Sitting, waiting, wishing

“I cant remember when the earth turned slowly, so Im just waiting with the lights turned out again \ I lost my place but I cant stop this story \ I found my way but until then, Im only spinning” – Jacks Mannequin

Halfway into the 4th week of training (Ive been in this country a whole month!), I feel that I am in a bit of a slump. Spending day after day with the same 24 health volunteers in a small room, talking about the same topics, becomes absurdly tedious. We are halfway through training but the finish line seems so far away still. I feel very fatigued, which is apparently normal during PST.
I am fortunate enough to get at least some alone time, unlike many of my peers. My family knows I close my door after dinner at 8. I tell them that the light in my room is better for reading and doing homework, which is true. The family just sits around and watches Brazilian soap operas at night anyway.
I did, however, wake up last week in the middle of the night to a strange scratching noise coming from the corner of my room. I turned on the light and noticed a fairly large hole above me in the wood plank in between the roof and the wall. As I continued to watch, a little nose poked through the hole and suddenly I was having a staring contest with a rat (mouse?). It was pretty cute, actually, with big ears. I told my mae the next day so she borrowed the neighbors cat and locked it in the kitchen overnight and my little visitor hasn’t been back since.
Speaking Portuguese from sunrise to sunset is certainly a challenge. I am in a fairly advanced group with 5 other students and a professor named Meque. This Saturday we are having an American cooking session, and our group is planning to make pancakes and omelettes. I am also going to start cooking for my host family once a week… Im excited for fried rice, mashed potatoes, banana bread, garlic bread… If only it were possible to have a nice, juicy steak mailed to me. Food is a common topic of conversation among trainees, as you can probably tell.
Today, all 71 trainees must cross the Swaziland border to renew their visas. My group was first, so we have the rest of the day off (thankfully). Unfortunately, we are not official volunteers yet and cannot travel and play in other countries, so we basically had to walk across the border and come right back. Peace Corps has had some issues with our visas, because the price of a permanent visa has skyrocketed from about $100 about $1000 US.
Next week we have a couple of permagarden sessions (how to create a sustainable garden), which will be useful. Although Im usually awful at growing plants, I hope that when I get to site I will have a chance to cultivate my green thumb.
I may have already mentioned this, but I also plan to get a baby goat (to mow my lawn and omg they are so cute), a cat (to deal with mice), and a ferocious dog (to guard my house). It will be quite the farm.
There seems to be a problem with the mail getting to us, unfortunately. A staff member told us that at this time last year, the packages were rolling in, in large quantities, which is not the case this year. I have only received 1 out of 6 pieces of mail I am expecting. Hopefully the mail starts arriving soon; everyone seems to be waiting for something. Next week should be the last week you should send me mail if you plan to, until I receive my site placement and can give a permanent address.
I hope everyone is doing well! I would love to hear from you guys. It would certainly lift my spirits.