Wanting to give a little more structure to our jobs as basic sanitation volunteers, Tom and I typed up a list of the goals and projects we hope to accomplish in our time here in Okinawa. We presented the document to our work counterpart, Pedro, who is the president of the water cooperative in town, and is hopeful of being the mayor in a few years.
At the top of the page was the title, Metas por los Próximos Dos Anos, followed by our names and titles. This translates to Goals for the Next Two Years. Or it would have, had I spelled it right. Instead, it read Goals for the Next Two Assholes, Tom and Anna Sullivan, Peace Corps Volunteers.
Pedro chuckled and pointed out the error, kindly, before we handed a copy to the mayor and city council members.
Perhaps we have not made any great strides in our work yet because we are buffoons and no one takes us seriously. This is compounded by the fact that we can’t understand what anyone is saying, but we remain hopeful and enjoy the ten hours of free time we have each day.
I have started doing sit-ups and exercising daily along with Tom. Evidence of a six pack is emerging, which gives me reason to live. If I get nothing from these two years in Bolivia besides some abs of steel and a less embarrassing grasp on Spanish, we’ll consider it time well spent.
4 comments:
that translation is hilarious, it made me snort. And man I have been in the duldrums lately too. I'm going to send you the letter I sent to my family.
That's it? That's what you expect from two years of service? Ten hours of freetime everyday and abs of steel?
it's like tae bo in the son house all over again eh? aren't you glad you let that guy read your request before sending up the chain of command? whew. take care-akc
no, ten hours of free time and abs of steel is not at all what I was expecting from two years of work and service in a foreign country. I had hopes of changing the world and making it a better place for a bunch of people. Turns out to be a difficult endeavor, however.
It's intimidating, embarrassing, confusing, sometime lonely, often comical. I love it here, but it's not an easy place to work, so I feel good about any small gains, and I take comfort in the everyday things I can enjoy and feel proud of.
What are you expecting out of it all?
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