Thats right. For those of you who do not know what a weenie man is, it is a hotdog cut in such a way that when cooked, it takes the shape of a person. This was taught to me by the intelligent, witty, and oh so beautiful Jennifer Oakley. I am sure by now, my good friends Sam Miller and Morgan Parker are really missing weenie men AND the great song that goes with them. This is for you two...
I know a weenie man. He owns a weenie stand.
He sells most everything from hotdogs on down.
One day Ill be his wife. Eat weenies all my life.
Oh how I love that weenie man!
My host mother was making hotdogs the other day and I caught her just in time to teach her the delicate operation of cutting arms and legs. They were a huge hit and have made many appearances at our lunches and dinners since. We have also been making a lot of weenie children by using coctail weenies and are officially referred to as "hombrecitos" which directly translated means "little men". Weenie men were also a big hit at a 4th of July gathering with my Peace Corps amigos. Also popular at the 4th of July party, were the mini PB&J sandwiches made possible by the peanut butter sent to me by Sr. Pat... THANK YOU!!
I did participate in the run last weekend which was actually pretty fun despite a few minor glitches. First, my host family insisted on taking me to the race in the morning which was really nice. Unfortunately we arrived about 2 minutes late and everyone had already started running. That was not the best way to start things off because pacing myself went right out the window. The entire race was slightly uphill and the final 200 meters were up a super steep hill. When I looked at my watch and realized the end should be coming up, I picked two people who were ahead of me and made the decision that I would finish infront of those two. I passed the first guy no problem because he was about 495 years old. We were going up that final hill and I was catching up to the next woman. The finish line was in sight so I gave it everything I had. I got right next to the woman, who clearly was not expecting the last minute competition and looked like she wanted to kill me. We duked it out to the finish and entered the finish at the same time. Unaware that we were supposed to take a card to tell us our finishing place, she took the card and technically finished a place ahead of me. No big deal, I was just happy to be done. I saw my friends and went over to say hi and catch my breath. Right then, the woman walked up to us, looked at me and said (in english) "So you must be Kelly?" I felt awful... turns out she is another Volunteer I had yet to meet and is the "peer support coordinator" for Cuenca volunteers. Small world coincicence that the one person out of over 500 I pissed off was another PC person! My host family was right there at the finish which was really nice of them to support me... Theyre great.
I have been attending a number of graduations lately and am sad to report that the ceremony is equally long and boring no matter where you are in the world. The main difference is, that there are a limited number of caps and gowns so after someone receives their diploma, they take off their cap and gown and hand it to another person... quite possibly making the ceremony even longer.
Alright well its time to join the family for a Crab eating extravaganza... wish you were here adam. Dont worry, they know I hate seafood and are making me chicken 
Cant think of any good spanish mess ups for this week so I´ll have to entertain you with something funny my mom asked me the other day (sorry mom)
"Do they celebrate the 4th of July there?"
Love and miss you all - thanks again Sr. Pat!!
~Maria