Hmm...where to begin.
The first Sunday here I went with my alcalde (mayor) to another town for a Rodeo. Not like the rodeo´s in the US, smaller bulls....collected from local farmers. But still, it was interesting. Once there I met up withRachell (neighboring volunteer). Her and I chilled while my alcalde went his own way....for the best. She introduced me to all her people and her host family. Between the boys being bucked/falling off the cattle, we had singers (some good, some not so good), queens (they have queens for everything.....ex queen of the rodeo, queen of the patron saint festivals, queen of the police....everything) and some really fun drunk people. Alright, maybe fun isn´t the word...let´s say interesting. We also had to navigate the mud...it poured at one point during the festivities. Afterward, I went and chilled with a bunch of the local ladies and my host sis (Iris). We just sat on a corner and watched a mariache band. I couldn´t help but stair at the singers tremendous underbite. We sat till it was dark and then piledlled into a car to head back home. Apparently, during my time with the band, my alcalde was searching for me even through Iris had called one of compatriotsates to say I was with her.....oops.
Monday started my first ´work week´, i really don´t do any work right now. I think I did pretty well my first week. I started sitting in everyone´s office for about an hour or two to get to know ttheirnd thier jobs. Yes, it was just as, oawkward, akward as one may imagine. But, I´m starting to become accustomeawkwardnesskwardness. I also managed to attend various meetings about stuff I didn´t fully understand. One included a soccer tournament, another scholarships and students who are living up to the grade requirements, and a health committee meeting. Not to forget the youth group that I´m now working with or the softball team I´m helping to resurrect. Alright...maybe I´m more like sitting in with the last two...but i´m getting there! I´ve also managed to introduce myself to different organizations in the community, like the health center. I´ve walked through the town (takes about 15 min or less from start to finish) artisansed some artisians (pottery anyone?). I also managed to finish about a book and a half....I have a lot of down time. I´m also still watching La Fea Mas Bella...my soap opera.
On Thursday we had a spectacular thunder storm...spectacular! I´ve never quite seen a storm like it. The house shook from the thunder and the land lit up like it was the middle of the day with the lightening. We, of course, lost power/watvaryingne lines for varing amounts of time. The water came back on after a little less then a day, electric on saturday and phone lines till yesterday. It was quite romantic writing my journal by candle light.......but then I went to bed at 7:50pm cause there was NOTHING to do.
Over this past weekend, I Rachel'sack out to Racheals. There was part of the Peace Corps soccer team playing futbal rapido (smaller version of soccer done on a small basketball court) against the locals. The women won by one point, but the boys weren´t so lucky. Afterward we chilled at Rachel's place. Rachel´s site is currently enjoying it´s festivals patronales...so there was plenty going on. We went and say Axe Bahia (group from Brazil) in concert. I must say, I was a little disappointed. First, because they said we could dance with the group and then retracted in favor of locals dancing instead (yes, i know it´s better, but still! i was excited and they ripped the rug right out from beneath me...err). Next, because they only really sang two songs in the hour or so they were on stage. The rest were dancing competitions and promotions. They advertise A LOT here during programs.
Sunday morning everyone left but me.....I was staying around for the Cross Dressing Competition later that night. I´ll talk more about that in a minute. Basically, we just chilled around town. I saw a skit put on by some local kids, ate some pizza (just have to not think about NY) and took a nap. Ohh..there was also that thing with the guys on horses. They would make the horse go as fast as it could toward this clothes line type thing. On the line were targets in which they had to try and put this chopsweirdtype thing. It was wierd. There would also be random parades with people in random get-ups. That night we helped out at the Cross Dressing competition by being the male escorts for the ´ladies´. It was fun to finally cat call some of them....bwa ha ha ha ha. We went by the names of our mayors. I don´t think anyone caught that, but it was still funny to me. Some of the guys really got into it and strutted like a model..Rachels great. Apparently Racheal and I made good ´guys´because some people actually mistook us for them or just didn´t recognize us.
That brings us to thiRachel'sMonday I went back to Racheals site (what...she´s like half an hour away) to attend the local dance. It´s like high school..boys on one side, girls on the other and if they dance there is a nice space between the two. Stephen (another newbie) was also there. We make fun of him because his alcalde just keeps buying him beers whenever they go out no matter how many times he says he doesn´t want one...it´s great. The dance was divided between dj music and a live boy band. The band was terrible...well...not the band, the singers. They tried, Lord did they try..but it fell a little short. Afterwards, I hunted down my alcalde for a ride...I was worried he would leave without me. We got back to the house around 2:30ish and I crashed.
Tuesday the Alcaldia (mayors office) was closed in honor of its employees and we all hit up lunch. I didn´t understand most of what went on and everyone though that was incredibly funny. I thought it was funny when half my speech (at the end everyone said something) was in english...Sweet Revenge!
I´ve also noticed a few changes with myself. For example, I opened my peanut butter and found 3 or 4 little ants....I said, ´it´s still good´, picked them out and carried on my merry way. I'm also ok with the random bugs and reptils I find. Wel...most of them.
One last note....I´ve seen a spider, an aracnid if you will. I thought that I had seen spiders in my life, but I hadn´t. It was like a taranchula....big, very big....huge...furry...with a defined body...and big legs. Hell, it probably could've taken on a small dog, like a tea cup yorkie. Iris killed it with a broom.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
My Site!
Friday morning I got up and got my ass to my site. Alright, maybe Friday afternoon. Hey, I had to enjoy one more hot shower, one more visit to the mall for Burger King, one last hug from other trainees.
Thankfully two other trainees were going the same way as I. We left around noon and took the bus to sonsonate. There was a pretty good Jackie Chan movie playing all the way. Hey, who am I to judge. In Sonsonate we broke up to our different buses. This was the scary part. I managed to find my bus and ask the cobrador (guy who collects money) to tell me when I got to my site. He even helped me find the Alcaldia.
I then nerviously entered the office, but almost instantly my nerves were calmed. Everyone was really sweet.
I´m currenty living the in the Mayors place...which is cool. His daughter in law lives there and her and I are chillin. She is basically the same age as I am and she cooks pretty well. They even bought me a bed! with a pillow! The only sketchy part was when they were cleaning out the room and there were some kind of bugs living in a corner. They swept them out, but I try not to think about them. And the only problem, so far, is that my cell phone doesn´t have great reception.
There seems to be plenty of work to do and people have some grand expectations. Hopefully, not too high. Some have already asked what I¨m planning on doing and the guy in charge of the youth group had already recruted me. I don´t know how it happened, but it did.
I´ve also visited the waterfalls and they seem pretty bad ass. When people come to visit we´ll go swimming there.
Alright, I gotta go. Please forgive me if entries are a little more spaced and less pictures. I´m working with dial up now. Later!
Thankfully two other trainees were going the same way as I. We left around noon and took the bus to sonsonate. There was a pretty good Jackie Chan movie playing all the way. Hey, who am I to judge. In Sonsonate we broke up to our different buses. This was the scary part. I managed to find my bus and ask the cobrador (guy who collects money) to tell me when I got to my site. He even helped me find the Alcaldia.
I then nerviously entered the office, but almost instantly my nerves were calmed. Everyone was really sweet.
I´m currenty living the in the Mayors place...which is cool. His daughter in law lives there and her and I are chillin. She is basically the same age as I am and she cooks pretty well. They even bought me a bed! with a pillow! The only sketchy part was when they were cleaning out the room and there were some kind of bugs living in a corner. They swept them out, but I try not to think about them. And the only problem, so far, is that my cell phone doesn´t have great reception.
There seems to be plenty of work to do and people have some grand expectations. Hopefully, not too high. Some have already asked what I¨m planning on doing and the guy in charge of the youth group had already recruted me. I don´t know how it happened, but it did.
I´ve also visited the waterfalls and they seem pretty bad ass. When people come to visit we´ll go swimming there.
Alright, I gotta go. Please forgive me if entries are a little more spaced and less pictures. I´m working with dial up now. Later!
Interesting Week Part II: Orientation and Swearing In!
Alright, before swearing in we had to go through some last minute transition work or orientation....it was actually entertaining, besides the fact that it was orientation at the end of training, whatever. During these days we had awesome refreherios (so mis-spelled). Basically, snack breaks.
It began on Tuesday with Bryan and Stephanie (directors of the municipal and youth development programs) coming. We basically went over the rules. We got our little manuels.
Wed was the fun day. This is when the people from the embassy came over to talk to us. My favorite was the security guy. His presentation was geared towards people who would be working in the embassy so he kept skipping over slides that didn´t apply to us....like the one that said ´never take public transportation.´ That one was great! Peace Corps Volunteers live on the buses. Though, I can see where he was coming from b/c one of the last buses i was on in San Salvador had it´s CV joints break. I know it was the CV joints because i recognized the sound. (PJ) I won´t go into some of the other interesting slides, mostly because they may actually scare some of ya. Otherwise they just talked about the politics and visas. Basically, to watch the politics and tell everyone that I have no idea about visas. Then we wrote letters to ourselves to open in two years. It´s wierd talking to yourself on purpose. I, of course, started my letter by saying that I hoped that I would be reading this in two years. Vamos a ver! After this...it was off to San Salvador!
That night we didn´t really do very much...except check out a local chinese restaurant (which wasn´t that bad) and a local bar. I, of course, couldn´t enjoy all the festivities because i was still on medication....dammit.
Thursday was the big day for two reasons: 1- i finally met my counterpart and mayor 2-swearing in!
The morning was counterpart day. God was I nervious. I began to wonder what in the world possesed me to give up my life and spend two years in a small town in the middle of nowhere. My people came a little late, but not to bad. They live on Salvadorean time to which i am suppose to become accostomed. We´ll see how that goes. My counterparts name is Yessani (sooo misspelled). She is the social promoter in the town. I was soo glad to see that I had a social promoter and that she is a she. My Mayor´s name is Don Justo. We basically just introduced ourselves and went through the morning. The meeting was just to reinforce what volunteers do and expectations. Afterward, we loaded up their pickup with my stuff and waited for Swearing in.
After a quick change into my awesome dress, we were off! Swearing in took place at the Embassy. That thing is a fortrace or castle. It is built to tokyo standards for earthquakes. It took a while to get in since everyone had to go through a metal detector and there was only one metal detector. That was kinda piss poor planning, but whatever. My host mom came too...that was kinda nice. The whole thing doesn´t take much more then and hour. First my boss spoke, then Michael Wise (director of Peace Corps in El Salvador) spoke about what we can expect and the difficulties ahead. This did little to calm my nerves. Then a local mayor spoke about what to come and the country as a whole. I won´t lie, I didn´t pay the most attention to his speach. It´s hard listening to that many speaches in spanish! Then one trainee spoke, Anne. She spoke exceptionally well and I´m glad we chose here. The funny thing with most of the speeches was that half the time was spent with the introduction and thanking varios people. There is definitly a format for how to give a speech here. The final one was by the Embassador. He seems like a nice guy, though his spanish is very, very weak.
After all that, the big moment had arrived. Michael Wise introduced each volunteer. I don´t think he got a single state correctly...apprently i´m from California. We each recieved a little diploma. Then we were sworn in together! It was really funny because the Ambassador mumbled. Something about enemies foreign and domestic. So, I didn´t say the oath perfectly so I´m not sure if i´m really a volunteer or not. All well...it´s all good. All who are going to send mail should note that it is now PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) and not PCT (Peace Corps Trainee).
After a quick meal my counterpart and mayor left. Then it was time to party.....sober style. Stupid medication. I recieved the sepurlative for most likly to sleep in the Peace Corps office....cause i´m sick all the time. errrrr. We then just all went to a local bar and partied it up. It was nice to meet the other munies and dance the night away. The music alternated between a live band (they weren´t bad, not fabulous, but not bad) and a dj. I only completed some of the missions assigned to me. Basically I sniffed a girls hair (yes..i have a pic), slapped some girls ass (no, I don´t have a pic) and other similar tasks. After a late night snack, i returned to the hostel and slept well.
It began on Tuesday with Bryan and Stephanie (directors of the municipal and youth development programs) coming. We basically went over the rules. We got our little manuels.
Wed was the fun day. This is when the people from the embassy came over to talk to us. My favorite was the security guy. His presentation was geared towards people who would be working in the embassy so he kept skipping over slides that didn´t apply to us....like the one that said ´never take public transportation.´ That one was great! Peace Corps Volunteers live on the buses. Though, I can see where he was coming from b/c one of the last buses i was on in San Salvador had it´s CV joints break. I know it was the CV joints because i recognized the sound. (PJ) I won´t go into some of the other interesting slides, mostly because they may actually scare some of ya. Otherwise they just talked about the politics and visas. Basically, to watch the politics and tell everyone that I have no idea about visas. Then we wrote letters to ourselves to open in two years. It´s wierd talking to yourself on purpose. I, of course, started my letter by saying that I hoped that I would be reading this in two years. Vamos a ver! After this...it was off to San Salvador!
That night we didn´t really do very much...except check out a local chinese restaurant (which wasn´t that bad) and a local bar. I, of course, couldn´t enjoy all the festivities because i was still on medication....dammit.
Thursday was the big day for two reasons: 1- i finally met my counterpart and mayor 2-swearing in!
The morning was counterpart day. God was I nervious. I began to wonder what in the world possesed me to give up my life and spend two years in a small town in the middle of nowhere. My people came a little late, but not to bad. They live on Salvadorean time to which i am suppose to become accostomed. We´ll see how that goes. My counterparts name is Yessani (sooo misspelled). She is the social promoter in the town. I was soo glad to see that I had a social promoter and that she is a she. My Mayor´s name is Don Justo. We basically just introduced ourselves and went through the morning. The meeting was just to reinforce what volunteers do and expectations. Afterward, we loaded up their pickup with my stuff and waited for Swearing in.
After a quick change into my awesome dress, we were off! Swearing in took place at the Embassy. That thing is a fortrace or castle. It is built to tokyo standards for earthquakes. It took a while to get in since everyone had to go through a metal detector and there was only one metal detector. That was kinda piss poor planning, but whatever. My host mom came too...that was kinda nice. The whole thing doesn´t take much more then and hour. First my boss spoke, then Michael Wise (director of Peace Corps in El Salvador) spoke about what we can expect and the difficulties ahead. This did little to calm my nerves. Then a local mayor spoke about what to come and the country as a whole. I won´t lie, I didn´t pay the most attention to his speach. It´s hard listening to that many speaches in spanish! Then one trainee spoke, Anne. She spoke exceptionally well and I´m glad we chose here. The funny thing with most of the speeches was that half the time was spent with the introduction and thanking varios people. There is definitly a format for how to give a speech here. The final one was by the Embassador. He seems like a nice guy, though his spanish is very, very weak.
After all that, the big moment had arrived. Michael Wise introduced each volunteer. I don´t think he got a single state correctly...apprently i´m from California. We each recieved a little diploma. Then we were sworn in together! It was really funny because the Ambassador mumbled. Something about enemies foreign and domestic. So, I didn´t say the oath perfectly so I´m not sure if i´m really a volunteer or not. All well...it´s all good. All who are going to send mail should note that it is now PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) and not PCT (Peace Corps Trainee).
After a quick meal my counterpart and mayor left. Then it was time to party.....sober style. Stupid medication. I recieved the sepurlative for most likly to sleep in the Peace Corps office....cause i´m sick all the time. errrrr. We then just all went to a local bar and partied it up. It was nice to meet the other munies and dance the night away. The music alternated between a live band (they weren´t bad, not fabulous, but not bad) and a dj. I only completed some of the missions assigned to me. Basically I sniffed a girls hair (yes..i have a pic), slapped some girls ass (no, I don´t have a pic) and other similar tasks. After a late night snack, i returned to the hostel and slept well.
Interesting Week Part I: Leaving My Host Fam
Alright, so after dengue I only had about four days left with my host family. It was kinda wierd to return after a week and a half of not being there, but all went well.
On Saturday... I think about the 12th of August, we had a family fiesta for all the trainee´s families and that´s where I met back up with them. It was just a nice day of chillin and seeing who lived with who. You know, put a face to all the stories. We also made (by we I mean two trainess, not me) chili. It was funny to see who liked it and who didn´t. I can´t say any Salvadorans fully appreciated the corn bread. In a way, it was a little bit of revenge for all the food we had to eat. Bwa ha ha ha ha! I was a little sad that I didn´t get to beat up the pinata...the little kids got that privilage.
Sunday came along and a bunch of us went to Ilabasco, an artisan village. We just walked through and picked up some stuff. I got a wind chime type of thing made of bells (for whenever I get my own place) and a cross for my host family. While walking we all agreed that we were ready to move out and finally become volunteers. That night we (host fam and I) were suppose to go get pupusas for dinner (pupusas are tortillas filled with either beans, cheese, cheese combos with different veggies or pork combos). I really wasn´t interested, so thank God we went to Pollo Camparo (kinda like KFC). Of corse I didn´t order the right thing...so my host mother gave me a dirty look...but whatever! I was breaking free in two days.
Monday just came and went....nothing too much happened.
Tuesday was my final night there. It was bitter sweet. We finally went out for pupusas in a nearby canton (small, small town) and they were actually pretty good. Maybe b/c they were really hot. Everything tastes better here when it´s hot. I had also brought home a cake so we had that for dessert. It was kinda funny, I was like...lets have cake now and they were like...ohh Barbara wants to have the cake now. I´m not sure if they thought it was a presant for when I was gone or what. I found it humorus.
Wed morning and I was out of there! I gave hugs to everyone and promises to return (which i do intend to keep). It was kinda sad.
Now, the family was a very sweet family and I don´t want it to sound as if I´m ungratful for all that they did for me. Lord knows they watched out for me and tried to make me feel at home. It´s just, I felt like I was living back with my parents and all my siblings in one house and had to eat whatever they threw down in front of me. I did recommend them for another volunteer. Hopefully what they learned from me they can apply to the next volunteer.
On Saturday... I think about the 12th of August, we had a family fiesta for all the trainee´s families and that´s where I met back up with them. It was just a nice day of chillin and seeing who lived with who. You know, put a face to all the stories. We also made (by we I mean two trainess, not me) chili. It was funny to see who liked it and who didn´t. I can´t say any Salvadorans fully appreciated the corn bread. In a way, it was a little bit of revenge for all the food we had to eat. Bwa ha ha ha ha! I was a little sad that I didn´t get to beat up the pinata...the little kids got that privilage.
Sunday came along and a bunch of us went to Ilabasco, an artisan village. We just walked through and picked up some stuff. I got a wind chime type of thing made of bells (for whenever I get my own place) and a cross for my host family. While walking we all agreed that we were ready to move out and finally become volunteers. That night we (host fam and I) were suppose to go get pupusas for dinner (pupusas are tortillas filled with either beans, cheese, cheese combos with different veggies or pork combos). I really wasn´t interested, so thank God we went to Pollo Camparo (kinda like KFC). Of corse I didn´t order the right thing...so my host mother gave me a dirty look...but whatever! I was breaking free in two days.
Monday just came and went....nothing too much happened.
Tuesday was my final night there. It was bitter sweet. We finally went out for pupusas in a nearby canton (small, small town) and they were actually pretty good. Maybe b/c they were really hot. Everything tastes better here when it´s hot. I had also brought home a cake so we had that for dessert. It was kinda funny, I was like...lets have cake now and they were like...ohh Barbara wants to have the cake now. I´m not sure if they thought it was a presant for when I was gone or what. I found it humorus.
Wed morning and I was out of there! I gave hugs to everyone and promises to return (which i do intend to keep). It was kinda sad.
Now, the family was a very sweet family and I don´t want it to sound as if I´m ungratful for all that they did for me. Lord knows they watched out for me and tried to make me feel at home. It´s just, I felt like I was living back with my parents and all my siblings in one house and had to eat whatever they threw down in front of me. I did recommend them for another volunteer. Hopefully what they learned from me they can apply to the next volunteer.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
The site visit that never happened
So, yea....I was suppose to go on a site visit this week. Check out my housing options, meet my counterpart and figure out stuff for the next two years. That didn't happen. Me and my confirmed case of dengue wound up chillin in a hotel for a week. Now, I know what you're saying, 'what a rough life....livin in a hotel'. But really, this wasn't exactly a five star hotel. My room is right by the road....i love trucks. I also managed to get quite a lovely shock in the shower....literally. They use electric heaters and I reached up for something and got shocked. I spent the next five min in the shower standing very still.
But, thankfully I wasn't alone in my illness. Sam also was stuck in the dengue hotel. So far we've seen Pirates of the Carrabean and hit up a lovely italian restaurante. Our jefe, Bryan, also stopped by and took us out to dinner. It was really nice of him and quite comforting.
So, now I have less than a week of training to go. Hopefully, Sam and I will be healthy enough to return home tomorrow to our host families so that we can attend the family party on sat and start to get all of our stuff organized and packed for the big event! (Swearing in) Of corse, i'll be keeping my celebration to some nice soft beverages (coca cola).......to many drug interactions to risk anything else. I'll keep ya up to date.
But, thankfully I wasn't alone in my illness. Sam also was stuck in the dengue hotel. So far we've seen Pirates of the Carrabean and hit up a lovely italian restaurante. Our jefe, Bryan, also stopped by and took us out to dinner. It was really nice of him and quite comforting.
So, now I have less than a week of training to go. Hopefully, Sam and I will be healthy enough to return home tomorrow to our host families so that we can attend the family party on sat and start to get all of our stuff organized and packed for the big event! (Swearing in) Of corse, i'll be keeping my celebration to some nice soft beverages (coca cola).......to many drug interactions to risk anything else. I'll keep ya up to date.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
MY SITE!
I actually got this before my whole illness thing.....but now i have time to write about it. It´s gonna be quick. I´ll be located in the Department of Sonsonate!
If you want to know specifically where I will be, you´re gonna have to write! And no, not just post a question to my blog....write to my e-mail.
The Incredibly ill Ehlen aka the hospital part II
So, the friday before the hike up the volcano (see previous entry), I was diagnosed with another stomach thing...amebas to be precise (disease numero 4). There is nothing like the feeling of knowing some little thing is living and breeding in your stomach. Even with this knowledge, I climed up the volcano....what a stupid move.
Monday and Tuesday I felt horrible, but I figured it was b/c of the volcano...makes sense right. Climb when sick equals longer recovery. Then on Wed I broke out into a 103 - 104 degree fever with incredible joint pain. Knees, lower back, hips and a pounding headache. So I went to the training center and I called the nurse and she asked me if I wanted to come into the capitol or spend the night with my host family. I said with my host family. I then spent the afternoon in the training center in the a/c only to feel worse and worse. So, what wound up happening is I went back to my host family to pack some clothes and then was driven to the hospital.
The second time wasn´t so bad. This nurse was better at putting in the IV and drawing blood. The doctor came in, looked me over and said....I think you have dengue. Love tropical deseases. Feel free to research this desease before continuing with the blog. I didn´t sleep at all. The AC was on high, but I was still sweating up a storm. And there were no comfortable positions. It really sucked. I slowly got more comfortable the next day and finally slept thursday night. During this time, I also found out another trainee was in a few rooms over. Apparently he´s got it too. I´m not too surprised, we live in the same training community. I stopped in before I left for the hotel....he didn´t look so good.
I stayed in the hospital till Friday when they shipped me out to a hotel. No, not a five star. A little one that has ac and cable. The only problem is that when you are suspected of having dengue (i´ll talk about why suspected and not known in a sec), they put you in a seperate hotel from all other volunteers in town. They found when they put us all together, dengue kept being spread to the same people from the mosquitos. So, I´m basically by my- self aka quaranteened. (Cue violin in the backround). The trick to dengue...testing wise...is that it doesn´t show up on dengue tests until the desease has mostly run it´s course.
I´m now waiting to see whether I have dengue or a UTI (yes, another....but they are having trouble confirming this one as well...one came back positive, the other negative) or maybe I have both. Sweet.
So, now i´m chillin.....if anyone would like to write, please feel free. I don´t mind saying it´s a little hard right now.
Monday and Tuesday I felt horrible, but I figured it was b/c of the volcano...makes sense right. Climb when sick equals longer recovery. Then on Wed I broke out into a 103 - 104 degree fever with incredible joint pain. Knees, lower back, hips and a pounding headache. So I went to the training center and I called the nurse and she asked me if I wanted to come into the capitol or spend the night with my host family. I said with my host family. I then spent the afternoon in the training center in the a/c only to feel worse and worse. So, what wound up happening is I went back to my host family to pack some clothes and then was driven to the hospital.
The second time wasn´t so bad. This nurse was better at putting in the IV and drawing blood. The doctor came in, looked me over and said....I think you have dengue. Love tropical deseases. Feel free to research this desease before continuing with the blog. I didn´t sleep at all. The AC was on high, but I was still sweating up a storm. And there were no comfortable positions. It really sucked. I slowly got more comfortable the next day and finally slept thursday night. During this time, I also found out another trainee was in a few rooms over. Apparently he´s got it too. I´m not too surprised, we live in the same training community. I stopped in before I left for the hotel....he didn´t look so good.
I stayed in the hospital till Friday when they shipped me out to a hotel. No, not a five star. A little one that has ac and cable. The only problem is that when you are suspected of having dengue (i´ll talk about why suspected and not known in a sec), they put you in a seperate hotel from all other volunteers in town. They found when they put us all together, dengue kept being spread to the same people from the mosquitos. So, I´m basically by my- self aka quaranteened. (Cue violin in the backround). The trick to dengue...testing wise...is that it doesn´t show up on dengue tests until the desease has mostly run it´s course.
I´m now waiting to see whether I have dengue or a UTI (yes, another....but they are having trouble confirming this one as well...one came back positive, the other negative) or maybe I have both. Sweet.
So, now i´m chillin.....if anyone would like to write, please feel free. I don´t mind saying it´s a little hard right now.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Chichontepec (mountain of two breasts)
I can´t belive I climed all 2,180 meters.
That´s right, this little ehlen got up a huge ass volcano.
We started climbing at approximatly 6:45am and I didn´t reach the summit until noon! It was a bitch of a climb with some serious inclines. As usual, I started off with the first pack and slowly made my way to the back of the pack. For a good portion, I walked it alone. Everyone either walked faster or slower...alright 1 or 2 walked slower. It was mad scary when I walked alone since the path sometimes diverged and I had to guess which way to go. At one point I really felt lost, but then I looked down and found a footprint. It´s amazing how the littlest things can be so reassuring and that you find them when you need them. Though, sometimes it was nice walking alone. Otherwise, the person would be infront of me and turn the bend before me....then I would either here a ¨ohh hell¨laughter or a wimper.
After arriving at the top (Yes everyone..I made it to the top), I just plopped down and had a peanut butter sandwich...such a treat. I´m serious, they don´t really like peanut butter down here. Anyway, at the top is actually a military post. I believe they just rotate every week who stays up there. The guy was cool and showed some of us a different view (I wasn´t so inspired to move, so i didn´t see the view). After, we chilled on the helicopter pad. I also recieved/made some phone calls. I thought I would have better reception....being that I was sitting right next to a tower, but I guess it was the wrong company.
After about an hour, it was time to descende. It took about 3 and 1/2 hours to get back down that thing. Your legs get so tired that more of us fell on the way down then the way up. I must admit, the entire way down I kept saying to myself, ¨I can´t believe I climed the whole thing.¨ A girl also made me paranoid (and you know who you are!) that pervious trainee´s toes had turned black from the pressure of being forced into the front of the shoe. Thankfully, mine haven´t. The walk down was frustrating for mainly one reason. You would stop and look out over this beautiful view, breathtaking even....then you would realize that you were nowhere near being down the mountain.
After we all met up at the bottom it was time to head home. I got home, ate, showered and went to bed. I was exhausted.
Las Ruinas
Just a quick description about the ruins in El Salvador...they´re smaller then those in other countries, but still cool.
The first set we went to was just a few sites that were discovered when a company was constructing grain silos. It basically just consisted of some neat little family dwellings.
The second was called San Andres and actually consisted of some temples. Unfortunaly, you could not see them very well. First, they´re covered with some dirt/tarps for protection. Originally, the temples were covered in cement..¨the finest was to preserve them.´ Unfortuantly, this system allows water in but not out, so the temples are rotting from the inside out. What was cool to see was a staircase. It went down at least 20 feet. Or should I say it originally went up about 20ft. The area was covered in volcanic ash..a shit load of it. Is it bad that we played frisbee on acient lands? Or that they almost lost the frisbee in the ruins? Also in the site was a indigo plant. Yes...of a later decade. It just showed where they made indigo and how. It was very well preserved b/c of the volcanic ash. Hopefully, I´ll be able to upload fotos soon.
The first set we went to was just a few sites that were discovered when a company was constructing grain silos. It basically just consisted of some neat little family dwellings.
The second was called San Andres and actually consisted of some temples. Unfortunaly, you could not see them very well. First, they´re covered with some dirt/tarps for protection. Originally, the temples were covered in cement..¨the finest was to preserve them.´ Unfortuantly, this system allows water in but not out, so the temples are rotting from the inside out. What was cool to see was a staircase. It went down at least 20 feet. Or should I say it originally went up about 20ft. The area was covered in volcanic ash..a shit load of it. Is it bad that we played frisbee on acient lands? Or that they almost lost the frisbee in the ruins? Also in the site was a indigo plant. Yes...of a later decade. It just showed where they made indigo and how. It was very well preserved b/c of the volcanic ash. Hopefully, I´ll be able to upload fotos soon.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Gender Day
Real quick...this was a day that we explored gender roles in El Salvador...I only mention it to thank Barbara (the trainer) for lunch. She made this awesome meat sauce with spagetti and salad and garlic bread and three types of cake! It was to die for! So...thanks!
Oh...and gender roles are apparently going to make a huge impact on my service. More about this at a latter date.
Oh...and gender roles are apparently going to make a huge impact on my service. More about this at a latter date.
La Playa! (the beach)
If I closed my eyes it felt like I was on the beach in Montalk. There was a slight breeze to help with the strong sun and the sound of waves crashing in the backround....but let me start at the beginning.
After training on Friday we hopped onto the 'party bus' and crusied our way to the beach, actually an island named Tasajara. Once we got there we hopped (i know, we're doing a lot of hopping) onto the boats and made our way over to the island. Now, when we got there I took off my shoes when I got off the boat and walked around. There are fire ants on islands down here and they hurt. Really hurt. After a hearty dinner we just kinda chilled. There was a pier that extended over the water where we could watch an awesome lightening storm. No rain, no thunder....just lightening. When I went back to my room to get ready for bed, i found that ants (the evil variety) had invaded my bed. So, I and the girl I was splitting a bed with (there were two people per bed...what do you expect, we´re on a budget here) went on the hunt for a new room. Thankfully, we were takin in by another group....we just had to ignore the bats (no, not the sport quipment) that were flying around.
The next day was spend at the beach....at least the majority of it. After a fruit/granola bar breakfeast, we all ran off to go soak in the sun. To get to the beach with the waves (we were on the bay side of the island) you had to walk down this dirt path. It wasn´t so bad except when the mosquitos were waiting for you. You could just see them swarming around the person infront of you and you knew they were doing the same thing to you. When we got there, there we´re kids with horses offering rides. As tempting as it was...those horses looked really sketchy, as in probably having no training. So yes...i passed on the opportunity. I thus spent the morning playing freesby, body surfing (big ass waves) and just taking in the sun. It also included eating a peanut butter sandwich...sand included. This continued till lunch time. After being served a wonderful lunch, I read and chilled in the hammick for a while till the midday heat had subsided. Then it was back to the beach! More surfing (bigger ass waves) along with some quality sand castle construction. I also think i took a nap...it was all good. That night was the drinking night...sweet. There is nothing like chilling on a island with a cool breeze and a refreshing drink. But, it was also when Adrianna and Will announced their departure from Peace Corps. I haven´t mentioned them before, but they are a couple that lived in my training town with me....I´ll miss you guys!!
After sleeping in, i headed back to the beach on sunday. It went by so quickly! The waves were even larger...hard to believe...and it came to the point where I wasn´t even comfortable hanging out to far. After being pummlled and napping on the beach it was alas time to leave. Of corse they (the hostel) waited till then to spring additional charges on us and wouldn´t call the boat till we coughed it up. I hate it when shit like that happens at the end of a trip. It just leaves a sour taste in your mouth. When we got back to the main land more mosqitos were waiting and they were vicious! But that´s about it.
Overall...it was a sweet trip and I´m glad I went on it. A little less white and a little relaxed.
After training on Friday we hopped onto the 'party bus' and crusied our way to the beach, actually an island named Tasajara. Once we got there we hopped (i know, we're doing a lot of hopping) onto the boats and made our way over to the island. Now, when we got there I took off my shoes when I got off the boat and walked around. There are fire ants on islands down here and they hurt. Really hurt. After a hearty dinner we just kinda chilled. There was a pier that extended over the water where we could watch an awesome lightening storm. No rain, no thunder....just lightening. When I went back to my room to get ready for bed, i found that ants (the evil variety) had invaded my bed. So, I and the girl I was splitting a bed with (there were two people per bed...what do you expect, we´re on a budget here) went on the hunt for a new room. Thankfully, we were takin in by another group....we just had to ignore the bats (no, not the sport quipment) that were flying around.
The next day was spend at the beach....at least the majority of it. After a fruit/granola bar breakfeast, we all ran off to go soak in the sun. To get to the beach with the waves (we were on the bay side of the island) you had to walk down this dirt path. It wasn´t so bad except when the mosquitos were waiting for you. You could just see them swarming around the person infront of you and you knew they were doing the same thing to you. When we got there, there we´re kids with horses offering rides. As tempting as it was...those horses looked really sketchy, as in probably having no training. So yes...i passed on the opportunity. I thus spent the morning playing freesby, body surfing (big ass waves) and just taking in the sun. It also included eating a peanut butter sandwich...sand included. This continued till lunch time. After being served a wonderful lunch, I read and chilled in the hammick for a while till the midday heat had subsided. Then it was back to the beach! More surfing (bigger ass waves) along with some quality sand castle construction. I also think i took a nap...it was all good. That night was the drinking night...sweet. There is nothing like chilling on a island with a cool breeze and a refreshing drink. But, it was also when Adrianna and Will announced their departure from Peace Corps. I haven´t mentioned them before, but they are a couple that lived in my training town with me....I´ll miss you guys!!
After sleeping in, i headed back to the beach on sunday. It went by so quickly! The waves were even larger...hard to believe...and it came to the point where I wasn´t even comfortable hanging out to far. After being pummlled and napping on the beach it was alas time to leave. Of corse they (the hostel) waited till then to spring additional charges on us and wouldn´t call the boat till we coughed it up. I hate it when shit like that happens at the end of a trip. It just leaves a sour taste in your mouth. When we got back to the main land more mosqitos were waiting and they were vicious! But that´s about it.
Overall...it was a sweet trip and I´m glad I went on it. A little less white and a little relaxed.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Photos!
Alright...I finally got on top of the ball and organized my photos on Snapfish. In order to see them you will need to open an account...sorry. The good news is that the account is free...yey!
Copy and paste the link below to a new window:
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=276171153173328521/l=111162687/g=11114116/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
Hopefully this will work as planned.
Copy and paste the link below to a new window:
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=276171153173328521/l=111162687/g=11114116/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
Hopefully this will work as planned.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
side note
Hey
...if you don´t write your name at the bottom of posted messages, I don´t know who you are! I can make guesses.....but that could turn ugly. Otherwise, just e-mail me directly!
Hasta Luego!
Barbara
...if you don´t write your name at the bottom of posted messages, I don´t know who you are! I can make guesses.....but that could turn ugly. Otherwise, just e-mail me directly!
Hasta Luego!
Barbara
Field Based Training
FBT: Field Based Training... it´s basically when you and a bunch of other trainees go visit a volunteer at their site for a few days. A coordinator and a spanish teacher also accompany you.
We went and visited a volunteer named Nathan. He lives in a little pueblo in La Libertad where there are beautiful views and cool temperature. Basically, we were bitter.....all of us would love a site like that. Anyway, we arrived on Wed and immediatly started in on activities. Well...maybe not immediatly. We had a nice lunch, took a tour of the Alcaldia (mayor´s office), examined the distillilary in the office (I have an awesome photo of that) and then checkedout out where we would be living for the next few days. I wound up living with a nice family, along with the spanish teacher and Whitney (another trainee).
We then started in on our first project, trash pick-up with a bunch of students. I would say about 30 or more students came out to help pick up trash. We picked up so much, but it looked as if we hadn´t even made a dent. Also, kids would grab some bags of water to drink during the activity and then just toss them where we had just cleaned. It´s hard to change an ingrained habit. But Nathan did a good job of settling everyone down for a few minutes and giving a charla (presentation) about trash and it´s effects. I´ve heard that if you want to do a trash project you pretty much have to start when you arrive at your site if you hope to make a difference.
Next up on the list, Thursday, was painting a local basketball court. About 4 or 5 older students came out to help us paint. Nathan, and our two little supervisors would just randomly leave to go get supplies. At least that is what they said, I think it was to get us to work together without direction. It was hard work, but I think the court came out looking great. My only real problem was that the paint was oil based.....I still have some on me. Thankfully, the paint fight was between Nathan and a few students. He wound up eating paint....hehehe.
That night we checked out a local ADESCO meeting. ADESCOs are local self development groups. We asked them about their structure and what projects they were working on. Also their relationship with the local Alcaldia. These groups are suppose to remain apolitical...but apparently that is impossible. So they had some comments on the local mayor and his practices. I´m told this is quite common here.
Friday was el dia de las charlas or the day of presentations. In the morning we talked about communication with a bunch of 3rd graders. It turned out to be really fun. We mostly played games demonstrating the different kinds of communication. Telephone, Simon Says (person to group communication), giants/elves/wizards (like rock paper sissors, but in groups...group communication). On the whole, it went over really well. The second charla was meant for older kids who were on their school council...8th or 9th grade. It was a leadership charla. Unfortunatly, the principal invited all children council members....even those from the first and second grade. it was a grade mix of everyone. So, we tried to dumb down parts but keep it interesting. It actually didn´t go that badly.
After all that we just kinda chilled and invited all the families to dinner on the Peace Corps. It was nice to chit chat and get to meet the differt familes.
The following morning, we hiked up a hill.....well, not a hill, but not a mountain. All´s i know is that it was freaking steep. We checked out a cross that had been placed near the top and then headed back down. I was exhausted. I´m not sure how climbing the volcano is going to go in a few weeks.
Overall it was a good experience. I got to see how intergrated Nathan was in his site. I also got to see how frustrating some of the work of a volunteer can be. How does that song go...you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and you´ve got the facts of life? whatever.
We went and visited a volunteer named Nathan. He lives in a little pueblo in La Libertad where there are beautiful views and cool temperature. Basically, we were bitter.....all of us would love a site like that. Anyway, we arrived on Wed and immediatly started in on activities. Well...maybe not immediatly. We had a nice lunch, took a tour of the Alcaldia (mayor´s office), examined the distillilary in the office (I have an awesome photo of that) and then checkedout out where we would be living for the next few days. I wound up living with a nice family, along with the spanish teacher and Whitney (another trainee).
We then started in on our first project, trash pick-up with a bunch of students. I would say about 30 or more students came out to help pick up trash. We picked up so much, but it looked as if we hadn´t even made a dent. Also, kids would grab some bags of water to drink during the activity and then just toss them where we had just cleaned. It´s hard to change an ingrained habit. But Nathan did a good job of settling everyone down for a few minutes and giving a charla (presentation) about trash and it´s effects. I´ve heard that if you want to do a trash project you pretty much have to start when you arrive at your site if you hope to make a difference.
Next up on the list, Thursday, was painting a local basketball court. About 4 or 5 older students came out to help us paint. Nathan, and our two little supervisors would just randomly leave to go get supplies. At least that is what they said, I think it was to get us to work together without direction. It was hard work, but I think the court came out looking great. My only real problem was that the paint was oil based.....I still have some on me. Thankfully, the paint fight was between Nathan and a few students. He wound up eating paint....hehehe.
That night we checked out a local ADESCO meeting. ADESCOs are local self development groups. We asked them about their structure and what projects they were working on. Also their relationship with the local Alcaldia. These groups are suppose to remain apolitical...but apparently that is impossible. So they had some comments on the local mayor and his practices. I´m told this is quite common here.
Friday was el dia de las charlas or the day of presentations. In the morning we talked about communication with a bunch of 3rd graders. It turned out to be really fun. We mostly played games demonstrating the different kinds of communication. Telephone, Simon Says (person to group communication), giants/elves/wizards (like rock paper sissors, but in groups...group communication). On the whole, it went over really well. The second charla was meant for older kids who were on their school council...8th or 9th grade. It was a leadership charla. Unfortunatly, the principal invited all children council members....even those from the first and second grade. it was a grade mix of everyone. So, we tried to dumb down parts but keep it interesting. It actually didn´t go that badly.
After all that we just kinda chilled and invited all the families to dinner on the Peace Corps. It was nice to chit chat and get to meet the differt familes.
The following morning, we hiked up a hill.....well, not a hill, but not a mountain. All´s i know is that it was freaking steep. We checked out a cross that had been placed near the top and then headed back down. I was exhausted. I´m not sure how climbing the volcano is going to go in a few weeks.
Overall it was a good experience. I got to see how intergrated Nathan was in his site. I also got to see how frustrating some of the work of a volunteer can be. How does that song go...you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and you´ve got the facts of life? whatever.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Part III: And then I went to the hospital
After that wonderful shower, my headache really kicked in. Over the next couple of hours, I became more and more ill. I´m talking joint pain, fevers, body ache, chills and an unimaginable headache. So, as everyone else was enjoying their night of debauchery....I was dying in bed. Through I will say it was a very nice, soft bed. Finally, at about 11:45pm, I called the nurse on call. She instructed me that I should head over to the hospital. YEY! Angie and Erin accompanied me there. Along the way we got to see the ´night life´here. Nobody really stays out late here, not as safe to do so. Except that prostitute we saw, well....i think she was a prostitute. She was wearing tall heels and a bikini on a street corner, but maybe I shouldn't be so judge mental. The hospital wasn´t as sketchy as I thought it would be, nor was it to busy. My companions stayed with me until the doctor said I would have to spend the night. Surprisingly, the taxi waited for this information as well. This way, my amigas used the same, safe taxi. I guess he didn´t have that many other fairs going. So they headed back to the hotel while I got checked into the hospital. This was probably the most traumatic part of the whole experience. First of all...try never to get an IV while in El Salvador. It was extremely painful. I kept flinching and she kept saying she was done, but was she...no. She just kept going. I would have killed for one of those Red Cross volunteers. Next was them drawing blood. I swear it was one of those cartoon sized needles. She just stuck it in my other arm and drew out some blood. After all this trauma (and a little more since they had to weigh me), I finally was brought to my own room. I can´t say I slept to well, but at least it was cool and comfortable.
The next day was alright. It started off with the doctor telling me that I had a urinary tract infection. I was kinda hoping that it was something cooler then that, but apparently not. He also wanted to run some more tests and to stay in the hospital till Monday. I will not go into the size of the specimen cups, but lets just say they were less then adequate. I then spent the morning watching TV (they had english channels...the food network, HDTV and news). I also surfed for some shows that had subtitles, and weren´t daubed. I also tried to call home, but apparently the operator didn´t know how to place a call to the US. As you could imagine, this became very frustrating very quickly. Nobody at home knew I was ill, and I was alone in a scary hospital. Thankfully, Bryan (the guy in charge of us munis) came and visited me. He´s awesome! He brought me some poweraide, brought my bag and let me call home on his cell phone. He also just chilled and chatted for a while. Talking to my parents was such a relief.....though I think i charged my mom up a bit. Apparently she left some fun voice-mail´s for siblings who didn´t pick up their phones. She´s even going to send me a package! After them, my siblings/grandma/aunt called. After each one I felt a little better and regained some sense of humor. Some accused me of becoming ill for attention...........
Otherwise, I slept better and felt better that night.
Monday morning I was freed. They brought me to the office (where I wrote part I of this series) and gave me a certificate for the hostel. Apparently a lot of volunteers were sick, b/c that place was packed. I basically spent Monday watching movies and talking with volunteers. I also learned where the different food spots were. I miss flavorful food. I learned of scary bugs I hope never to encounter. Did you know there are tarantulas in El Salvador!! Anyway, after flipping my mattress, I slept well. (I had to flip it b/c a metal spring was poking through the other side.)
On Tuesday, I made it back to my host community...finally. The only fun part of the day was when Irma (the nurse) kept calling the hostel to see if I was there....the owner thought I had left and told her no. Apparently, this set her for quite a loop. She was calling everywhere! It was only when the owner came out and asked the girl next to me if Barbara was here was the truth discovered. Thus ended my exciting week!
It is due to this experience that I will be buying a cell phone muy pronto. I´ll make sure to send the number out to a lucky few. :oP
Part II: July 1st!
So, instead of celebrating July 4th, we celebrated July 1st...b/c it was on a weekend. All the trainees and a bunch of volunteers went to the American Society Fund Raiser an the Sharaton Hotel. It was awesome!
We arrived (Whitney, Andrea, and I) pretty early...I´d say around 10:30ish. We just sort of hung around the hotel. Watched some soccer (just enough to see Englad lose) and then chilled in a hotel room. A bunch of volunteers had reserved various rooms for the night and that´s where I threw my stuff.. At around 1ish, the Peace Corps Soccor Games began. It seems the teams are divided according to volunteer work....ie muni´s with muni´s, agroforesty with agroforesty.... I didn´t play, I had a pounding headache. So after watching/chating with a bunch of people, I headed back to the pool! It was huge! It even had a waterfall. Everyone pretty much spent the afternoon swimming, drinking and talking. Apparently I suck at marco polo. Dinner took forever to come, though I did throughly enjoy my hamburger and potato salad when it was served. I think it was overpriced..i know it was a fundraiser, but still! Maybe I´m just bitter that I didn´t win any of the raffle prizes. After dinner the training office decided to come and get us. 14 trainees decided it was too early to leave...so we booked ONE hotel room. How awesome it that! I took advantage of the shower....I must of taken one of the hottest showers of my life. It was beautiful.
It was after that shower that things went downhill for me......Part III: And then there was the hospital.
Monday, July 03, 2006
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
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!
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!
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. Otherwise, just chillin in El Salvador. ¡Hasta Luego!
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