routine

i have found that i easily have gotten myself into a routine here. i get up each morning around 7am and have breakfast. then i have recently started walking into the city from our house, which is a good 35-40 minute walk. of course i have made "friends" with some people along the way that i see on a daily basis---some security guards and local vendors that are "manning their spots" each morning. it's kind of nice to have a few faces to greet each morning as i pass by. i come to maximo nivel (the volunteer office) where i meet the taxi that brings me to my project. this week i was fortunate enough to have two new volunteers join me at the soup kitchen. not only has it helped with the cost of the transportation, but i think the kids really enjoy having more than just one person there. i see such a difference in their enthusiasm each morning; since there are more of us "teachers", the kids each get a little more attention rather than just me trying to reach out to all of them. the past 2 days they have been painting the inside of the building so we have been playing outside with the kids all morning until lunchtime. let me tell you...it is tiring running around with a bunch of 5-10 year olds for 2+ hours. not to mention that it has been 80+ degrees all week so that just adds to the fun as well! :)

i have spent the past two afternoons down in the actual city of san jose. yesterday i took a bus but today i decided to be adventurous and walk...it only took me about 45 minutes! san jose is an interesting city....i feel like it's kind of a "trashier" new york, if that makes sense. the streets are filled with all kinds of knock off stores, many that have american clothes being sold secondhand or slightly irregular. then there are several areas with pedestrian only streets that are filled with vendors spreading out their blankets selling anything you can think of---dubbed movies, cds, jewelry, fresh cut fruit, hats, socks, shoe laces. definately some interesting characters around here!

in the afternoons, i have been walking home. the walk home is a lot worse because most of it is uphill. but i figure its pretty much the only physical activity i'm doing for three months, so its good for me and i should probably do it!

not much else is new here...there were a lot more volunteers that arrived the beginning of the week and many of them are here for longer times. the past few weeks, most people were only here for 1 or 2 weeks so i was making friends and then they've already come and gone. but it's nice that there's a handful of people that are here for 6 weeks, 2 months, etc now so i have friends to hang out with and take weekend adventures with :)