Day 98: The Beginning of the Middle. Or, Fourth Week in Antigua

It is Sunday now, a nice heavy day of rest. Feels necessary after this past week, not one of the better ones. I began to question my plans, so recently set in stone -- and now seeming shaky and precarious. Indulge my metaphor: Once the Golden Gate bridge, now a twisting rope bridge (the kind that always breaks in the movies). I did not get a job that I wanted, encountered the swift end of a personal relationship, and wondered once again why I had left solid American ground in the first place. Having rained a good deal last week I spent the nights in bed swatting mosquitoes and self-doubt away from my head. A bridge too far on that one?

To be honest -- a presumption to which, Oh Faithful Reader, I know you have already jumped -- it hasn't been so bad as might be gleaned from that first paragraph. I've had a fairly good time, challenging myself to satisfaction at work, spending quality laughing/drinking time with my housemates and host family, and overall I've been able to avoid most of those "dwell on shit" traps that tend to accompany periods of transition and bad news like the one that currently sits on me. Disclaimer: As far as I am concerned, one does not need to drink to laugh, and one can certainly drink without being spurred to laughter. I associated these two verbs earlier in this paragraph simply to save space.

Now for some filler.

Despite spending most of my time at work in the office, I was called in to a classroom on Friday morning to "teach" a group of teenagers -- their teacher was absent. Me, a substitute teacher! What a Hoot! It was surprisingly easy -- no fights to break up, my main task was finding something for the kids to do because there was nobody in the library or computer room to give them supplies and resources for their homework. We played some hangman, talked some geometry, and discussed their future dream jobs. This coming week I will be teaching English as well as working in the office. I is gon teech dem chidrins reel gud, an dey is gon speek inglitch lak gosh durn americuns, jus lak we be speekin! Dey tells me edjumakashun is dey onliest tickut out da pahvurty dey is in hear!

As implied earlier, myself and my house mates have also done some partying, both at the house and at local bars and sidewalks. Unfortunately we don't have much time left together before the house empties out, leaving me to my own devices. Speaking of devices: my Ronaldiño sandals have passed on to Foot-ware Heaven after some particularly malicious behavior on the part of one of my housemates. We also celebrated our host sister's birthday with a late night flick and saw an extremely short woman at the supermarket. Today I hit up the All You Can Eat pancakes again, which continues to be an excellent choice in many respects. A little low on reading material again. Running out of filler here.

My best guess is that I will stay here, doing the same shit, for at least a few more weeks, during which time I will hopefully locate a job. My high preference would certainly be to return to the Bay Area as soon as possible, but that future is a little foggier than it has been for the past few months. There are other options...although I should warn you (read: myself) that every option is both uncertain and possible. This is not a recipe for easy sleeping. Writing the word "recipe", I realize that, unlike most posts, this one will not end with me splitting to munch some grub. My stomach is full and at least temporarily, content. My mind, unlike my stomach, has only a long-distance relationship with pancakes -- but "full" and "temporarily content" can just as well describe my mental state.

I wonder what's for lunch?