heres a bunch of pictures that i owe you... theres some from the 3 suprise parties from my birthday and then our NEW PLAYGROUND! i will get some pictures up soon from my new house and the works. everything is super busy here but going very well. cant wait to hear from all of you :)

one thing i love about peace corps is...

... that the little things can make my day. i think ive said this to a lot of people already, but it´s really true. when i was back at home, when did a phone call from a good friend make me smile for the rest of the day? what i mean is, back in the states, it was a given that i would talk to friends on a regular basis. so instead of getting super super happy when one would call, i would get upset or worried if days passed without hearing from him or her. now, all i need to do is get an incoming call and good luck wiping the smile off my face.

the same came true this past week for my birthday. the people in my town are super good at keeping secrets. my adult english class threw me a suprise party in the class the night before my birthday. i started the class as normal and noticed that oddly enough, NO ONE had done their homework. this had never happened before. then, the lights in the classroom get shut off and in walks one of my students with a cake with 24 candles, pizzas, and presents. i seriously had NO idea that they even knew my birthday was the next day. but it was super nice of them and made me feel real special. then, my 6th graders threw me a little suprise party the day after my birthday in the morning. they came to my house asking for the keys to the school, saying they had a project to do. i called the director of the school to ask if it was ok to lend them the keys... she was apparently in on the secret and told me to give them all the time they needed. turns out, they needed the keys to decorate the classroom, bring the food and drinks, and plan the games. we spent all morning hanging out and playing volleyball. then, in the afternoon, come suprise number 3. a few of my women said we had to go to this guys house with a pool to ask for some wood to start building the greenhouse. they told me to wear my bathing suit cuz we´ll jump in his pool. well, when we get there, my whole womens group is jumping out behind a wall and screaming happy birthday. they decorated, brought cakes, pinatas and games, we grilled, and had a reeeeally nice time. needless to say, i had a great birthday. and it was even better getting all the calls, emails, etc from home. so thanks :)

i brought my camera to put up pictures from all of these fun occasions but didnt bring the cable to connect the camera to the computer. so next time...