Feeling Defenseless But Then Proud

March 21, 2013. What a long day. I left my house at 7 and we managed to get on a guagua at 7:45. Literally when they said, "You can always fit one more person on a guagua," they weren't kidding. The three of us squeezed in the aisle with our giant book bags and damn helmets. One lady held my helmet for me which was wonderful. I had to hold onto my bag in front of me while also holding onto the railing above me for support. My arms were shaking the whole time. And it took us about an hour and a half to get to our bus stop (waaay too long). Also. The cobrador (man who calls for people to get on his bus and collects money) wouldn't leave me alone... Staring, blowing at me through the window to get my attention, pulling on my pant leg (touching is apparently very inappropriate even here)... I was finally able to move away from him when the bus cleared out a little but he sat down next to me across the aisle. Ivette finally told him to leave me in peace and he backed off a bit... I was fuming. If I had been in the states, I would have been able to defend myself. But I kept trying to think of what I could say and then doubting if it was right so then I remained silent... It sucked being defenseless.
We got off and had to walk a bit and a man in a car was calling out "fea" to me which means, ugly. Then another guy followed me a bit, saying things... Ugh. We finally made it to the bus and it was air conditioned and there was more room. Heaven. No problems there, just a long trip. Until Ivette got off at her stop and the cobrador of that bus asked for my number... I was at my breaking point but I still had another bus to ride and a truck to find before I got to the volunteer's site. I got off at the right stop and waited for my second bus. The motoconcho guys wouldn't leave me alone to get a ride from them. But the bus came, I got on, got laughed at and asked to go sit in the very front next to an older man. I took my seat somewhere else and "Estoy bien aqui, gracias" (I'm good here, thank you) and fell silent despite the burning sensation in my chest. Also, that cobrador owes me 5 pesos. But I'll never see him again. I managed to tell him where I was going so he let me off at my stop.
And then...Nikki was there with Jeff. I cannot tell you how happy I was to see Americans and finally felt something other than anger; I was proud that I made it. Oh my god. So so happy. We ended up waiting 3 hours there for a man to return to the truck with his book bag. Turns out he was waiting up the road the entire time... The drive up the mountain? Holy shit. The road was not paved and it twisted, turned, we went up and up and then down and then back up. He was a crazy driver, all over the road and flew through turns that had blind corners. But oh the views. I cannot wait to take pictures tomorrow and post them. I cannot imagine being able to call this place home for two years. I felt closer to heaven. Paradise. We walked to her place and from the outside? Exactly what most people imagine when they think of the Peace Corps. I loved it. Stone walls half way up, then wood, then zinc rooftop. Two rooms but quite spacious. An "outhouse" or latrine with a hole to go in (with lots of flies, that was difficult to get used to) and a little space for a bucket shower.
I met her fiancé (a Dominican) and she fed me rice, beans, and a cucumber and tomato salad. She has Internet on a flash drive that she plugs into her computer so she let me use it (the usb wouldn't work in my iPad though so I'll have to get a router when I'm on my own; which will be affected by the power unlike the usb..). We then went for a walk. It was hilly and just what I needed to stretch my legs after sitting for 8 hours today. Goodness it was beautiful. We're going again tomorrow so I can take pictures cuz I forgot my camera :). We came back, I took my first bucket shower, and we went to visit the woman that took care of her when she first got here. Her story is amazing (and a little unnerving) since this was not her first placement... But she's got a job in the city and plans on being here a third year teaching and then they'll get married. Anyways, we ate empanadas which were amazing and drank coffee. After, we went to visit her fiancé at work (in a banca) and drank some chocolate milk. We came back to her place and watched half of Shrek in Spanish!! Haha Buenas noches.