Tuesday, my family took me to Mollagara, a salt lake that’s about thirty minutes north of us. It was nice to do something new and to hang out with the fam. My cousin, Ramina, who speaks fluent English came, so communication wasn’t a problem. We floated for a bit, climbed a small sand dune and lathered ourselves with mud. My little sister is easily scared and wouldn’t calm down enough to lay back and trust that she would float in the water. I’ll have to do something about her lack of bravery. She also freaks out about bugs, even butterflies.
I’ve begun working out regularly, hoping to a) look smashing in my 4th of July dress and b) be in half-marathon shape by the time I return to the States. It’s good to have a few things on my ‘to do’ list for the month of June since I won’t be leaving site. It could end up being a really long month if I don’t keep myself occupied. So in addition to the fitness thing, I’ve also got a third resource project planned. I already posted a photo from my first project, the homophones book. The second project which I finished a week or so ago, was a ‘Dining in America’ book that explains etiquette, customs, and pronunciation of tricky food words. It’s going to be used by IREX for their UGRAD participants (students who will study in American universities).
This third project is a dictionary of foreign words used in English, emphasizing words that aren’t pronounced in an ‘English’ way, for example, ‘beret’ or ‘gauche.’ I love etymology so this is right up my alley.
I’m also hoping to put together a job prep seminar for students that will cover how to write a resume and cover letter, how to conduct yourself in an interview, creating a portfolio, etc. But this will depend on student interest and may have to wait a couple weeks until all the school finals are over. Attendance has been shady the last few weeks because of finals.
I have some personal stuff planned too, like researching post-Peace Corps options and preparing for the GRE. Plus I need to get some non-blog, non-newsletter article writing done to submit to creative writing grad school programs. And then there’s my summer reading list…
So I hope that June is a productive and fast-passing month and that I have interesting things to blog for you.