ZUMBA!

so i just finished with my mandatory exercise time. which is probably good because i wish i would work out, but i can never get up the motivation to actually do it. i've gone running in the morning with a couple of the guys here too but they're really hard core so i dunno if that'll keep up. what i do now is that extreme workout video in spanish. it's fun because it's like dancing. (yay!) but my whole body hurts now between working out, working construction, other random things, and sunburn. yes, i got some good burning on saturday even though i wore tons of sunscreen the whole day. some of it's really bad, but i'm hoping most of it actually turns into a tan which would be new for my skin.

this week has been fun so far. we had Robert McAlpine come to speak. he and his wife are at the tijuana base, but their from canada. he was very cool. we had some good talks. and he's going to be working with my good friend susie this fall so it was exciting that we both knew her. and actually susie's boyfriend was around most of the weekend as well. he too works at the tijuana base, and he led the construction for homes of hope this weekend. it was good to get to know him.

we turned in our first book report today. apparently, compared to the rest of my DTS, i'm an overachiever. it was decided that this is because i'm a gringa. i wrote way more than we needed to, and in formal APA paper format. i also read the entire book in like two days 'cause i got mine later than everyone else (since i signed up late and needed it in english not spanish) and some of the other students were still finishing it last night. it makes me feel better about myself that my usual procrastination is actually ahead of the game here. plus we have memory verses to do each week. (I got 100% on last weeks!) And I've been memorizing the verses in english AND spanish. impressive, right?

speaking of speaking spanish, i'm struggling! i know it's only my third week, but i'm no good. i can't roll my r's at all! we haven't even made it all the way through the alphabet in my class yet though, and i'll be here for a few more months, but i want to speak it now! i'm picking it up little by little though.

i have to head over to the base soon. we live in a house that's about two blocks away from the base, so it's nice that we're close, but we have our own space to hang out and relax. we eat most of our meals and have class over there though. it's SO hot though! i'm not going to make it through this summer with the heat. it's just intense 'cause it was such a drastic weather change. as of last week we were still shivering and layering up sweatshirts. now shorts and a tank are too much! well, it's not quite that bad, but it's hot.

i'm going to play a quick little game that i learned from my friend bethanne called what i miss, what i don't miss:

what i miss: good ice cream, having a closet, and air-conditioning

what i don't miss: television, white people, and speed limits