It would have been another typical Saturday night at the movies, at least until my dad offered me a better opportunity. He asked me if I would like to accompany him at the Human Development Foundation's (HDF) annual benefit dinner. I recall reading my dad's daily memos on the fridge about the event, so in the back of my mind I kind of didn't want to go. Not because the event wouldn't be fun, but mainly because my dad would know that his memos work, which isn't exactly desirable in the Abdullah household.
Ok, so I ended up going to the dinner. The food and the company were good. They even raised about 90K, which will go to the development of schools and clinics in Pakistan. My story almost ended here, but fortunately my dad wanted to stay til the end of the program.
Later that night, something surreal happened. Congressman Mike Honda of the 15th district was the final speaker of the night. He's a pretty respectable man. As a young boy, he endured Japanese interment camps and mass discrimination. He immediately had my attention. But the crazy thing about his speech was his Peace Corps experience in EL SALVADOR! yeah, it was insane! As soon as he finished his speech, I went up to him and told him about my PC plans. He was estatic and he gave me the biggest hug and advice I've ever heard. He gave me his personal email and told me to conjure up a fiance before I leave. I laughed, at first, but then soon realized that his advice was totally legit. hmm...I guess I have about 2 weeks left to find a girl. Who's interested?! LoL
I moved into my new site yesterday...or, I guess you can say my new house. I´m renting a 3 bedroom house (for $25 a month!) that lies about 100 ft. from the main highway. I live within a 5 minute walking distance to the nearby pueblo (town). It´s a pretty tranquilo (chill) spot...there´s a ciber cafe, a hardware store, other small tiendas/chill spots, a sweet futbol field, and a beautiful church. My house came partially furnished with a hammack, bed, table, and 2 chairs. There´s still quite a few things that I still need...such as a fridge and stove. Fortunately, Peace Corps gave us about $750 each for our first month, which gives me some budget to work with. All in all, I´m pretty excited to make my house into a home and to start working in my community! ojala (inshaAllah) =)
