Sunday, June 25, 2006

and then came the rain

I really hope that a sunny day comes along soon. I have two pairs of clean pants, the rest are wet. I also have a number of other clothing just chillin in the rain. Have I mentioned that I´ve learned to wash my own clothes? Not that I do it that often, but still. It involves a lot of scrubbing, beating, water, and wringing. I can assure you that my clothing will not be lasting very long. But back to the rain....it seems to come for several days in a row in the afternoon. Then come a few hot humid days, before we return to rain.

Yesterday we (Sam, Will and I) ref. a game of softball. (I include myself in the group, but i really didn´t make that many calls.....if any calls) This wasn´t a good idea for two reasons. A- it started to rain and they still played, so we were drenched and B- you can´t win no matter what call you make, you´re never gonna make friends that way. I think we´ll stick to just playing softball with them during their practice games. And yes, I play...i run, hit, throw and catch.

I´ve also been going to church every week*. I must say it lasts a little longer then in the US and the last two weekends we´ve had processions after. The first procession was to check out different altars in differnt homes in honor of Corpus Cristi. I´m not sure what this one was for. I also think I´m going to need to ask for a written version of prayers, I don´t understand them when everyone is speaking at the same time.

Otherwise, I´m trying to work on some reading...the newspaper and the dictionary. Since to read one you need to read the other. And working on speaking with my family. I don´t always understand the accent or the local slang. And there is a lot of local slang.

Alright, I think that´s all I have for now. Ohh...I´m finally healthy! The bactrim I took was able to kill off what the Cipro couldn´t. Sweet!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

What´s going on in El Salvador

Hey Everyone!

As usual, my entry will be jumping around a lot......sorry.

I guess I´ll start with the weekend. We just kinda hung around on Saturday and tried to talk with different people. We walked through the market, which consisted of a cattle auction and different people selling different stuff. We listened to a guitarist and then played cards in the park. No one would join us for cards....wonder why. Then we went and watched soccer with Sam´s family. Thank God the US didn´t lose.....i always get such shit from people when they do.
We then talked with his family about families in general and how they were affected by the war. They talked about the mass immigration from the country, the decrease in family size nowadays, and some of the relations in the family. An example is how the children can live with their parents until they are married, then they´re out. But if they have kids and are not married, they can stay.
After that we hit up my host mother and chated about religion. Out community is mostly catholic. She is a very religious woman and explain her beliefs very well. But it was also evident that there was a split between catholics and evangelicals. It´ll be interesting to see how that plays out in my community.
On Sunday I checked out mass for Corpis Cristi, which lasted about 4 and 1/2 hours. During the last hour or so we processed from house to house looking at different altars. It was beautiful, but a little long for my tastes. There was another mass at 4pm, I went and played softball instead. Which wasn´t as bad as I remeber it being in high school. I caught, ran and hit.....go me!
Anyway...then came Monday morning.....So, the cipro that was suppose to kill my stomach infection only made it more angry. It managed to kill off the weak ones and leave the strong ones. This translates to me having a fever, chills, nausea, dizzyness and fatigue. But no worries, i´m now on an even stronger antibotics....they go nicely with my rabies shot, tetanus shot and malaria pills. I feel like a pharmacy. But my Senora has been very nice. She´s made me soup and warm bucket baths.
Otherwise, not too much going on. I thought we had a rooster, but it appears now that it´s a hen.....since it laid an egg. My bad. But it is a myth that roosters or hens only crow in the morning...they do it all night long.
That´s all I got for now! Later!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Settling In

I couldn´t do it, I just couldn´t eat boiled banana in milk. I made a cultural fax pa and said I didn´t like it. I don´t think my host mother was too offended and I must say I welcomed the corn flakes. This mornings fried banana was much better! Otherwise, I´m eating more vegeaibles then ever before! I know this is a shock to those who know my eating habits. But hey, new place, new food.

Talking about food, I´ve also learned how to make tortillas. I make mine thin, small and far from round....just the way i like them. Hopefully I´ll learn how to make a few more items while i´m here.

I´ve also started watching telenovelas, which are soap operas. There very popular down here and are on during prime time. My favorites are El Mujer en el Espejo and La Fea Mas Bella. I´ll keep you posted on what´s going on with those as soon as I figure it out.

As some may have heard, I´ve had my first illness.....a stomach infection. But I´m all good now, I´ve been taking a medicine called Cipro. It pretty much kills everything in your stomach. It was great when within 48 hours I took 4 doses of cipro, had a hepititas shot, and finished the cocktail with my malaria medication.

Otherwise, just chillin in El Salvador.

¡Hasta Luego!


Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Hola de El Salvador

Hey everyone!


I have finally found my way to a small internet cafe and decided to write. Where to begin? Did you know my name is actually a spanish word, its a little irritating. What is actually more irritating is that fact that one of the trainers has the same name.

I arrieved last wed and went to a ´hotel´. I´m with approx. 25 other volunteers in training. Our training lasts for 10 weeks and is pretty hectic. And no, i still don´t know what my job will entail.
Í´m currently living with a family a small town. The family consists of a mother (a widow) and five children, two of which live in the United States, two are in school still and the last one works in an ice cream shop, she´s my favorite. Random family members also stop by.

My facilities aren´t what one may think. The shower is cold, but there is a shower and bucket baths are pretty nice. I also have a toilet (surprise!), but i have to throw a bucket of water down it to flush it. And sleeping under a mosqito net is actually kinda cool. Unfortunatly, the day time mosquitos love me, absolutly adore me. Because of this, i pretty much bath in DEET. Yey! Í´ve also improved my bug killing skills.


The weather is surprisingly cool, but it rains everyday....guess that´s why they call it the rainy season.

Well, that´s all I´ve got for now! Hasta Luego!

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