Yes, I know…I haven’t written in a while. My mother has pointed this out quite a number of times. So, now I’ve posted a bunch of things! Start with the Independence Day one and work your way up to this one.
I guess I’ll start with what I’m up to. Not much. I think I’ll start teaching English in October as my first project. I figure it’ll help me get to know more people in the community. The youth group is still getting its act together. They’ve finally landed a youth house. They offered to let me live there. I told them the Peace Corps had some security regulations that prevented me from living in a place where 5 random guys would have the key to the place. They understood. Otherwise, I’m looking forward to working on the tourism stuff and artisans in the future.
I’ve managed to stay healthy! YEY! We’ll see how long it lasts… but I’m enjoying it while it does. If only I could get the mosquitoes to stop biting sooo much.
I’m looking into getting my own place. It looks like I will live in a one room house with a small backyard. But, it’s in the center of town near everyone I know. I think I’ll start moving in there next week. First I’ll have to scrub it out...ceiling to floor.
Side note; is it sad when you have more money in your bank account after joining Peace Corps then before? (Yup, my housing allowance is really adding up!)
And finally, no you can never escape them….Jahova´s witnesses. I like reading in my room with part of the door open (doors here have a backing...so the door can be shut but you can open the backing to let air and light in). That is where they spotted me. First it was just a small boy, then the older ones came. I initially thought they were just selling stuff door to door like a lot of people do down here…I was wrong. I also thought I was good, I just looked at them and said I didn’t understand (it was kinda funny, cause I did actually understand…how sweet is that). Finally, a true benefit from being a gringa! I also told them to wait as I went to get Iris to help me. She wouldn’t come and insisted I tell them no one was home. So, I went back and said I didn’t understand again and was sorry. They, of course, handed me a book that had their mission written in English. Damn. Eventually, I managed to get them to move on to the next house. Though, I think they may be coming back with an English bible…I’m worried.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Monday Monday
So, Monday was a good day. First, I learned I would be getting a new counterpart. I know that sounds mean...but the old one and I just didn’t click. She was kinda mean sometimes….laughing when I didn’t understand things and I never really felt included in the events. Heidy is different. We were working together with the youth before she became the social promoter and she’s cool. She has already taken me to a tourism meeting and a woman’s equality group meeting.
The other good news what that they are building a cell tower near by…maybe I can finally get some reception….without the scavenger hunt.
The other good news what that they are building a cell tower near by…maybe I can finally get some reception….without the scavenger hunt.
Homesickness
I think it began with getting a package from mom and dad. Or maybe the whole parade thing. It could have been the big cockroach in my bag that it took my a half an hour to kill with a broomstick. But any which way, I woke up Saturday homesick and in a funk. I was going to accompany my host sister to her parents’ house…but then I wasn’t feeling well either. So, I optioned for the stay at home, eat MandM´s, and drink tea philosophy. It turned out to be the better decision since my host sis got rained on and they had car trouble. On Sunday Rachael came to my rescue and we headed into Sonsonate for some Pizza Hut. Yes…Pizza Hut is now comfort food and considered high living. Eventually, after talking with the parents and siblings, I’ve managed to get my self out of my homesickness. I also had a good Monday.
Independence Month
September 15th is the official Independence Day here, but they pretty much celebrate all month. Now, before any of these celebrations, we would have to decorate the stage area in front of the town hall. So far, I think I’ve blown up at least 4 bags of balloons. I’m now able to blow up a bag without getting light headed or dizzy! Ohh...the talents I am acquiring!
It starts September 1st, obviously enough, with the opening celebrations. This basically consisted of the bands coming from the different schools and marching in a parade. When they got to the town hall, they stopped and had a little shin dig. This mainly consisted of the national anthem (which is really quite long), the oath (again, really long), some presentations and various speeches from various people. They then marched around town and that was the end of it.
Next came September 13th. This is when all the kindergarteners came out to march and play. It was really similar to the opening celebrations, only with younger people.
September 14th was torch day. In the evening about 15 students (those with good standing) ran from Sonsonate to my little neck of the woods in order to bring the independence flame to the town. I’m impressed because they ran for over an hour and a half…..up hill and down hill. I might try it next year just to get the t-shirt. Anyway, they brought it to the center of town and lit the torch located in front of the stage. Next came the usual…anthem, oath and speeches. I think this is my favorite of the activities.
Finally, September 15th! All the bands from all the schools came and marched to the center of town. Where the Mayor and everyone waited and watched. During this time, I got called to sit at the table of honor. I was initially just standing in the crowd enjoying myself…but then they spotted me. Not difficult, it was the easiest game of Where’s Waldo ever. So, I sat on stage with the Mayor, the Priest and the guy in charge of the Casa de Cultura (Culture House). I tried to look content and respectful. It’s hard, cause you don’t want to sit there smiling like an idiot but a pensive look makes you look sad. I’ll have to work on it. It was nice to see the presentations and the local dances. (I have some video of this actually since the girl who was using my camera accidentally turned it to video mode…..I also have video of peoples´ feet) After that I figured I was in the clear…not so. The table of honor then led the parade around town. I really felt kinda out there….on display if you will. It was a weird thing. I hid the rest of the day…well, as best as a sol gringa in a town can.
There is one more event to come….closing ceremonies. They are going to occur on September 29th. If you want a description….skip back to the second paragraph.
It starts September 1st, obviously enough, with the opening celebrations. This basically consisted of the bands coming from the different schools and marching in a parade. When they got to the town hall, they stopped and had a little shin dig. This mainly consisted of the national anthem (which is really quite long), the oath (again, really long), some presentations and various speeches from various people. They then marched around town and that was the end of it.
Next came September 13th. This is when all the kindergarteners came out to march and play. It was really similar to the opening celebrations, only with younger people.
September 14th was torch day. In the evening about 15 students (those with good standing) ran from Sonsonate to my little neck of the woods in order to bring the independence flame to the town. I’m impressed because they ran for over an hour and a half…..up hill and down hill. I might try it next year just to get the t-shirt. Anyway, they brought it to the center of town and lit the torch located in front of the stage. Next came the usual…anthem, oath and speeches. I think this is my favorite of the activities.
Finally, September 15th! All the bands from all the schools came and marched to the center of town. Where the Mayor and everyone waited and watched. During this time, I got called to sit at the table of honor. I was initially just standing in the crowd enjoying myself…but then they spotted me. Not difficult, it was the easiest game of Where’s Waldo ever. So, I sat on stage with the Mayor, the Priest and the guy in charge of the Casa de Cultura (Culture House). I tried to look content and respectful. It’s hard, cause you don’t want to sit there smiling like an idiot but a pensive look makes you look sad. I’ll have to work on it. It was nice to see the presentations and the local dances. (I have some video of this actually since the girl who was using my camera accidentally turned it to video mode…..I also have video of peoples´ feet) After that I figured I was in the clear…not so. The table of honor then led the parade around town. I really felt kinda out there….on display if you will. It was a weird thing. I hid the rest of the day…well, as best as a sol gringa in a town can.
There is one more event to come….closing ceremonies. They are going to occur on September 29th. If you want a description….skip back to the second paragraph.
Independence Month
September 15th is the official Independence Day here, but they pretty much celebrate all month. Now, before any of these celebrations, we would have to decorate the stage area in front of the town hall. So far, I think I’ve blown up at least 4 bags of balloons. I’m now able to blow up a bag without getting light headed or dizzy! Ohh...the talents I am acquiring!
It starts September 1st, obviously enough, with the opening celebrations. This basically consisted of the bands coming from the different schools and marching in a parade. When they got to the town hall, they stopped and had a little shin dig. This mainly consisted of the national anthem (which is really quite long), the oath (again, really long), some presentations and various speeches from various people. They then marched around town and that was the end of it.
Next came September 13th. This is when all the kindergarteners came out to march and play. It was really similar to the opening celebrations, only with younger people.
September 14th was torch day. In the evening about 15 students (those with good standing) ran from Sonsonate to my little neck of the woods in order to bring the independence flame to the town. I’m impressed because they ran for over an hour and a half…..up hill and down hill. I might try it next year just to get the t-shirt. Anyway, they brought it to the center of town and lit the torch located in front of the stage. Next came the usual…anthem, oath and speeches. I think this is my favorite of the activities.
Finally, September 15th! All the bands from all the schools came and marched to the center of town. Where the Mayor and everyone waited and watched. During this time, I got called to sit at the table of honor. I was initially just standing in the crowd enjoying myself…but then they spotted me. Not difficult, it was the easiest game of Where’s Waldo ever. So, I sat on stage with the Mayor, the Priest and the guy in charge of the Casa de Cultura (Culture House). I tried to look content and respectful. It’s hard, cause you don’t want to sit there smiling like an idiot but a pensive look makes you look sad. I’ll have to work on it. It was nice to see the presentations and the local dances. (I have some video of this actually since the girl who was using my camera accidentally turned it to video mode…..I also have video of peoples´ feet) After that I figured I was in the clear…not so. The table of honor then led the parade around town. I really felt kinda out there….on display if you will. It was a weird thing. I hid the rest of the day…well, as best as a sol gringa in a town can.
There is one more event to come….closing ceremonies. They are going to occur on September 29th. If you want a description….skip back to the second paragraph.
It starts September 1st, obviously enough, with the opening celebrations. This basically consisted of the bands coming from the different schools and marching in a parade. When they got to the town hall, they stopped and had a little shin dig. This mainly consisted of the national anthem (which is really quite long), the oath (again, really long), some presentations and various speeches from various people. They then marched around town and that was the end of it.
Next came September 13th. This is when all the kindergarteners came out to march and play. It was really similar to the opening celebrations, only with younger people.
September 14th was torch day. In the evening about 15 students (those with good standing) ran from Sonsonate to my little neck of the woods in order to bring the independence flame to the town. I’m impressed because they ran for over an hour and a half…..up hill and down hill. I might try it next year just to get the t-shirt. Anyway, they brought it to the center of town and lit the torch located in front of the stage. Next came the usual…anthem, oath and speeches. I think this is my favorite of the activities.
Finally, September 15th! All the bands from all the schools came and marched to the center of town. Where the Mayor and everyone waited and watched. During this time, I got called to sit at the table of honor. I was initially just standing in the crowd enjoying myself…but then they spotted me. Not difficult, it was the easiest game of Where’s Waldo ever. So, I sat on stage with the Mayor, the Priest and the guy in charge of the Casa de Cultura (Culture House). I tried to look content and respectful. It’s hard, cause you don’t want to sit there smiling like an idiot but a pensive look makes you look sad. I’ll have to work on it. It was nice to see the presentations and the local dances. (I have some video of this actually since the girl who was using my camera accidentally turned it to video mode…..I also have video of peoples´ feet) After that I figured I was in the clear…not so. The table of honor then led the parade around town. I really felt kinda out there….on display if you will. It was a weird thing. I hid the rest of the day…well, as best as a sol gringa in a town can.
There is one more event to come….closing ceremonies. They are going to occur on September 29th. If you want a description….skip back to the second paragraph.
Friday, September 08, 2006
What I've Been Up To
Hmmm....lets start with the youth group. So, I continue to just kinda follow along and go to the different meetings. The group is starting to form, but they need some more representatives from the different areas of town.
side note* my town had four cantones...which are the countryside areas. Places that may or may not have running water.
But, I am enjoying working with a girl named Heidy. She's a little younger then me but very friendly and helpful. So is the guy from Agape who is helping to organize the group along with two other groups from different towns. Last Wed we all went to Ataco to meet the group there, see how they had set everything up, like their youth center, and then play soccer. I didn't play......I wasn't willing to run out into the mud with the boys. The boys play rough here.
Next, I've made it a point to go visit all the cantons in my town/municipality. There are four in total, as mentioned above, and I'm visiting them with the Health Promotors. These are guys that go out to the families and check in on the kids and the houses. They put abate (kills mosquito larva) in the pilas (giant sinks), bring vaccinations to the kids and tries to help the local people live healthier lives. They really do amazing work and really are interested in how they can help their people. They do their best, but the conditions in the countryside are still very harsh. Kids run around half naked and dodge trash. You can tell the children are malnourished by their vacant stairs. I'll have to see if they have any projects going.
Finally, there is the softball team.....which is flopping a little bit. If I don't go...let's say cause I'm tired from hiking all day...Iris won't go. Then the next woman won't go b/c Iris isn't going...and so on and so forth. I'll make a mental note of this for future groups.
Otherwise, I just kinda hang around and try and get to know my village.
side note* my town had four cantones...which are the countryside areas. Places that may or may not have running water.
But, I am enjoying working with a girl named Heidy. She's a little younger then me but very friendly and helpful. So is the guy from Agape who is helping to organize the group along with two other groups from different towns. Last Wed we all went to Ataco to meet the group there, see how they had set everything up, like their youth center, and then play soccer. I didn't play......I wasn't willing to run out into the mud with the boys. The boys play rough here.
Next, I've made it a point to go visit all the cantons in my town/municipality. There are four in total, as mentioned above, and I'm visiting them with the Health Promotors. These are guys that go out to the families and check in on the kids and the houses. They put abate (kills mosquito larva) in the pilas (giant sinks), bring vaccinations to the kids and tries to help the local people live healthier lives. They really do amazing work and really are interested in how they can help their people. They do their best, but the conditions in the countryside are still very harsh. Kids run around half naked and dodge trash. You can tell the children are malnourished by their vacant stairs. I'll have to see if they have any projects going.
Finally, there is the softball team.....which is flopping a little bit. If I don't go...let's say cause I'm tired from hiking all day...Iris won't go. Then the next woman won't go b/c Iris isn't going...and so on and so forth. I'll make a mental note of this for future groups.
Otherwise, I just kinda hang around and try and get to know my village.
Small Stuff & Little Peculiarities
The small stuff is usually the good stuff.
For example, I was chillin in the Town Hall when the mailman came in. He went through his bag and pulled out some letters and a small package. Alls I could think was how awesome it would be if that package was for me......and it was! Thanks for the cookie mix Grandma!! We (meaning my host sister) cleaned out the oven (it was really sketchy) so we can make them.
Or how I finally bought myself a full size mosquito net so I can enjoy the full bed......maybe I'll splurge one day and get nice sheets and a sweet pillow. Though, I think I overpaid for the mosquito net, but it was worth it. It was funny to hear my host sister retell the story of how we bought it. She started by saying how much it was originally $22 and how it went to $18, but she bet we could've gotten it down to $15. In actuality it went like...sale's person $22, Iris would look at me and I would look at her and then the sale's woman to lower the price and we would repeat till we came to $18. But, I decided let her have her moment in the sun. Whatever.
Also, there are the storms. The place I'm at is actually two sets of houses set up parallel to each other with a yard in the center. The higher of the two houses has this beautiful view of a the countryside. I like to hang out up there in the hammock when there is a storm because the thunder and the lightening make quite a spectacular show. And most of the time our power survives it....so it's all good.
Then there is how my old host family wrote me a text message saying they missed me. So, I called them and they said how they were afraid I had forgotten them. And how excited they were to hear from me. I explained how impossible it was to forget them (from many standpoints) and I missed them too. I might head back out there way for the Festivales Patrinales for San Rafael in October. Just for a night or so.
The Peculiarities
There is this chicken. We (family I'm living with and I) don't even own it. But for some reason, it loves to come into the house and run around. It wouldn't be so bad, except that it shits in my room. It's done this twice so far and it if does it again I might just kill it myself. It's really funny when I'm sitting in my room and the curtain is closed, then I see it's shadow outlined on the curtain like some horror flick. But, since I'm not yet afraid of the chicken (no avian flu here) and chase it out of the house. Nothing like a good chicken run to get the blood going in the morning.
My other exercise consists of the broom bug fling. It seems bugs (like moths/cockroaches) like to die in the middle of my room for no apparent reason. So, I fling them out the front door with the broom....I must say I'm getting good distance now. Maybe it's because I'm achieving a nice arc. Who knows.
For example, I was chillin in the Town Hall when the mailman came in. He went through his bag and pulled out some letters and a small package. Alls I could think was how awesome it would be if that package was for me......and it was! Thanks for the cookie mix Grandma!! We (meaning my host sister) cleaned out the oven (it was really sketchy) so we can make them.
Or how I finally bought myself a full size mosquito net so I can enjoy the full bed......maybe I'll splurge one day and get nice sheets and a sweet pillow. Though, I think I overpaid for the mosquito net, but it was worth it. It was funny to hear my host sister retell the story of how we bought it. She started by saying how much it was originally $22 and how it went to $18, but she bet we could've gotten it down to $15. In actuality it went like...sale's person $22, Iris would look at me and I would look at her and then the sale's woman to lower the price and we would repeat till we came to $18. But, I decided let her have her moment in the sun. Whatever.
Also, there are the storms. The place I'm at is actually two sets of houses set up parallel to each other with a yard in the center. The higher of the two houses has this beautiful view of a the countryside. I like to hang out up there in the hammock when there is a storm because the thunder and the lightening make quite a spectacular show. And most of the time our power survives it....so it's all good.
Then there is how my old host family wrote me a text message saying they missed me. So, I called them and they said how they were afraid I had forgotten them. And how excited they were to hear from me. I explained how impossible it was to forget them (from many standpoints) and I missed them too. I might head back out there way for the Festivales Patrinales for San Rafael in October. Just for a night or so.
The Peculiarities
There is this chicken. We (family I'm living with and I) don't even own it. But for some reason, it loves to come into the house and run around. It wouldn't be so bad, except that it shits in my room. It's done this twice so far and it if does it again I might just kill it myself. It's really funny when I'm sitting in my room and the curtain is closed, then I see it's shadow outlined on the curtain like some horror flick. But, since I'm not yet afraid of the chicken (no avian flu here) and chase it out of the house. Nothing like a good chicken run to get the blood going in the morning.
My other exercise consists of the broom bug fling. It seems bugs (like moths/cockroaches) like to die in the middle of my room for no apparent reason. So, I fling them out the front door with the broom....I must say I'm getting good distance now. Maybe it's because I'm achieving a nice arc. Who knows.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Week One and a Half
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.
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.
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
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