Rhianna Banana

How to fight loneliness

Things are going well at my site, I feel like I´ve finally got some projects going and I´m enjoying my work. I guess it just took me 7 months at my site to reach this point. I also feel more confident starting new projects because I feel better about my Spanish. I am still not fluent, but I am hoping I will get there soon.

I am still lonely some times, as I spend just about every evening in my apartment, hanging out with my cats, reading a book, writing letters, or talking on the phone. I was listening to the Wilco song "How to fight loneliness", which made me think about my coping mechanisms. So I decided to make a list, which I´m going to share with you all, perhaps to give you more insight into my Peace Corps experience and what I do with my time. And I don´t feel like writing about anything else. So, here it is.

How to fight loneliness:

1. Text message everyone in your address book and hope someone writes you back (Hoorah for Reese! He always texts me back).

2. Guilt trip friends and family back home into calling you more often. (For example: I am sacrificing so much by being here, the least you could do is call me twice a month. Or send me a package. Once a month).

3. Convince Trent to extend his PC service for a year. Yes!

4. Write letters to everyone in your address book and hope someone writes you back. (Yea for Sasha! She writes me funny letters just about every week.)

5. Read a good book. (Current fave: Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz)

6. Get 2 kittens and give them lots of attention and affection so that they are needy and dependent. Lina follows me everywhere. She´ll sit on the wash basin when I´m washing my clothes, and then she´ll follow me over to Sonia´s house when I go there in the evenings to watch tv with the family. She just waltzes right into their house.

7. Make stupid lists like this.

8. Make friends and family visit you in Ecuador every other month. Here´s the schedule for 2007:

March- beach trip with Pierre
April or May- Carrie and Rakhi
July or August- Shelley
September- Amazon trip with Pierre

My dad, Nathan and Julia also are going to visit me some time next year. And my mom wants to visit again. So reserve your month if you want to visit, spots are going fast!

9. Watch soap operas with neighbors. I´m really enjoying the Daughter of the Mariachi, a new novela. I´m going to listen to a lot of mariachi music. Not as good as Rebelde, but I don´t know if that is ever going to be on the air again.

10. When all else fails, just wallow in self-pity and listen to another Wilco/Billy Bragg/Woody Guthrie song, "At my window sad and lonely." Or better yet, call Miguel and make him sing and play the song for you on his guitar. I also like to look at my photo albums and miss people. Then I have to remember this is all my fault, since I decided to come here. And I think about a motto that one PC volunteer used to get him through the tough times: Suck it up or get your pansy ass home!

Actually, things aren´t that bad. Maybe the problem is that I´m really looking forward to going home soon, and I´m impatient for my departure date to arrive! I think it might be tough for me to return to Ecuador after seeing all my friends and family, but it´s going to be really cold on the East Coast, so that might make me eager to return to coastal Ecuador!

posted by Unknown @ Monday, November 20, 2006