So, all in all this week has been pretty exciting at my job. I sat in on a very well-done training on HIV Counseling and learned where all the prostibulos are in Cuenca (prostitution is legal here) . I got invited to a meeting to help plan the first Miss Gay Ecuador, and my offer to find information on domestic violence interventions for a grant proposal was eagerly accepted.
My colleagues are kind, affectionate, respectful to one another, hardworking, and principled. I want all of them to really like me, and they seem to, but the truth is they must get tired of me. I don´t understand jokes until the third telling, miss comments addressed to me, nod and smile when a substantive answer is expected, and use awkward overly formal or insufficiently respectful tones of address on a regular basis. I know I´m only in my third month here, but I miss being able to tell jokes, engage in witty repartèe, and detect 89% of what is going on around me.
2 comments:
Hey. Hope all is well. I really do not understand what you are complaining about. I suffer from all of those problems and I am only dealing with English. Plus, I am much happier in my own little world!
just so ya know, you sent a text to me that had me laughing. so at least people outside the office benefit from your jokes!...but i´m down on my español now too, chica.
also, i think in some ways what you´re taking about captures how things go down here--i mean you taking the initiative and then people being receptive. it´s not always the case, but i definitely identify with that happening in this country differently than in the states.
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