Fun Week Part I: Immersion Days!

So...After you run off to a new country and live with a new family for about 3 weeks, the Peace Corps sends you to live in a new town with a new family for about a day and a half. This is called Immersion Days. I went to a small canton called Los Caballeros, near Santa Anna. As we were heading over to the house, we stood in the back of a pick-up driving up a rocky dirt road, you could see the volcano in the distance and everything was lush and green. You could almost hear the Jurassic Park music playing in the background. Here I stayed with a young, friendly family from Wed afternoon till Friday morning. The house itself was one room divided by curtains. It had electricity and potable water. The potable water consisted of one faucet outside by the washing sink. There was also a latrine...Which I was thankful for b/c not everyone got one. The family itself consisted of the parents and three small children. The eldest being approximately 8 years and the youngest approximately three. There were two girls and the middle child was a boy.

When I first arrived, I just chilled with the kids. We played catch and tag before settling down for dinner. (Now, as a side note, I'm not currently eating refried beans because they were the last thing I ate before the last time I got horrible ill. Not that they made me ill, but there is the mental association. Thankfully, my mentor mentioned to my host mother that the oil in the beans made me sick....So I skirted it this time) Dinner was beans, chicken and tortillas. I tried to help make tortillas, but as previously mentioned, I seem to be in need of practice. And the chicken was tougher, since it was country chicken. They just let them run all over the place. After dinner we watched some TV. I know, TV? It turns out it's a status thing here. They barely had potable water, but they have TV's. That first night was a little long. The family was wonderful...They all shared one bed while I got my own bed. I was tired enough to sleep, but I kept hearing the rats in the roof and in the kitchen. Kinda kept me awake.

The next morning, I woke up really having to go to the bathroom...but I held it to daylight. There is nothing scarier then a latrine in the countryside at night. Plus, I would have had to stumble through the goats/dogs/ducks/chickens outside. In the morning we went out to the corn fields to spread fertilizer. Yes, I did it too. I walked through where all the bugs were. Uphill.....downhill....the whole nine yards. Afterwards, we ate breakfast and walked up to the mill by the school. This school is over the river and through the woods....uphill both ways. I should've worn my sneakers. In the afternoon I taught the kids cards. I felt bad, they didn't pick up the game very quickly. And no, I wasn't teaching them hearts. After that, I just kinda hung with a bunch of women that stopped by. Everyone just pulled out chairs and hung around. A little bit slower of a pace here. Dinner was interesting as well. She killed two chickens. I couldn't watch. The first one was quick. The second one the kids wanted to help. It was a little different there for a minute or two. Otherwise the night went quietly. After dinner we walked my host mother's sister back to her place. Thank God I had my handy flashlight. Theirs wasn't working so well. I also slept a lot better.

The next morning, Andrea came and picked me up. Whitney (the other trainee) was with her and we were ready to go. My host mother had given the kids a dollar to go get some candy so the youngest wouldn't cry when I left. How cute! The moment we got back to Andrea's place, Whitney and I took really nice long bucket baths. It was sweet. Afterwards, we headed into Santa Anna for some relaxation. It consisted of Pizza Hut and the movie Cars.....a Pixar presentation. So, you know how Pixar movies have multiple levels of comedy for both parents and children? Andrea was laughing more often then I was. I was definitely the 5 year old just barley putting it all together and learning an important moral lesson. After all that excitement, we headed back to her place for the night. We made brownies! Well....maybe they didn't come out exactly like brownies...more like a chocolate cake. But the batter was awesome!

We caught up on our telenovelas and called in a night.

So, that was basically Immersion Days. It wasn't that bad. I think it is important to expose yourself to different lives and ways of living. They may not of had much, but they were happy. The kids were always running around and playing. Everyone stopped and talked. Families helped families tend to their fields.

Next post......4th of July celebration on July 1st