January 26, 2012

Went to the American Councils offices this morning to retrieve the package Rebecca had brought for me. I had really expected something much bigger than the single plastic bag she handed in based on her email indicating she had not been able to fit everything into her suitcase. I told her to have her family enjoy the Cuban coffee that had been left behind. I also extended an invitation to have lunch at my place whenever it was convenient for her.

Caroline met me in the waiting area and before we could leave a student stopped her begging for her to have a look at his SOP (Statement of Purpose) for the university he was applying to in the States. She offered him ten minutes of her time and Sergey promptly fired his laptop and brought up the document. Meantime, I rummaged through the plastic bag and was delighted to find a pair of downy fleece pajamas, a bag of coffee, cinnamon sticks, a pair of heavy-duty plastic purple gloves, and zip lock bags. I kept searching for the camera, expecting something bulky, but it was practically razor-thin and tucked in among other things. I was able to open it, pop the battery in and try it out by taking a photo of Carolyn and her student hard at work.

                                            First photo taken with my new camera

We proceeded to the soup place where Caroline ate while I kept her company. She was able to look at my cell phone which was acting up again and didn’t allow me to send text message. Apparently, I had activated the “automatic fill-in” key and it was trying to complete the message for me. On to the Caritas where we had another spirited session talking about the past and playing with simile cards. Proceeded to copy center to make handouts to give to the teachers after the presentation on Saturday and then back to the lamination center to pick the remaining sheets. While I was there, my phone rang and it was the dean at the PedInst asking me to come in for a meeting on Friday. I promised to come by after I was done with the visa paperwork. Despite my having asked Pariso to notify the dean about my going to Nepal in February, he told he me he didn’t know anything about it.

I was completely exhausted by the time I got home. It was a good thing I had leftovers to eat.