Fiestas Patronales craziness

Last week started the beginning of a 2-week party here in town called the Fiestas Patronales, or parties for the Patron Saint. This basically takes place in every major town/municipality throughout the country, and is celebrated with bullriding, horse parades, dancing, loud music, and lots of alcohol. Needless to say, not really my thing, but I did take the opportunity to go out dancing, since the fiestas are only going on a short walk from my house. In two weeks Semana Santa starts, which is Easter week. Pretty much everyone here goes to the nearby rivers to celebrate, usually with lots of food and alcohol (like every other holiday here). Ill probably end up going with some friends at some point during the week, and maybe taking a couple of days to travel and spend time with other volunteers since we have a couple of days off. Other than that, Ive started giving environmental classes and theyve been going well...the kids have been very receptive and well-behaved. We are trying to start making composts in the schools, and Im in the process of doing one in my own yard, as well as a garden, with some neighbors for practice (and hopefully some veggies to show for our labor!). Im also holding ecological youth group meetings twice a week with the high school in my neighborhood. The kids seem educated about environmental issues and motivated to plant trees and clean up the school, so Im glad that its something theyre passionate about. English classes continue to be going well. I have about 12 students who come to every class, maybe 15ish in total, but new people continue to tell me theyre interested so hopefully the class will grow a bit. A neighbor of mine told me she has a friend who is interested, but that she needed to ask her husband first for permission. This, surprisingly, is not uncommon here, and really infuriated me. The fact that the women here are basically condemned to a life at home while their husbands go out partying almost every night is no exaggeration. Im hoping to do something with the women, like have a womens group or cook together or something, ANYTHING. I just need to find a block of time, and a group of women, first. Hopefully itll be another future project in the making...stay tuned.