peace Corps, but as Amy can witness with Preston and I, it can go on for hours.

I really do miss “knowing what I’m talking about.” As volunteers out here, we received training on a lot of things which can definitely help with our communities, but I feel not as confident discussing these things in a foreign language. I feel comfortable with my Spanish as far as having discussions and learning new things, even having arguments and disagreements, but I just feel like when I’m discussing solutions or projects for the future, I don’t feel like the “expert” as people in my town make me out to be.

I guess that’s what I’m missing right now, the passion for it. I know this “confidence” thing will pass, probably once I post this blog entry, but this is how I’ve been feeling lately. I guess that’s why I look forward to talking to other volunteers because I can have discussions about American TV, or American sports. I’m trying to get into Peruvian comedy, but I guess I just don’t get it.

I’m trying to get into Peruvian soccer, but to tell you the truth I think it’s boring mainly because I don’t have anything riding on it. They have great players here like Farfán, but Peru hasn’t qualified for the World Cup since the 70’s I believe, and on Wednesday, they’ll be showing the qualifier when they play against Paraguay. They are in last place in South America right now. It is pretty ironic because Peruvians think we don’t know much about soccer, yet we’ve qualified for the World Cup every single time since 1994, and we’ve played well and beaten teams from South America also.

Wow that was a lot of rambling about nothing. As for site, I’m feeling really comfortable, but I guess this little thing has been bothering me lately. I received a new water filter, and its great having clean water, without waiting 6 hours for SODIS to work. On Sunday, I went to the concha, and watched a little soccer tournament. It seemed like everyone in town was there. It was great. It reminded me of Sundays at home, when people were out in the parks having BBQ’s, playing softball, and basketball. It also reminds me of how well things can go when there is an interest in something and things are organized. That’s pretty much our jobs…generate interest on our projects and getting things organized. We’ll see how that goes. Ok, I have to start encuestas, so I have to go. I hope things are going okay at home. Miss you guys, and thank you Liz and Vanna for your letters. Take care, and until next the one….chau!