I finally caved.  I brought my ghetto first generation iPod with me so that I could listen to it on the plane, but when I got here I tucked it away.  I didn't want to be that tourist walking around a third world country listening to my American pop music.  But running the past few days has been a battle: the barking (from dogs and men), the whistles, the smooching noises, shouts, the little kids who literally point and laugh…  Today I escaped it all with two little earbuds and some Bob Dylan.  I've been avoided all English like the plague--no English books or music, limiting time spent with other volunteers, trying to think in Spanish, etc… But it's disheartening to think about how as soon as I go back to the states, it won't matter how much I've improved because within 3 months of reverse-immersion I'll be back to square one.  And even if I make a huge effort to keep practicing  when I'm home, how long can I really keep that up?  In 3 years…5 years… 15 years… what will it matter?  I will have forgotten almost everything--unless I make a point to travel to a Spanish-speaking country once a year or something. 

I will never again complain about having to do laundry.  I washed my clothes by hand (the clothes that I've worn every day--running, farming, sleeping--for the past two weeks) and it took all day.  Ok, it was kind of fun--but probably not something I would enjoy if I had other stuff to do. 

Speaking of slow and tedious processes, I helped my mom prepare the Torta de Choclo for dessert and we had to peel each kernel of choclo individually!  There were like 10 cobs...