Estoy hasta de la polla!!!

Hello hello!

The title of this entry is how one says "I've had it up to here" in Spanish, except that unlike in English, it is a vulgar expression. It is not a literal translation, feel free to look up the word "polla". José taught me this expression, but failed to mention it's vulgarity, and I proceeded to say it in front of the children.... at which point the children were shocked and José was doubled over laughing. Later, he told the director of the camp that I had said it in front of the children, but luckily she just laughed and understood that it was José's idea of a joke. Somehow this lovely expression wasn't present in my university Spanish education, this is the reason one needs to travel, the things you just cannot learn in a classroom.

Okay, onto official business:

Week 2 of Camp July 8 - July 11, 2008.

Yes, I am cognizant that that isn't really a week, but it is going to be the entry for this week of camp. It is going to be a series of anecdotes and not so much a chronological series of events.

Cucarachas
In Spanish, cucarachas means cockroach. They are everywhere, well luckily, not many in our bedroom. The kitchen on the other hand...
...if you flick on the lights at night, suddenly they scurry from wherever they are on the floor under the freezer or cupboard. The kitchen staff has recently barred the counsellors from entering the kitchen at night and I believe it is just to hide this health and safety embarassment. Also, they scurry really fast and have extremely hard shells making them difficult to smoosh, if you are successful though, it is quite a feeling of satisfaction, though disgusting. They are just a primary example of Spanish food hygeine embarassments.

Mosques
Flies. Good god. Everywhere. At night, while eating, while sitting here typing this blog, while explaining things to the children. Some mosquitos, but mostly just standard house flies that land on you, in your eyes, on the part of your lower back between your shirt and pants, your legs, your ears, up your nose. Once again, instead of combating the problem, windows are screenless, hygeine is poor and they continue to annoy. I am going to try to find a mosquito net for my bed (like they have in Africa to prevent malaria) so I can sleep at night because I "estoy hasta de la polla" of these flies.

Camp Bitching and Bullshit
*Appologies to those of you with delicate sensetivies, but I am trying to make this blog feel like a conversation with me, and this is what I have been saying*

This is my new nickname for this series of campers, as most of the time they are either complaining about something (I know, this whole entry that is all I have been doing the same, so maybe it is my fault) or making up some crazy story, lie, or other ridiculous excuse. As I have mentioned to my parents, the child who is the absolute worst for this behaviour is the one Canadian child, who´s mother works for the unnamed organization I work for here. I am DEFINETLY going to be making a mention of this to my palls in the office, because her mother might be interested in the fact that her child made the camp experience far more difficult.

Acceptances
HOORAY HOORAY!!! I have received my final marks for my last two classes and my undergraduate degree is officially over and my acceptance into the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Dr. Frans Leenen is now complete. I will be heading there in September to do a master's in Cellular and Molecular Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at the Ottawa Heart Institute. I will either be working on hypertension or on myocardial infarction (heart attack) and why some people recover after having one and others don't. Thank you Katrina, Sumantra and Mom for your help with my last two exams.

That's all for now, it is time for swimming with the kids. They leave tomorrow at noon and then there is a blissful 28 hours without children until the next group comes.

Talk to you soon,

K-fly (as in covered in flies, not as in cool)