Kids wander on and off the property constantly. School lets out and there’s a swarm of children piling on a single swing, bending the branch until it flexes like a bungee cord. Two men and a young boy suck down a blunt outside the school and no one seems to care. The unmistakable odor of weed wafts past my nose. My mind meanders back to old times until I remember how much more interesting my life is now.
Leaning against a gnarled old tree, reading my Bible, two kids approach me and sputter in Spanish faster than I can comprehend. They ask my name and I tell them, “Justin Bieber.” Their eyes glow and they giggle. One of them calls for his friend so he can introduce him to a celebrity. You know, Bieber-mania transcends all language barriers. We talk – as best I can – about soccer and Playstation 3 and about his family in Miami. It’s interesting that two dozen school kids want to hang out with a bunch of gringos living in tents. Something cool is happening here.
A thousand little cuts line every inch of my feet. I pulled a tiny thorn out of my toe this morning. A large portion of the property is covered with thick brush and thorn bushes. Last week I chopped most of the field with a machete. This week I’m clearing the underbrush and piling it in enormous piles. Hopefully the wind will die down enough for a bonfire or one huge smoke signal. We’ll see.
These months pass so fast. I feel like time is escaping me. In eleven days I’ll be in Grenada for our debrief. I’m really going to miss the co-ed bathroom I’ve shared with forty other people. It’s been awesome. There’s a fifty percent probability the toilet won’t flush and there’s an off chance that someone will be Skyping their boyfriend on the bathroom floor. Don’t ask me why, but it’s become the place where everyone converges. It generally smells like poop and the showers are colder than sucking a Slurpee in the Arctic Circle. People converse from behind the stall door and someone gets a haircut in front of the big mirror while the girls do their makeup. At first it was a bit awkward, but now it’s sorta funny. I’m hoping to organize a dance party in there before the month is up. That’s just how I roll.
