Footloose.

Well. I made the leap and I'm part of the folkloric dance group.

Did everyone else see that coming? People in my town are all like, ''About time, gringa!'' It was partially strategic...My counterpart and I formed the group initially, and since then I've attended practices while he teaches. There was the presentation on the 14^th of September that we coordinated. But now that it comes to fund-raising and having the big traditional skirts made...well...we formed a committee of parents and dancers to do that. I want to offer Project Design and Management to this group, but for logistical reasons that has to be in the beginning of November. So how does this explain my decision for late entry into the group? I wanted to see if there was enough of a desire to continue without me being a part of it. Or in other words, I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be babysitting anybody and trying to rally people to come to practice – or their parents to participate in supporting the group – much more so because now big sums of money were involved (our development association lent the group $200 to buy the fabric for the skirts which we are now fund-raising slowly to pay back).

And it worked! I mean, I don't think anybody is saying, ''Wow, Lily was hands off for a couple weeks and look at us, the group is still going strong.'' I don't deserve that much credit for what I was doing before the 14^th, as if I were the glue. But I wanted to make sure, and it turns out that without me in front of the whole thing with my counterpart, the group in charge of the dancers has done really well in getting the materials that the group needs. So when my host sister was like, ''You should come to the practice today,'' I was like, ''Yeah, I think I will.''

It's fun but also exhausting. To be honest, exhaustion is something that I've talked about with several parents. I had a conversation with a few parents who were like, ''Keep wearing 'em out in dance practice so that they're too tired to light up later,'' not in reference to their own children, of course. I was like, ''Uhhhh, okay.'' I mean, I remember that as a teenager I'd sacrifice however much sleep was necessary to do the things I had my mind set on doing (usually watching Late Night with Conan). And further, none of the pot smokers that I know of have joined the dance group. But, that is not to underestimate the value of giving the kids something to do that sparks their creativity and imagination. And later, when we go to different places in Costa Rica (maybe even Nicaragua and Panama if we can find sponsors), then the kids' worlds get bigger. They see things, they begin to get curious about others. I don't think I focus so much on the drug prevention aspect that maybe these parents do, but I can see how much more confident and proud these young people are now. And we haven't even left town.

Blurg, what else is going on...I moved the furniture in my room. It feels more ''mine'' than it did before. Also, the new arrangement gives me the option of turning off my light once I am tucked in beneath my mosquito net. Before, I had to turn the light off and then try not to touch anything alive that might have appeared as soon as it went black, then try to tuck in the net under my mattress in the dark. It was hell. Now, I release my net from the place where I roll it up and get into bed, tuck it in, read for an hour, and then turn out the light through the net. It's a much better situation and I have greater peace of mind that I'm not sharing my bed with critters.

Also, I've been enjoying the Cheez-Its that Aunt Cindy and Uncle Joe sent me. Tomorrow when I go into Santa Cruz I'm going to buy some juice boxes to accompany them. It's amazing how college still shapes my eating habits, that it doesn't feel right to eat Cheez-Its without juice made from concentrate.

Doky's doing great...you can check out my Facebook for a picture that a friend took of him. People in town say that he looks skinny, but he's just been doing a lot of growing in the last month. He's three and a half months old and bigger than his mother. So even though I feed him twice a day (not to mention, a lot of dog food), yeah...he's shedding his baby fat and turning into a real dog. Still a cutie pa-tootie.

Gearing up for several out of community trips...October 7^th I'm headed into San José for some medical appointments which hopefully won't last too long. The 15^th some friends are heading into my pueblo and we're going to hang out and go hiking to some places nearby that weekend before going to All Volunteer conference on the 18^th. I think it's the 18^th, I should check to make sure. That's pretty exciting, it's at the Crowne Plaza again which was none too shabby. Then a few weeks in which to do Project Design and Management and...home for Thanksgiving. It's crazy how close it seems and how busy I am until then. Just like the dance group, though, Thanksgiving is going to be a time after PDM when I say to my communities various committees, ''Okay. We've worked on a plan here for each of you. Let's see who does what in the next two weeks according to their plan.'' And by definition, I'll be hands off during vacation. My host sister is familiar with PDM from the Peace Corps workshop that she attended with me and I've gone through it all with my counterpart, who will also be taking it when I offer it. I'll leave the book behind. All this to say that the resources that people need to continue will be available. It's up to them to decide to make the most of them. So then when I get back we'll all move on from there and if I've done this stuff right, then I'll just be consulted with for pretty minor things.

Mrrrrggghhhh...''...if I've done this stuff right.''