Olimpiadas

Well, it's been one month since I've been here...12 more to go! Per my previous blogs I'm sure you can see I've had a bit of a rough start. I'm finally feeling on the upswing though and am trying to keep a positive attitude. I'm liking my work schedule; it's quite laid back, you get to spend a lot of personal time with those on your caseload, and it's quite varied. I'm finding that I'm a little rusty in some areas (e.g., swallowing, adults, communication boards, oral motor), so I've been doing some research online for new therapy ideas.
This weekend the ranch celebrated the Olimpiadas. It was a fun, chaotic, exhausting time. They split the ranch into 18 teams. During the past 4-6 weeks the teams have been meeting to choreograph a dance, paint a flag, decorate t-shirts, etc. While the meetings seemed unorganized and were frustrating to attend, when Friday rolled around the teams seemed to pull it all together. It was fantastic...these Hondurans can dance!!! It was very impressive. I took a couple videos on my camera as a keepsake. Saturday the games began. We attended mass, had a torch passing opening ceremony, and played serious field day games. It was a little rough for me playing with my fractured pinky, but there was no way I was going to sit out. Games included a cultural trivia game, a slip and slide basketball race, tug-of-war knee-deep in mud trenches, handball, tether ball, long jump, a serious military obstacle course, and a traditional pole climb (team members try to reach the highest point possible on a super-high pole covered in cow lard and grease by climbing on top of one another...this game would never be played in the U.S....it was super dangerous...I remember seeing something similar on a National Geographic show or something). There were also relay races, a concession stand, and lots of musica latina. It brought me back to the days when I used to kick butt in sporting events, but man have the times changed! I did alright, given my fractured finger, but I also made a complete fool of myself. I somehow was one of the ones picked to do the long jump (me, with my stubby legs!). We were each allowed to do a "prueba"/practice jump. Well, in my defense, the ground here is very uneven and the grass is long so you can't always see where you're walking. Anyways, shortly into my running start, I tripped and went skidding on my face. I wasn't even near the long jump line. Seriously, if someone had a video camera, I could've won the grand prize on America's Funniest Videos. I just started laughing along with everyone else. It was quite embarrassing. People came up to me later in the evening telling me they heard about what happened. Yeah, great. Despite my little trip up, our team came in second place overall. But man was I sore on Sunday!!! Everything ached. Saturday night there was a dance. It was a lot like a middle school/high school dance in the U.S., but with much more risque dancing. The kids were allowed to stay up till 1:00 AM, so it was a very special occasion.
Sunday was a recovery, lazy day. I did yoga to stretch out all the kinks and aches in my body, napped for a few hours and watched videos with some other volunteers. Sunday night ended with a despedida/fiesta for Laura (22nd birthday, from Mexico, resource teacher) and the family (going away party, mom Liz - doctor, dad Jake - maintenance, two sons, from Maine).
I'm getting settled into my new room as well. My roommate is from Seattle, Washington. Her name is Monica and she's 22-years-old. She just graduated from school and will be volunteering here as a nurse. I feel super-lucky to have her as a roommate...she's been taking care of my fractured pinky. We've been getting along really well so far. I think it'll be a good roomie situation.