Gotta read from the bottom entry up to the top - or it'll be all out of sequence.
Who likes reading out of sequence?
Sunday, April 29, 2007
The Week Back
This week – I was actually busy! Who knew that could happen.
Anyway, I spent a good part of the week setting up things for my presentations that were on Friday. I gave one presentation about gender equality and the other about adolescent pregnancy, though, on the second one I had a nurse come in to give the talk about birth control methods and the condom demonstration.
Thankfully, the groups were small – only 8 students in the morning and 8 in the afternoon. I find big groups hard to control. Especially since teachers like to leave while I’m giving the presentation – they take it as a break. This makes it difficult to maintain the students’ attention and present the material.
During the week, I also built the final fuel efficient stove. I was using some of the sugar mixture from the first stoves. But, it smelt as if some of the sugar had begun the process of fermentation. That stuff smelled incredible strong, it almost knocked me down. But hey, its all good. I’m also in the process of testing the stoves. So far, they seem to work. I’m not sure how much wood they save. There seems to be some concern about the distance of the pot from the fire. I don’t know.
I also got cornered by the Priest of the Church. Well, first he invited me to mass and then to talk afterward. What am I going to say, no? You have to go once the priest invites you. So, after mass, I went back to say hi. I had to wait for a few minutes…so I began to imagine him starting to question me about the homily. He didn’t, instead he asked why he had only seen me at mass for Christmas – damn. I explained that it was difficult for me to come to a 2 hour long mass because I can’t listen to Spanish for such a long period of time without getting lost. We then moved on to topics that were even more fun. He initially though that Peace Corps had something to do with the Peace Accords that had been signed in 1992 down here (to end the civil war). I explained that I had nothing to do with that and then explained what I was here for. He then started to ask for help with the Church, since it is in desperate need of repairs. Unfortunately, I can’t make it one of my projects since the we have to be a religious, as well as a political and things of that nature. Though, I’ll still see what I can do.
Anyway, I spent a good part of the week setting up things for my presentations that were on Friday. I gave one presentation about gender equality and the other about adolescent pregnancy, though, on the second one I had a nurse come in to give the talk about birth control methods and the condom demonstration.
Thankfully, the groups were small – only 8 students in the morning and 8 in the afternoon. I find big groups hard to control. Especially since teachers like to leave while I’m giving the presentation – they take it as a break. This makes it difficult to maintain the students’ attention and present the material.
During the week, I also built the final fuel efficient stove. I was using some of the sugar mixture from the first stoves. But, it smelt as if some of the sugar had begun the process of fermentation. That stuff smelled incredible strong, it almost knocked me down. But hey, its all good. I’m also in the process of testing the stoves. So far, they seem to work. I’m not sure how much wood they save. There seems to be some concern about the distance of the pot from the fire. I don’t know.
I also got cornered by the Priest of the Church. Well, first he invited me to mass and then to talk afterward. What am I going to say, no? You have to go once the priest invites you. So, after mass, I went back to say hi. I had to wait for a few minutes…so I began to imagine him starting to question me about the homily. He didn’t, instead he asked why he had only seen me at mass for Christmas – damn. I explained that it was difficult for me to come to a 2 hour long mass because I can’t listen to Spanish for such a long period of time without getting lost. We then moved on to topics that were even more fun. He initially though that Peace Corps had something to do with the Peace Accords that had been signed in 1992 down here (to end the civil war). I explained that I had nothing to do with that and then explained what I was here for. He then started to ask for help with the Church, since it is in desperate need of repairs. Unfortunately, I can’t make it one of my projects since the we have to be a religious, as well as a political and things of that nature. Though, I’ll still see what I can do.
Then we came back.....
After our wonderful stay at the Best Western….it was to the airport. Somehow, I’m not exactly sure how, Maryann got me on the plane.
It was a short ride to El Salvador.
We sat and had lunch in the airport before I got up to go. It was horribly hard to leave her there, doing her homework. Yup, it was ugly.
I slowly made my way through customs – cause there was a huge line – got my bags, and hopped on a $3 shuttle.
Thankfully, that night there were a whole lot of volunteers at the Estancia. So, I wasn’t alone, but had to guard my toblerone from theft.
Sunday I went back to my site and saw Iris – who promptly fed me lunch…she is just so good. She also called the muchacha to come and was clothes for me. Of which I had a lot – it’s rough robbing Maryann of her clothes.
The other good thing was that I had a busy week…those can be lifesavers sometimes.
It was a short ride to El Salvador.
We sat and had lunch in the airport before I got up to go. It was horribly hard to leave her there, doing her homework. Yup, it was ugly.
I slowly made my way through customs – cause there was a huge line – got my bags, and hopped on a $3 shuttle.
Thankfully, that night there were a whole lot of volunteers at the Estancia. So, I wasn’t alone, but had to guard my toblerone from theft.
Sunday I went back to my site and saw Iris – who promptly fed me lunch…she is just so good. She also called the muchacha to come and was clothes for me. Of which I had a lot – it’s rough robbing Maryann of her clothes.
The other good thing was that I had a busy week…those can be lifesavers sometimes.
Rafting
So, I believe that brings us to the 18th. Maryann and I got to the hotel around 8pmish. It was good for what we wanted it for, a place to sleep for a few hours before our next days activities. Plus, I was able to get us a Peace Corps discount – since that is the hotel the volunteers use. Otherwise, it was a pretty run down place.
Our final activity of an amazing trip was river rafting. They picked us up at 6:30am and took us to their business center, which is about 2 hours away from the capitol. Apparently, we went through three different types of forest – a cloud, a rain and another type that I can’t remember. I love it when tour companies try and sell the bus trip as part of the adventure. It’s not, it’s a bus trip – get over it.
Anywho, the trip was broken up between those who were there for two days and those who were going to do it all in one day. We were part of the first group. We were paired up with a pair from Salt Lake City and a prankster guide. The other two couples on the trip were very obviously from the hard core business sector. It was fun talking to them.
Anyway, we paddled until 3 or 4pm. We made stops for lunch, waterfalls and cool pools. The rapids weren’t to bad, since they are still in the dry season. Though, you could tell when a big rapid was coming up since the photographer would paddle up ahead.
We pulled in the lodge and just chilled for a little while. Maryann and I checked out small pools and waterfalls before finally succumbing to the call of the hammocks.
That night everyone crashed early. We ate a fabulous dinner – they even prepared me tuna instead of beans since they found out about my bean problem. Afterward, I proceeded to beat the photographer at 4 out of 5 rounds of connect five. He assord me he was letting me win out of courtesy.
The next morning was started with a wonderful breakfast – I even helped a guy out who h a type of bee land in his syrup….he wasn’t so pleased. Otherwise, we had a hike up to a water slide. The water was definitely cooler up there. It was a fun little slide, but I think we were more interested in continuing down the river. It was at this little waterfall that I realized that I had failed to put my contacts in. So, Maryann being the wonderful sister she is, fastened a glasses stabilizer system out of medical tape…it’s a shame we don’t have photographic evidence.
Anyway, we paddled our butts off and had a great time doing it. I randomly got knocked off the boat, and our guide had us paddle head first into a very large rock. We believed right to the very end that he would turn us…he didn’t. Maryann and I thought it was hilarious, the others not so much. Maryann and I also got a ride from the kayaker when we fell to far behind our boat. Yup…he had to work hard to get us back – because of the life vests of course.
At the end, we all piled back on the bus for the ride back to the center for some lunch. It was a good lunch. Then they gave us rides back to our hotels. Maryann and I switched hotels and went to the Best Western – which turned out to be a great idea. It had a free shuttle service to the airport, a free happy hour and free internet. Score!
I celebrated my last night with a hot bath, a steak dinner and the theft of Maryann’s stuff. Bwa ha ha ha ha.
Our final activity of an amazing trip was river rafting. They picked us up at 6:30am and took us to their business center, which is about 2 hours away from the capitol. Apparently, we went through three different types of forest – a cloud, a rain and another type that I can’t remember. I love it when tour companies try and sell the bus trip as part of the adventure. It’s not, it’s a bus trip – get over it.
Anywho, the trip was broken up between those who were there for two days and those who were going to do it all in one day. We were part of the first group. We were paired up with a pair from Salt Lake City and a prankster guide. The other two couples on the trip were very obviously from the hard core business sector. It was fun talking to them.
Anyway, we paddled until 3 or 4pm. We made stops for lunch, waterfalls and cool pools. The rapids weren’t to bad, since they are still in the dry season. Though, you could tell when a big rapid was coming up since the photographer would paddle up ahead.
We pulled in the lodge and just chilled for a little while. Maryann and I checked out small pools and waterfalls before finally succumbing to the call of the hammocks.
That night everyone crashed early. We ate a fabulous dinner – they even prepared me tuna instead of beans since they found out about my bean problem. Afterward, I proceeded to beat the photographer at 4 out of 5 rounds of connect five. He assord me he was letting me win out of courtesy.
The next morning was started with a wonderful breakfast – I even helped a guy out who h a type of bee land in his syrup….he wasn’t so pleased. Otherwise, we had a hike up to a water slide. The water was definitely cooler up there. It was a fun little slide, but I think we were more interested in continuing down the river. It was at this little waterfall that I realized that I had failed to put my contacts in. So, Maryann being the wonderful sister she is, fastened a glasses stabilizer system out of medical tape…it’s a shame we don’t have photographic evidence.
Anyway, we paddled our butts off and had a great time doing it. I randomly got knocked off the boat, and our guide had us paddle head first into a very large rock. We believed right to the very end that he would turn us…he didn’t. Maryann and I thought it was hilarious, the others not so much. Maryann and I also got a ride from the kayaker when we fell to far behind our boat. Yup…he had to work hard to get us back – because of the life vests of course.
At the end, we all piled back on the bus for the ride back to the center for some lunch. It was a good lunch. Then they gave us rides back to our hotels. Maryann and I switched hotels and went to the Best Western – which turned out to be a great idea. It had a free shuttle service to the airport, a free happy hour and free internet. Score!
I celebrated my last night with a hot bath, a steak dinner and the theft of Maryann’s stuff. Bwa ha ha ha ha.
Diving in Playa Hermosa
So, to actually get to the beautiful Playa Hermosa, Maryann took this shuttle service. Which, granted, was a little more expensive then the public buses, but if we were to take those we would have had to go all the way back to the capitol and then out to the beach – a long ride, practically all day. So, we took the 5 hour option that included door to door service and a snack! Yey!
Playa Hermosa is a beach that is just really starting to take off as a tourist destination – it’s not there yet, but getting there. Our beautiful hotel was located right on the beach and had a good restaurant. Around the area were a few more hotels being constructed. We got there sort of late, so it was just an evening of a wonderful dinner (I had the filet minion – it was good) and to bed.
Now, the whole reason we chose to come to this particular beach was for diving. So, early Sunday morning we headed over to the dive shop. I didn’t have my certification card on me because directing my family where to search through my things back in the US didn’t quite work out. Normally, this isn’t a problem because they can look these thing up on line – the web site was down on Sunday morning. So, we missed out on morning diving but got it in time for the afternoon dive. We weren’t thrilled about that, but such is life. We went snorkeling, or tried to, along the beach instead. Two minutes after getting into the water, my goggles self-destructed. Seriously, I’m talking about lens popping out and rubber coming undone – I’m a little agitated about this cause they were suppose to be good goggles and I had only used them a hand full of times.
Anyhow, the afternoon dive was beautiful. It was a spot called Argentina. We met a nice pair of friends diving, whom would soon become our dive buddies. I won’t go into all the cool stuff we saw – including a sea horse, but just know it was cool. My only problem during all the dives was seasickness – I didn’t get it while the boat was moving, it was only when the boat stopped that things turned ugly.
Once we got back, we showered and just recouped – diving can be very tiring – with the pulling on of the dive suit, the tanks, the currents and getting back in that stupid boat. It was then off to a wonderful little restaurant. Unfortunately, this little restaurant was about a 15 minute walk away….in the dark. But the food was amazing.
Then it was Monday. We met our dive buddies on the beach around 8:30ish to go off to a dive site that was approximately 45 minutes away, but well worth it. On our way out, we got to see a pack of dolphins jumping out of the water and riding the waves just below the surface. It was really cool to see. We also saw packs of sting rays? Well…one type of ray. The dive site was beautiful. There were white tip sharks, huge manta rays, sea turtles, and many lively fish. And the currents were incredible. Everyone was just flying back in forth in unison under the water. It was a two-tank trip, meaning we got to make two dives. It was ugly between those dives…I felt incredibly ill. But I tell you, once I was a foot or two under the water – I felt fine.
Since we got back late from that dive trip, we couldn’t hit up the afternoon, which was fine by me cause I was exhausted. I think we just spent the afternoon chilling at the dive shop, reading on the beach, and just relaxing. It was nice.
For dinner, we headed back to the phenomenal restaurant – but this time we avoided the dark beach and hit up the even sketchier streets. Halfway though our walk, we met up with a random guy from the US who had just gotten to the beach and was looking for a place to eat. We invited him along – figuring if anyone attacked us we would throw him in front – and continued on our way. He turned out to be a nice guy taking a vacation before starting a new job.
Then, came our last diving day, Tuesday. We didn’t really enjoy these two dives. We didn’t have our dive buddies, the water was cold, visibility was nothing and the people we went diving with weren’t all that. It was good to get the experience, but still. I guess nothing could honestly follow up the previous days diving.
That afternoon, we chilled at our hotel until our dive buddies stopped by and invited us to their hotel for some drink and monkey viewing. There weren’t any monkeys, but there was a nice strawberry daiquiri. We just watched a beautiful sunset and then headed back to the hotel for dinner – neither us really wanted to hike it to any other place.
We actually ate dinner with a nice couple who was celebrating their anniversary. We’d been talking to them all week, and finally sat down with them. They are a couple who knew just how to pick on each other.
The next day was more or less a traveling day. The morning was spent on the beach and the afternoon in a shuttle bus.
Playa Hermosa is a beach that is just really starting to take off as a tourist destination – it’s not there yet, but getting there. Our beautiful hotel was located right on the beach and had a good restaurant. Around the area were a few more hotels being constructed. We got there sort of late, so it was just an evening of a wonderful dinner (I had the filet minion – it was good) and to bed.
Now, the whole reason we chose to come to this particular beach was for diving. So, early Sunday morning we headed over to the dive shop. I didn’t have my certification card on me because directing my family where to search through my things back in the US didn’t quite work out. Normally, this isn’t a problem because they can look these thing up on line – the web site was down on Sunday morning. So, we missed out on morning diving but got it in time for the afternoon dive. We weren’t thrilled about that, but such is life. We went snorkeling, or tried to, along the beach instead. Two minutes after getting into the water, my goggles self-destructed. Seriously, I’m talking about lens popping out and rubber coming undone – I’m a little agitated about this cause they were suppose to be good goggles and I had only used them a hand full of times.
Anyhow, the afternoon dive was beautiful. It was a spot called Argentina. We met a nice pair of friends diving, whom would soon become our dive buddies. I won’t go into all the cool stuff we saw – including a sea horse, but just know it was cool. My only problem during all the dives was seasickness – I didn’t get it while the boat was moving, it was only when the boat stopped that things turned ugly.
Once we got back, we showered and just recouped – diving can be very tiring – with the pulling on of the dive suit, the tanks, the currents and getting back in that stupid boat. It was then off to a wonderful little restaurant. Unfortunately, this little restaurant was about a 15 minute walk away….in the dark. But the food was amazing.
Then it was Monday. We met our dive buddies on the beach around 8:30ish to go off to a dive site that was approximately 45 minutes away, but well worth it. On our way out, we got to see a pack of dolphins jumping out of the water and riding the waves just below the surface. It was really cool to see. We also saw packs of sting rays? Well…one type of ray. The dive site was beautiful. There were white tip sharks, huge manta rays, sea turtles, and many lively fish. And the currents were incredible. Everyone was just flying back in forth in unison under the water. It was a two-tank trip, meaning we got to make two dives. It was ugly between those dives…I felt incredibly ill. But I tell you, once I was a foot or two under the water – I felt fine.
Since we got back late from that dive trip, we couldn’t hit up the afternoon, which was fine by me cause I was exhausted. I think we just spent the afternoon chilling at the dive shop, reading on the beach, and just relaxing. It was nice.
For dinner, we headed back to the phenomenal restaurant – but this time we avoided the dark beach and hit up the even sketchier streets. Halfway though our walk, we met up with a random guy from the US who had just gotten to the beach and was looking for a place to eat. We invited him along – figuring if anyone attacked us we would throw him in front – and continued on our way. He turned out to be a nice guy taking a vacation before starting a new job.
Then, came our last diving day, Tuesday. We didn’t really enjoy these two dives. We didn’t have our dive buddies, the water was cold, visibility was nothing and the people we went diving with weren’t all that. It was good to get the experience, but still. I guess nothing could honestly follow up the previous days diving.
That afternoon, we chilled at our hotel until our dive buddies stopped by and invited us to their hotel for some drink and monkey viewing. There weren’t any monkeys, but there was a nice strawberry daiquiri. We just watched a beautiful sunset and then headed back to the hotel for dinner – neither us really wanted to hike it to any other place.
We actually ate dinner with a nice couple who was celebrating their anniversary. We’d been talking to them all week, and finally sat down with them. They are a couple who knew just how to pick on each other.
The next day was more or less a traveling day. The morning was spent on the beach and the afternoon in a shuttle bus.
Arenal/Fortuna – First Stop
Wednesday morning, Maryann and I hoped into the Alcaldia’s pick up and got a ride to the airport. We were off to Costa Rica!
After we landed, we hoped a cab to the bus terminal to pick up the bus for San Carlso – where we hoped to catch the next bus to La Fortuna. It looked like we were gonna make it since we cached the 3:30pm special. Specials don’t stop as often as the regular buses. Unfortunately – fogged stopped any chance of that happening. We got there 5 minutes to late. But, instead of waiting two hours for the next bus….we hopped a taxi. The guy did the job off the meter….but I think he underestimated how far he would actually of had to go, so, he screwed himself a little bit on that one.
Anyway, we got to the hotel around 8ish? We checked into our beautiful room and then went and got dinner – cause we were famished. The hotels restaurant wasn’t that bad. After all that eating fun – we went back to a room full of ants. Mostly in the bathroom – but big guys. So, we opted to call the front desk and change rooms. This turned out to be great for two reasons – one being that there were no ants in the second room and the second being that the back area of the room had a phenomenal view of the volcano.
That brings us to Thursday when we went cannoning in the morning. That’s when you repel down sides of rocks next to water – or at least that’s how it was for us. It started off a little rocky since my stomach decided that vacation was when it didn’t want to feel well – but then everything settle in time for the first repel. I believe we did a total of about 5 repels with a group of about 8 or 10 people. It was a fun time of getting wet and learning a new skill – I should get a Girl Scout patch or something. The repelling even came with lunch! That is where we met the owner of the business. She was an American and a little over eager. It was funny to see and a little annoying when she got pushy. Maryann and I soon noticed a trend – if an American owned the business - there was always a release form to sign, but if a Costa Rican owned it – there wasn’t.
After all the fun of the morning, we just chilled in the afternoon. Or should I say that I just chilled in the afternoon? Maryann had to do some homework. I checked out the natural spring pools and the spa – who doesn’t love a late afternoon massage? I had quite a number of knots in need of some work. And then both of us hit up a nice steak dinner. I miss good steak. You know – a piece where you don’t have to cut with the grain of the meat and it doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through. It was wonderful.
Friday was a packed day – we’re not about lazy vacations apparently. In the morning, we went caving (or spelunking for those of you in on the vocab). We had the fortune of being the only two people who had signed up for the tour that morning. I’ll get into why this was fortunate later. Anyway, we got there and found out this wasn’t a cave overly touristy – you still needed to wear helmets with the lights on top. We hiked through and checked out the rather large spiders, the different bats and the beautiful rock formations. And since it was just the two of us and the guide – we got to go check out smaller and less visited areas. Of course, this included me crawling 20 feet on my stomach through a rather small opening – thank God, I’m not claustrophobic. Other fun included getting hit on the head with a stick a few times. Explanation – before crawling through a small opening, the guide advised us to keep our heads low until we were sure we had cleared the rocks above. So, I go crawling through and lift my head and whack it into the rock (don’t worry, I have a helmet on)…I then crawl a little farther and do the same thing. I then look up and see the guide was whacking us on the head every time we lifted our heads. What a sick joke that Maryann and I found hilarious. We then made our way out of the cave via the crawl and when back to their center. They then asked us to help film a short thing explaining why it is best if you don’t bring your camera and let them take the pictures…which was true since it was wet and dark. We’re still waiting to get that film back.
The afternoon was a nicely relaxing one. We hung out at our pools till 3 or 4ish and then headed into town for some food. It was really good – I love rotisserie chicken. The town itself was nice to check out. They had some little shops and a town center. Around 5ish we hopped a taxi to take us to some other natural springs. We went later in order to get the lower price and enjoy the hot water when it was cool out and not while it was boiling out. This springs are naturally heated by the volcano. They had springs of various temperatures. We, personally, staked out a spot where a seat had been formed and the hot water could come crashing down your back. It was wonderful. We spent a few hours just chilling in the hot water and switching pools. We also spent time being lost. Those pathways were very confusing. And once we were done – it was on to the dessert bar. That’s right – tiramisu, mousse, melted chocolate/caramel – all a little piece of heaven.
Then is was Saturday – our last day there or least half day. We woke up and got our free breakfast. Then it was off to the hotel zip lines. Zip lines are lines that have been strung between two large trees. You connect on and fly down the line. I seemed to have trouble stopping and thus got the reputation of hitting trees. I want to clarify that I never actually hit a tree – I just came in a little quick. After the first few, I’m waiting at the next platform and look over just in time to see Maryann in the superman position flying down this line (with the help of one of the guides). I was like – that is so typical. The next line she went down upside-down. When they saw I was jealous, I got to do it too. I must say, it helps to be two single girls vacationing – cause the guides weren’t gonna do that with the girls who’s boyfriends were standing right next to them. Hehehe.
Alas, that brought to an end our adventures at Fortuna. We hopped on a shuttle bus headed for La Playa Hermosa.
After we landed, we hoped a cab to the bus terminal to pick up the bus for San Carlso – where we hoped to catch the next bus to La Fortuna. It looked like we were gonna make it since we cached the 3:30pm special. Specials don’t stop as often as the regular buses. Unfortunately – fogged stopped any chance of that happening. We got there 5 minutes to late. But, instead of waiting two hours for the next bus….we hopped a taxi. The guy did the job off the meter….but I think he underestimated how far he would actually of had to go, so, he screwed himself a little bit on that one.
Anyway, we got to the hotel around 8ish? We checked into our beautiful room and then went and got dinner – cause we were famished. The hotels restaurant wasn’t that bad. After all that eating fun – we went back to a room full of ants. Mostly in the bathroom – but big guys. So, we opted to call the front desk and change rooms. This turned out to be great for two reasons – one being that there were no ants in the second room and the second being that the back area of the room had a phenomenal view of the volcano.
That brings us to Thursday when we went cannoning in the morning. That’s when you repel down sides of rocks next to water – or at least that’s how it was for us. It started off a little rocky since my stomach decided that vacation was when it didn’t want to feel well – but then everything settle in time for the first repel. I believe we did a total of about 5 repels with a group of about 8 or 10 people. It was a fun time of getting wet and learning a new skill – I should get a Girl Scout patch or something. The repelling even came with lunch! That is where we met the owner of the business. She was an American and a little over eager. It was funny to see and a little annoying when she got pushy. Maryann and I soon noticed a trend – if an American owned the business - there was always a release form to sign, but if a Costa Rican owned it – there wasn’t.
After all the fun of the morning, we just chilled in the afternoon. Or should I say that I just chilled in the afternoon? Maryann had to do some homework. I checked out the natural spring pools and the spa – who doesn’t love a late afternoon massage? I had quite a number of knots in need of some work. And then both of us hit up a nice steak dinner. I miss good steak. You know – a piece where you don’t have to cut with the grain of the meat and it doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through. It was wonderful.
Friday was a packed day – we’re not about lazy vacations apparently. In the morning, we went caving (or spelunking for those of you in on the vocab). We had the fortune of being the only two people who had signed up for the tour that morning. I’ll get into why this was fortunate later. Anyway, we got there and found out this wasn’t a cave overly touristy – you still needed to wear helmets with the lights on top. We hiked through and checked out the rather large spiders, the different bats and the beautiful rock formations. And since it was just the two of us and the guide – we got to go check out smaller and less visited areas. Of course, this included me crawling 20 feet on my stomach through a rather small opening – thank God, I’m not claustrophobic. Other fun included getting hit on the head with a stick a few times. Explanation – before crawling through a small opening, the guide advised us to keep our heads low until we were sure we had cleared the rocks above. So, I go crawling through and lift my head and whack it into the rock (don’t worry, I have a helmet on)…I then crawl a little farther and do the same thing. I then look up and see the guide was whacking us on the head every time we lifted our heads. What a sick joke that Maryann and I found hilarious. We then made our way out of the cave via the crawl and when back to their center. They then asked us to help film a short thing explaining why it is best if you don’t bring your camera and let them take the pictures…which was true since it was wet and dark. We’re still waiting to get that film back.
The afternoon was a nicely relaxing one. We hung out at our pools till 3 or 4ish and then headed into town for some food. It was really good – I love rotisserie chicken. The town itself was nice to check out. They had some little shops and a town center. Around 5ish we hopped a taxi to take us to some other natural springs. We went later in order to get the lower price and enjoy the hot water when it was cool out and not while it was boiling out. This springs are naturally heated by the volcano. They had springs of various temperatures. We, personally, staked out a spot where a seat had been formed and the hot water could come crashing down your back. It was wonderful. We spent a few hours just chilling in the hot water and switching pools. We also spent time being lost. Those pathways were very confusing. And once we were done – it was on to the dessert bar. That’s right – tiramisu, mousse, melted chocolate/caramel – all a little piece of heaven.
Then is was Saturday – our last day there or least half day. We woke up and got our free breakfast. Then it was off to the hotel zip lines. Zip lines are lines that have been strung between two large trees. You connect on and fly down the line. I seemed to have trouble stopping and thus got the reputation of hitting trees. I want to clarify that I never actually hit a tree – I just came in a little quick. After the first few, I’m waiting at the next platform and look over just in time to see Maryann in the superman position flying down this line (with the help of one of the guides). I was like – that is so typical. The next line she went down upside-down. When they saw I was jealous, I got to do it too. I must say, it helps to be two single girls vacationing – cause the guides weren’t gonna do that with the girls who’s boyfriends were standing right next to them. Hehehe.
Alas, that brought to an end our adventures at Fortuna. We hopped on a shuttle bus headed for La Playa Hermosa.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Maryann & El Salvador
My wonderful sister few down on April 8th (Easter) for a visit and vacation. I actually went into the capitol on the 7th since her flight was coming in early on the 8th – I then failed to sleep that night for paranoia that I would oversleep and fail to pick her up. I’m guessing nobody is too surprised by that. Anyway, I got to the airport early and waited for her to arrive. She came out and promptly went in the other direction from where I was waiting. After a brief yell – she was back on track.
We immediately hoped into a taxi and left for the western bus terminal – that’s right…I made my sister get on the chicken bus. Alright, the first bus wasn’t a chicken bus…but the second one was. She got good experiences on both buses. The first because there was a little girl that kept wanting to touch her hair and who’s mother was asleep – so nobody could stop her. I was of course paranoid the entire time that our luggage would get ‘lost’ during the ride or transferring between rides.
So, we arrived in my little pueblito at about 12:30. I immediately brought her over to Iris and Sonia’s houses – neither of whom was home. Then we picked up food for lunch and eggs to dye for Easter. (I won’t mention how my sister forgot to bring down my Easter box – but she did manage to bring down a chocolate bunny….thanks Tory!) So, during this process, we need vinegar. So, I walked up and Iris was there! I promptly robed her of some vinegar and invited her down. She walked in and promptly yelled at me for not having a table cloth on the table for my sister. I had to explain that we took it off and put down newspaper to dye eggs. I was then forgiven. The two of them then started talking (through me translating – that got tiring) and just both making fun of me. I should of refused to translate. Any who – during all this fun Rachael came for dinner and egg dying fun (She named Darth Egganator – yes, we had a Star Wars egg dying kite). She was also good enough to bring dessert – brownies and ice cream. Iris had to leave before dinner – the whole running the store thing. Maryann made a lovely roast, mashed potatoes and cream corn…yes, I made my sister cook dinner. Anyway – it was a lovely evening with eggs being dyed, bolos knocking on the door, wine being drunk and food being gobbled.
Monday morning was a lazy morning because the alcaldia was closed for the Easter holiday. We just slept in, made pancakes (or…it could be said I made Maryann make eggs…she did a lot of cooking in my site) and had Maryann do her homework. We eventually ventured out to find lunch and check on a few things. The things were in relation to the stoves we built in the afternoon. Mostly dealing with the stands. Anyway, we wound up building 2 out of the three stoves due to a lack of an ingredient – my bad. It took a few hours to accomplish and was well documented by Maryann. It got a little frustrating at the end – Sonia was harassing me that I wasn’t giving her a stove…I told her when she bought the tambo and supplies I would happily build her one. Sometimes, she just gets that way, but I won’t go into that.
After all that fun, we headed home for showers and a bit of R&R. Maryann was first to shower and was quickly chased out of the shower by a rather large cicada. I wound up having to kill it…I hate killing those things. I forget what we wound up having for dinner, but we eventually made our way back over to Sonias to watch my favorite soap opera. It took some explaining to find out what was going on. After all that, I crashed that night. It’s tiring switching between languages.
Tuesday went by quickly as well. In the morning we went and talked to the English class of Irwin (Son in law of Don Justo or something like that). He’s a nice guy whom helped me buy the bricks for my stoves. Anyhow, we left around 8:45 for his class of all girls. I spoke initially, but they were all really interested in Maryann’s work – not so large of a surprise, and no I’m not bitter. They were a lovely group of girls and they paid attention well. They loved the photos that Mair brought and I hope they got a lot out of it. Apparetly, I will be going back to the class in June. Who knew?
After that, we checked out the Alcaldia and I introduced her to everyone. It was just a quick get to know and see where my little desk was. We ran into Don Justo – I took the opportunity to ask him for two rides. One to the waterfall and one to the airport – I got both. Yes! So, maryann and I then headed off to the waterfall after having lunch with Heidy. We went swimminging (in our clothes) because the water was just so wonderful. When we got back, we went and played softball with the ladies. They now know that someone in the family can play softball and that it isn’t me.
That night, I made Maryann cook one more time (a really great stew that Iris and Sonia both loved – they now know who can cook as well) and we got ready for our trip to Costa Rica. We unpacked all the stuff she brought down for me. I must have at least 4 new pairs of pants, some more towels and other needed supplies.
Wednesday, we got up and out the door around 8:30ish for our trip to the airport. It was then off to Costa Rica!
We immediately hoped into a taxi and left for the western bus terminal – that’s right…I made my sister get on the chicken bus. Alright, the first bus wasn’t a chicken bus…but the second one was. She got good experiences on both buses. The first because there was a little girl that kept wanting to touch her hair and who’s mother was asleep – so nobody could stop her. I was of course paranoid the entire time that our luggage would get ‘lost’ during the ride or transferring between rides.
So, we arrived in my little pueblito at about 12:30. I immediately brought her over to Iris and Sonia’s houses – neither of whom was home. Then we picked up food for lunch and eggs to dye for Easter. (I won’t mention how my sister forgot to bring down my Easter box – but she did manage to bring down a chocolate bunny….thanks Tory!) So, during this process, we need vinegar. So, I walked up and Iris was there! I promptly robed her of some vinegar and invited her down. She walked in and promptly yelled at me for not having a table cloth on the table for my sister. I had to explain that we took it off and put down newspaper to dye eggs. I was then forgiven. The two of them then started talking (through me translating – that got tiring) and just both making fun of me. I should of refused to translate. Any who – during all this fun Rachael came for dinner and egg dying fun (She named Darth Egganator – yes, we had a Star Wars egg dying kite). She was also good enough to bring dessert – brownies and ice cream. Iris had to leave before dinner – the whole running the store thing. Maryann made a lovely roast, mashed potatoes and cream corn…yes, I made my sister cook dinner. Anyway – it was a lovely evening with eggs being dyed, bolos knocking on the door, wine being drunk and food being gobbled.
Monday morning was a lazy morning because the alcaldia was closed for the Easter holiday. We just slept in, made pancakes (or…it could be said I made Maryann make eggs…she did a lot of cooking in my site) and had Maryann do her homework. We eventually ventured out to find lunch and check on a few things. The things were in relation to the stoves we built in the afternoon. Mostly dealing with the stands. Anyway, we wound up building 2 out of the three stoves due to a lack of an ingredient – my bad. It took a few hours to accomplish and was well documented by Maryann. It got a little frustrating at the end – Sonia was harassing me that I wasn’t giving her a stove…I told her when she bought the tambo and supplies I would happily build her one. Sometimes, she just gets that way, but I won’t go into that.
After all that fun, we headed home for showers and a bit of R&R. Maryann was first to shower and was quickly chased out of the shower by a rather large cicada. I wound up having to kill it…I hate killing those things. I forget what we wound up having for dinner, but we eventually made our way back over to Sonias to watch my favorite soap opera. It took some explaining to find out what was going on. After all that, I crashed that night. It’s tiring switching between languages.
Tuesday went by quickly as well. In the morning we went and talked to the English class of Irwin (Son in law of Don Justo or something like that). He’s a nice guy whom helped me buy the bricks for my stoves. Anyhow, we left around 8:45 for his class of all girls. I spoke initially, but they were all really interested in Maryann’s work – not so large of a surprise, and no I’m not bitter. They were a lovely group of girls and they paid attention well. They loved the photos that Mair brought and I hope they got a lot out of it. Apparetly, I will be going back to the class in June. Who knew?
After that, we checked out the Alcaldia and I introduced her to everyone. It was just a quick get to know and see where my little desk was. We ran into Don Justo – I took the opportunity to ask him for two rides. One to the waterfall and one to the airport – I got both. Yes! So, maryann and I then headed off to the waterfall after having lunch with Heidy. We went swimminging (in our clothes) because the water was just so wonderful. When we got back, we went and played softball with the ladies. They now know that someone in the family can play softball and that it isn’t me.
That night, I made Maryann cook one more time (a really great stew that Iris and Sonia both loved – they now know who can cook as well) and we got ready for our trip to Costa Rica. We unpacked all the stuff she brought down for me. I must have at least 4 new pairs of pants, some more towels and other needed supplies.
Wednesday, we got up and out the door around 8:30ish for our trip to the airport. It was then off to Costa Rica!
The rest of Samana Santa
After the water park, I had Tuesday and Wednesday to get the house in order. I even started a small garden in my backyard. So far, the tomato plants (two varieties), cucumber, watermelon and squash plants have sprotted, but my green peppers refuse to see the light of day. Any way, that time flew.
Thursday we went out to Iris’s parents house for her sisters birthday. There was a whole huge group of us. The group included Sonia, Myra, Iris, Lito, other family and I. It was just a great relaxing time. We had chicken and chilled out on the poarch. We also found pumice stones for my stoves – that was a huge plus. Not to much actually happened.
Friday was a big day – we built our alfombra. Before we started on that, I took the liberty of cooking cookies and making guacamole as a snack for everyone. While I was doing this a religious procession passed by the house. On Good Friday, they have a procession with the statues of Jesus and Mary. Men usually carry the statue of Jesus on their shoulders and the women carry Mary. They proceed through the 12 Stations of the Cross that have been set up throughout the pueblo. Usually, it is a small table with a picture depicting the station. Before they got to my house came the scene where Mary kissed Jesus. They had to lift those statues up to do it, but it was nicely done.
After the procession and baking, it was time to build our alfombra. An alfombra is a carpet made of salt depicting a religious scene and quote from the bible. We started around 1pm and finished around 7 or 8pm. It was a valiant first attempt and I believe we’ll do better next year. Some of these things were incredible. I’ll try and put them up on Snap fish as soon as I can. Anyway, when your done with the carpet you have to protect it until the night time procession passes through. This entailed Iris standing in from of the carpet with a broom and smacking the drunkards away any time they came near. I thus named the broom the broom of drunkards. We also had to keep dogs, children and bicyclists away. We persevered! Around 10:30pm the procession finally arrived at the alfombra. Now, this is when the thing is destroyed. The procession stops on top of the carpet, the Father says a prayer for the family who constructed the carpet and then everyone walks over it. After that, little kids come to take as much salt as possible. I’m not sure why, but that is what they do. I hate to think they are taking it home to use.
Anyway, that brought to an end my first Semana Santa in El Salvador. It was as calm as I thought it would be, but it was fun.
Next up – Maryann!!
Thursday we went out to Iris’s parents house for her sisters birthday. There was a whole huge group of us. The group included Sonia, Myra, Iris, Lito, other family and I. It was just a great relaxing time. We had chicken and chilled out on the poarch. We also found pumice stones for my stoves – that was a huge plus. Not to much actually happened.
Friday was a big day – we built our alfombra. Before we started on that, I took the liberty of cooking cookies and making guacamole as a snack for everyone. While I was doing this a religious procession passed by the house. On Good Friday, they have a procession with the statues of Jesus and Mary. Men usually carry the statue of Jesus on their shoulders and the women carry Mary. They proceed through the 12 Stations of the Cross that have been set up throughout the pueblo. Usually, it is a small table with a picture depicting the station. Before they got to my house came the scene where Mary kissed Jesus. They had to lift those statues up to do it, but it was nicely done.
After the procession and baking, it was time to build our alfombra. An alfombra is a carpet made of salt depicting a religious scene and quote from the bible. We started around 1pm and finished around 7 or 8pm. It was a valiant first attempt and I believe we’ll do better next year. Some of these things were incredible. I’ll try and put them up on Snap fish as soon as I can. Anyway, when your done with the carpet you have to protect it until the night time procession passes through. This entailed Iris standing in from of the carpet with a broom and smacking the drunkards away any time they came near. I thus named the broom the broom of drunkards. We also had to keep dogs, children and bicyclists away. We persevered! Around 10:30pm the procession finally arrived at the alfombra. Now, this is when the thing is destroyed. The procession stops on top of the carpet, the Father says a prayer for the family who constructed the carpet and then everyone walks over it. After that, little kids come to take as much salt as possible. I’m not sure why, but that is what they do. I hate to think they are taking it home to use.
Anyway, that brought to an end my first Semana Santa in El Salvador. It was as calm as I thought it would be, but it was fun.
Next up – Maryann!!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Un parque acuático
Un parque acuático
So, Sunday night Iris tells me we’re going to the beach on Monday. Well, it wasn’t the beach but a water park! A whole group of us went – Iris and husband, Victoria and husband, Letie and children and a bunch of scattered others.
We borrowed one of Don Justo’s cars and made our way. Now, something is wrong with this car – I think the tires are unbalanced – so at certain speeds the cab would start swinging side to side. Everyone in the car was like, ‘look – the car is dancing to the music” and I was like “are you smoking something – this is a problem”. But, we continued on our merry way and made it round trip safely.
The park itself was small, but fun. There were several large slides, that I made Iris go down, and a nice lazy river. At some point of the day it was brought to my attention that I was probably the only one who knew how to swim well….that made me paranoid and watch everyone else carefully rest of the day.
The trip home was long and we got back late, but it was worth it. Overall, a good time was had by all.
On another side note – I believe the rainy season might be starting. I don’t mind – it helps to drop the temperature.
So, Sunday night Iris tells me we’re going to the beach on Monday. Well, it wasn’t the beach but a water park! A whole group of us went – Iris and husband, Victoria and husband, Letie and children and a bunch of scattered others.
We borrowed one of Don Justo’s cars and made our way. Now, something is wrong with this car – I think the tires are unbalanced – so at certain speeds the cab would start swinging side to side. Everyone in the car was like, ‘look – the car is dancing to the music” and I was like “are you smoking something – this is a problem”. But, we continued on our merry way and made it round trip safely.
The park itself was small, but fun. There were several large slides, that I made Iris go down, and a nice lazy river. At some point of the day it was brought to my attention that I was probably the only one who knew how to swim well….that made me paranoid and watch everyone else carefully rest of the day.
The trip home was long and we got back late, but it was worth it. Overall, a good time was had by all.
On another side note – I believe the rainy season might be starting. I don’t mind – it helps to drop the temperature.
The Secret is Iodine
The Secret Is Iodine
During IST (in service training), another volunteer learned that he was going to be medically evacuated for something. I won’t say what because it isn’t my information to give away. Anywho – he was leaving right before a program of his was about to start. He organized, along with the NGO Farmer to Farmer, to have a farmer (duh) come down from the US and give lectures on milk quality to farmers in and around his municipality. When he told him he was going, they asked for another volunteer to take his place incase some need arose that required some Peace Corps representation….So, I went and learned about milk quality.
I was with the project for approximately 3 days – not to long. I wasn’t really needed all that much….in fact all’s I really did was get free food. I’m not complaining, but still. The representative who came down from the US spoke fluent Spanish, since he was originally from Uraguay, and everything else had been set up before I even arrived. Both the guys I traveled with…the farmer and the representative from the NGO…were really cool and I may call on them to help out my little municipality, since we are large milk producers too.
Now – what I learned. There is this infection of a udder called mastitis (that may just be its Spanish name…I don’t know it in English). Anyway, the udder usually has some bacteria in it, but can develop into a bigger infection that may inhibit milk production. The doctor said that the normal acceptable number in the US is about 200,000 parts per whatever, in El Salvador they were shooting for 500,000 – there were cows with over 2,000,000! It was scary. Apparently, to prevent this type of infection you use iodine – before and after milking the cow. Meaning, the udder should be clean….not clean as in using the cows tail to wipe down the udders…but clean as in the use of iodine. I also learned about nutrition a little bit. Overall, it was interesting – though I will admit to almost falling asleep during some of the presentations.
I actually cut out before the last presentation on Saturday since I really wasn’t needed. I chose instead to get back to my site and relax.
On a completely different, but important note…codico postal – one of my soap operas – has ended. Pablo and Florita are back together, Iebet wound up in jail, Chewie survived his battle with leukemia, Rafa is a big music star and the evil Claudio was killed. Just in case you were wondering.
The new soap opera taking its place is called ´destilando amor´or distilling love - it takes place at a tequila place....
During IST (in service training), another volunteer learned that he was going to be medically evacuated for something. I won’t say what because it isn’t my information to give away. Anywho – he was leaving right before a program of his was about to start. He organized, along with the NGO Farmer to Farmer, to have a farmer (duh) come down from the US and give lectures on milk quality to farmers in and around his municipality. When he told him he was going, they asked for another volunteer to take his place incase some need arose that required some Peace Corps representation….So, I went and learned about milk quality.
I was with the project for approximately 3 days – not to long. I wasn’t really needed all that much….in fact all’s I really did was get free food. I’m not complaining, but still. The representative who came down from the US spoke fluent Spanish, since he was originally from Uraguay, and everything else had been set up before I even arrived. Both the guys I traveled with…the farmer and the representative from the NGO…were really cool and I may call on them to help out my little municipality, since we are large milk producers too.
Now – what I learned. There is this infection of a udder called mastitis (that may just be its Spanish name…I don’t know it in English). Anyway, the udder usually has some bacteria in it, but can develop into a bigger infection that may inhibit milk production. The doctor said that the normal acceptable number in the US is about 200,000 parts per whatever, in El Salvador they were shooting for 500,000 – there were cows with over 2,000,000! It was scary. Apparently, to prevent this type of infection you use iodine – before and after milking the cow. Meaning, the udder should be clean….not clean as in using the cows tail to wipe down the udders…but clean as in the use of iodine. I also learned about nutrition a little bit. Overall, it was interesting – though I will admit to almost falling asleep during some of the presentations.
I actually cut out before the last presentation on Saturday since I really wasn’t needed. I chose instead to get back to my site and relax.
On a completely different, but important note…codico postal – one of my soap operas – has ended. Pablo and Florita are back together, Iebet wound up in jail, Chewie survived his battle with leukemia, Rafa is a big music star and the evil Claudio was killed. Just in case you were wondering.
The new soap opera taking its place is called ´destilando amor´or distilling love - it takes place at a tequila place....
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
A little fun
I escaped from my site on Wednesday and headed off for some good ‘ole Peace Corps training, aka in service training. It was held up in Apaneca…a pueblo located on top of a mountain. In fact, it is the highest pueblo in the nation and that means it was actually cold at night. I’m not talking freezing, but fleeces and blankets….it was sweet.
Anyway, we got there and started off with lunch and didn’t stop eating the entire time. I’m talking big meals, desserts and snacks…I was so full, hell…I’m still full.
The training…well, I wouldn’t quite define it a training….more like receiving information. It gave backgrounds on different projects occurring in El Salvador and the state of El Salvador itself. Things such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the economy, and what the European Union is up to. They were presented by people from the embassy, the EU mission and other people in the know. We also got presentations asking us to reflect on our service and why we are here. Those were the more difficult presentations….I’ll get back to you when I have my response.
Anyway…the nights were just filled with catching up with everyone. It was just a nice time to slow down and relax. It went by so quick and when it was over…it was time for the weekend.
When I got back to the capitol, I headed off to the office. We have a new office and it is really nice. It’s huge…the only problem is that is isn’t near anything food wise. You kinda have to hike around to find stuff. Anyway, I went up the the medical office to get sun block and then somehow wound up getting a hepatitis A booster shot…don’t you hate it when that happens. That’s why I hate going to the medical staff….I always wind up having to have something done.
Anyway, that leads to Friday night - there were a bunch of volunteers in the capitol…some returning with me from the above mentioned IST, others for health, still others for the hell of it. So, we decided to go check out the karioki bar….but all the fun happened on our trip there. About 7 of us were walking to the bar when a bunch of Salvadorian police stepped in front us. We were originally confused and thought they were going for others…but no, us. We had to turn, face the wall, put our hands on our heads and spread our legs. Yes, I got searched by a female…don’t worry. But it was a damn thorough search, I must say. I also laughed the entire time….what can I say, I’m ticklish. It was cool by the end and we said bye to the police and got ourselves some beers.
Saturday was just a slow day…I stayed in bed till 9! I then went and signed up for scuba diving for Sunday. I actually took a refresher test on Saturday – I took that bad boy in Spanish and only got 2 wrong…I am bad ass. I can’t say I did much the rest of the day.
Which leads to Sunday – diving in a live volcano! Since I haven’t been diving in two years…I was a little nervous. The first dive didn’t go so well…mostly because I was over-weighted and the group got split into two somehow. But the second dive was nice. There wasn’t much down there – mostly rocks. But there were a few fish – I caught some sleeping, and occasionally the instructor would find a bullet. Apparently, during the civil war, the air force used the area as a practice place. So, there use to be a ton of bullets down there…now there are fewer because of the amount of divers who pick them up I guess. The group itself was a nice group who surprisingly all spoke English. Some were Salvadoreans who spoke English others were tourists…I guess you would say. Anyway, we finished way later then expected, but thankfully, another guy gave me a ride to the bus terminal so I could back home before the last bus left. I think I got back here at like 6:45ish….it was late and I was exhausted. But, well worth it.
So, on Monday I thought it would be just a chill, slow moving day – I was wrong. The Canadian Ambassador came to my pueblito to inaugurate the bridge and water system they helped construct. It was crazy…everyone was running around try to arrange everything…through my favorite happened at the reception, though it came close to not being funny at all. There are a few women cooking this huge feast and they were preparing the soup over a wood fire. What they didn’t notice was that the wind was moving the fire slowly till it eventually started the light the a hose connected to a propane tank! All the women started to run, I had no idea why since I hadn’t since the fire/propane tank combo…but thankfully, the mayor thought quickly and separated the hose from the tank before the fire could reach the tank itself. Never a dull day down here.
Alright, that’s about all that went down. It was an adventure filled weekend and I am exhausted.
Anyway, we got there and started off with lunch and didn’t stop eating the entire time. I’m talking big meals, desserts and snacks…I was so full, hell…I’m still full.
The training…well, I wouldn’t quite define it a training….more like receiving information. It gave backgrounds on different projects occurring in El Salvador and the state of El Salvador itself. Things such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the economy, and what the European Union is up to. They were presented by people from the embassy, the EU mission and other people in the know. We also got presentations asking us to reflect on our service and why we are here. Those were the more difficult presentations….I’ll get back to you when I have my response.
Anyway…the nights were just filled with catching up with everyone. It was just a nice time to slow down and relax. It went by so quick and when it was over…it was time for the weekend.
When I got back to the capitol, I headed off to the office. We have a new office and it is really nice. It’s huge…the only problem is that is isn’t near anything food wise. You kinda have to hike around to find stuff. Anyway, I went up the the medical office to get sun block and then somehow wound up getting a hepatitis A booster shot…don’t you hate it when that happens. That’s why I hate going to the medical staff….I always wind up having to have something done.
Anyway, that leads to Friday night - there were a bunch of volunteers in the capitol…some returning with me from the above mentioned IST, others for health, still others for the hell of it. So, we decided to go check out the karioki bar….but all the fun happened on our trip there. About 7 of us were walking to the bar when a bunch of Salvadorian police stepped in front us. We were originally confused and thought they were going for others…but no, us. We had to turn, face the wall, put our hands on our heads and spread our legs. Yes, I got searched by a female…don’t worry. But it was a damn thorough search, I must say. I also laughed the entire time….what can I say, I’m ticklish. It was cool by the end and we said bye to the police and got ourselves some beers.
Saturday was just a slow day…I stayed in bed till 9! I then went and signed up for scuba diving for Sunday. I actually took a refresher test on Saturday – I took that bad boy in Spanish and only got 2 wrong…I am bad ass. I can’t say I did much the rest of the day.
Which leads to Sunday – diving in a live volcano! Since I haven’t been diving in two years…I was a little nervous. The first dive didn’t go so well…mostly because I was over-weighted and the group got split into two somehow. But the second dive was nice. There wasn’t much down there – mostly rocks. But there were a few fish – I caught some sleeping, and occasionally the instructor would find a bullet. Apparently, during the civil war, the air force used the area as a practice place. So, there use to be a ton of bullets down there…now there are fewer because of the amount of divers who pick them up I guess. The group itself was a nice group who surprisingly all spoke English. Some were Salvadoreans who spoke English others were tourists…I guess you would say. Anyway, we finished way later then expected, but thankfully, another guy gave me a ride to the bus terminal so I could back home before the last bus left. I think I got back here at like 6:45ish….it was late and I was exhausted. But, well worth it.
So, on Monday I thought it would be just a chill, slow moving day – I was wrong. The Canadian Ambassador came to my pueblito to inaugurate the bridge and water system they helped construct. It was crazy…everyone was running around try to arrange everything…through my favorite happened at the reception, though it came close to not being funny at all. There are a few women cooking this huge feast and they were preparing the soup over a wood fire. What they didn’t notice was that the wind was moving the fire slowly till it eventually started the light the a hose connected to a propane tank! All the women started to run, I had no idea why since I hadn’t since the fire/propane tank combo…but thankfully, the mayor thought quickly and separated the hose from the tank before the fire could reach the tank itself. Never a dull day down here.
Alright, that’s about all that went down. It was an adventure filled weekend and I am exhausted.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Another weekend in El Salvador
Another weekend in
So, I won’t lie…I’ve been in a funk. I think I’m starting to enter into that “I hate
Where to begin….
I have birds! Or at least it use to be in the plural. He is a green, small parrot. I had two, but one escaped Saturday night while I was changing the food in their cage. I would like to think he’s still out there, but…he probably wound up being food for a bigger animal. All well…at least I still have one.
Well, before all that fun … Iris and I enrolled in a competition! We’re gonna make an ‘alfombra,’ or carpet, out of salt, sand, ash and food coloring. It’s this cool thing they do every year on Good Friday. I can’t wait to try and make it. I’ll keep you guys updated on that.
Otherwise, I wound up going to Heidy’s sister’s Sweet 15 Saturday afternoon. That’s right, they celebrate the 15th birthday, not the 16th. It was a little on the boring side because they are evangelicals. There fore, you cannot dance….it’s against the rules. Neither can you drink or do anything fun. Hehehe. I had the pleasure of sitting with Jessica and her cousin. Her cousin is in the
So, that finished up Saturday.
Sunday was a good day to. Iris and I went to a resort type thing with Victoria and her husband. They are a great couple and always very good to me. Well, first we went to this event at an NGO. The NGO, AGAPE, was celebrating it’s anniversary. So, we checked out a band or two and ate before heading out. At the resort thing, I got to ride a horse for a few minutes for free! It was fun. Though, it was western style….it still felt good. Then I just chilled in the pool and in the hammock. It was sweet. They’ve invited me to join them in hiking a small volcano during the coming weeks. I said yes, but that we’ll have to go slowly. In exchange for how nice they are, the husband asked me to come to his school one day just to talk in English with a group of girls. He would of course provide the ride…so I told him yes and to plan it for the 9th or 10th of April…when Maryann will be hear and can help. I’m sure she’ll love it. Bwa ha ha ha ha.
We got back really late, but the disturbing thing was the trip. We passed by an accident, and there in the middle of the road was someone who had been struck by a car. They were trying to cover him from view with branches, but he was still visible. I wonder what happened.
Alright…now to get back to trying to find a ride to go buy bricks and molasses. Don’t ask.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
AIDS
AIDS
If you remember, a few weeks ago I took three students to a weekend camp about AIDS. This past Tuesday and Wednesday, we completed the project by repeating the charlas in 6 different classes.
The beginning was just a basic definition of AIDS and how it affects the body. Next, we set up a true or false game. Each student was given a piece of paper with a statement on it, They then had to say whether it was true or false. Later, we went into explanations of why something was true or something else false. It was an effective way - considering the time constraints and the attention span of the average teenager.
It was a little trying at times because some classes were horribly mis-behaved and the teacher usually left during the charla (presentation). I can’t say I’m all that effective at controlling students since I still screw up on my Spanish…it doesn’t really enforce the in charge image you want with kids of that age.
So, in the end, I’m glad I did it, but it was tiring.
If you remember, a few weeks ago I took three students to a weekend camp about AIDS. This past Tuesday and Wednesday, we completed the project by repeating the charlas in 6 different classes.
The beginning was just a basic definition of AIDS and how it affects the body. Next, we set up a true or false game. Each student was given a piece of paper with a statement on it, They then had to say whether it was true or false. Later, we went into explanations of why something was true or something else false. It was an effective way - considering the time constraints and the attention span of the average teenager.
It was a little trying at times because some classes were horribly mis-behaved and the teacher usually left during the charla (presentation). I can’t say I’m all that effective at controlling students since I still screw up on my Spanish…it doesn’t really enforce the in charge image you want with kids of that age.
So, in the end, I’m glad I did it, but it was tiring.
Monday, March 05, 2007
a nice long weekend
A nice long weekend
Friday came and I went to
We all met up at the Princess – a nice hotel – and relaxed pool side, then jacuzzi side. It was a great time to catch up with what was going on in everyone’s life. I am now back in the loop…at least for now. I’ll probably be out of the loop by the end of the week – but that’s ok.
We treated ourselves to a nice dinner and then just hung out in the room. That’s right…12 of us shared one room. I slept on the floor.
The next day – Saturday – I did some shopping. I didn’t mean to, but I found this cute little shirt and since it was only $5, I went for it. I only hope Maryann doesn’t steal it when she comes to visit. I might hide it. I also looked at some birds…if you didn’t know, I’m looking for a cute pair of birds to have as pets – I’m not a cat person and dogs are just too much work down here. I went to the pet shop, but they wanted $150 for a pair!! I was like – I think not.
Later that day, I traveled out to Apaneca with a few other volunteers to go on a full moon hike. That’s right, at about 8 or 9pm, about 19 of us climbed up about an hour to a nice spot on the side of the mountain under the full moon. It was really quite beautiful. There came this one point where we were all standing on some sort of small wall in a line. It was quite picturesque to see a group standing in a line in the moonlight. I’ll have to hunt down someone who has that pic.
Any who, when we got up there we set up two tents and started a fire. We even had smoores! There was a little party with bluegrass music playing and bottles of wine all around. A good time was had by all. Though, I must say…it was cold. I slept outside and was freezing even though I had on two layers of pants, 2 shirts, a fleece, socks and shoes, and a fleece sleep bag thingy. At some point in the night I woke up really cold and then
So, needless to say….I didn’t sleep either Friday night nor Saturday night. But that’s ok.
Sunday was a long day just because I was so tired. On our way back from Apaneca, we stopped in at Guayua. It was a touristy town that has a food festival every Sunday along with a nice size market. We chowed down on Mexican food and had a look around town. Angi bought a puppy…a German Shepard puppy. The father of this puppy was like a small pony. But, she fell in love and took that puppy back with her. I looked around for birds, but only found types that I didn’t like. I talked with the woman and I was able to talk down here price by over $10 – but I still didn’t want them. Though, I am proud of my bargaining skills – go me!
After all that, I was thrilled to get my but back to my site. I think I was asleep by 8:30pm and very happy to be so.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Illegal Immigration
The other face of illegal immigration….
One of my close friends had her son leave for los Estados Unidos about 2 weeks ago as an illegal immigrant. He was going to help support his mom and send his younger sister through high school.
He was caught in Los Angeles and is now sitting in prison. If they don’t find a good lawyer, he’ll be there for six months instead of two before being exported.
It was just so heartbreaking to see. The family is so distraught and doesn’t know what to do. The daughter is worried about the mom’s health and what the family will do. They could wind up paying $1000 for a lawyer or more. Money they really don’t have.
It’s so frustrating to see both sides of the argument. I just hope he comes home as soon and as safely as possible.
One of my close friends had her son leave for los Estados Unidos about 2 weeks ago as an illegal immigrant. He was going to help support his mom and send his younger sister through high school.
He was caught in Los Angeles and is now sitting in prison. If they don’t find a good lawyer, he’ll be there for six months instead of two before being exported.
It was just so heartbreaking to see. The family is so distraught and doesn’t know what to do. The daughter is worried about the mom’s health and what the family will do. They could wind up paying $1000 for a lawyer or more. Money they really don’t have.
It’s so frustrating to see both sides of the argument. I just hope he comes home as soon and as safely as possible.
AIDS
AIDS
On the weekend of the 17-18th, another volunteer (Andrea if you were wondering) held an AIDS camp. I think about 15 different volunteers brought three kids each to learn about AIDS and then spread the knowledge through their school through presentations.
The weekend itself wasn’t bad. My three kids came from the local school. I asked the director to recommend three students for the job. Douglas, the director, was great cause not only did he find me three kids but then convinced their parents to let them come. Something I probably wouldn’t of been able to do.
The camp consisted of different people giving presentations, a lot of ice breakers, a small play and conversations. Andrea wisely brought in doctors and health promoters. Especially fun was to see the kids reaction to the condom demonstration. As a side note: I asked Douglas if we should ask the parents if it is ok that the kids see a condom demonstration…he said it was better not to and not to worry. I was, ok.
The only thing that really came up was that there was a lot of down time. That left some of the kids restless, which leads to some foolishness…but nothing to bad. I think it was just mostly kids playing in the itty bitty pool. Then there were the cell phones….who really needs to get a phone call at 4 am?!
Anyhow, it ended right after lunch on Sunday and we headed back. Only, lunch didn’t settle with me well. So, the bus (which we chartered) had to pull over to let me run to store and ask to use the bathroom. It wasn’t too shady of a latrine. But, I think it was a composting latrine since there were to seats in there. I’ll explain a composting latrine another time. Anyway, what I didn’t realize was that my dear friend Abby decided to document the entire thing. She has picture of me running to the bathroom, buy alka seltzer and so on and so forth. How wonderful….
Back to AIDS…
Now I’m at the stage of planning the charlas (charlas = presentations) with the kids. They’ve decided they want to do them solo. So, we’ll form a charla and then everyone will give it to their individual grades. They wind up having to do 2 charlas each. I told them I would be present at all the charlas to lend support and make sure they didn’t forget anything. We’ll be doing this in March.
Finally…I’m doing something!!
On the weekend of the 17-18th, another volunteer (Andrea if you were wondering) held an AIDS camp. I think about 15 different volunteers brought three kids each to learn about AIDS and then spread the knowledge through their school through presentations.
The weekend itself wasn’t bad. My three kids came from the local school. I asked the director to recommend three students for the job. Douglas, the director, was great cause not only did he find me three kids but then convinced their parents to let them come. Something I probably wouldn’t of been able to do.
The camp consisted of different people giving presentations, a lot of ice breakers, a small play and conversations. Andrea wisely brought in doctors and health promoters. Especially fun was to see the kids reaction to the condom demonstration. As a side note: I asked Douglas if we should ask the parents if it is ok that the kids see a condom demonstration…he said it was better not to and not to worry. I was, ok.
The only thing that really came up was that there was a lot of down time. That left some of the kids restless, which leads to some foolishness…but nothing to bad. I think it was just mostly kids playing in the itty bitty pool. Then there were the cell phones….who really needs to get a phone call at 4 am?!
Anyhow, it ended right after lunch on Sunday and we headed back. Only, lunch didn’t settle with me well. So, the bus (which we chartered) had to pull over to let me run to store and ask to use the bathroom. It wasn’t too shady of a latrine. But, I think it was a composting latrine since there were to seats in there. I’ll explain a composting latrine another time. Anyway, what I didn’t realize was that my dear friend Abby decided to document the entire thing. She has picture of me running to the bathroom, buy alka seltzer and so on and so forth. How wonderful….
Back to AIDS…
Now I’m at the stage of planning the charlas (charlas = presentations) with the kids. They’ve decided they want to do them solo. So, we’ll form a charla and then everyone will give it to their individual grades. They wind up having to do 2 charlas each. I told them I would be present at all the charlas to lend support and make sure they didn’t forget anything. We’ll be doing this in March.
Finally…I’m doing something!!
Friday, February 16, 2007
Stoves
So, this past Wednesday I went off to visit Bonnie (another volunteer) and learn the art of stove construction. Special fuel-efficient stoves that burn about 60-70% less wood and cook things faster then regular stoves, to be precise. Kind of important in a country facing massive deforestation.
A lot of people down here use a wood fire to cook things down here, only it is kinda like a bbq design, just a lot of wood below cooking a pot on top. This new stove insulates the burning wood and forces the flames up through a certain spot so all the heat is focused on the pot. Though, I have to admit it is heavier then their regular stoves.
I’m hoping to construct a few in March. I’ll distribute them to different members of the community: the school and two street vendors. This way the rest of the community can see the stoves in action and the women using them can talk about them. If genuine interest in the stoves is shown, I can do a small oven construction project. Sonia already said she would be my helper.
The actual construction took a while, mostly cause there were so many of us constructing and only one saw. But, overall it was fun. I got to play with molasses, sand, dirt, ash and pumice stones. One girl felt mentioned it felt like she was in a co-op. We all were just sitting around constructing fuel-efficient stoves while listening to music…not a bad job, huh.
I figure I’ll build one for myself and use it as a bbq…is that wrong?
A lot of people down here use a wood fire to cook things down here, only it is kinda like a bbq design, just a lot of wood below cooking a pot on top. This new stove insulates the burning wood and forces the flames up through a certain spot so all the heat is focused on the pot. Though, I have to admit it is heavier then their regular stoves.
I’m hoping to construct a few in March. I’ll distribute them to different members of the community: the school and two street vendors. This way the rest of the community can see the stoves in action and the women using them can talk about them. If genuine interest in the stoves is shown, I can do a small oven construction project. Sonia already said she would be my helper.
The actual construction took a while, mostly cause there were so many of us constructing and only one saw. But, overall it was fun. I got to play with molasses, sand, dirt, ash and pumice stones. One girl felt mentioned it felt like she was in a co-op. We all were just sitting around constructing fuel-efficient stoves while listening to music…not a bad job, huh.
I figure I’ll build one for myself and use it as a bbq…is that wrong?
Translating...and translating...and translating
So, I headed out to Santa Rosa de Lima on Sunday (the 4th) to translate for the eye campaign happening out there. That was the reason I left the western conference early. Santa Rosa is on the other side of the country and I didn’t want to do the entire trip on one day.
So, I got out there Sunday afternoon. I got to meet up with a lot of the volunteers/doctors that evening. The campaign was held at the church…since it was the only spot that could hold that many people. We had about 4,000 come through that week. It was organized by a church in the United States, but had people from a variety of faiths. Sunday night was the opening ceremonies. People sang, danced and thanked the doctors for coming. I did enjoy the dances, cause they were actually dancing. Many times down here, it’s just girls jumping in a line and swishing their skirts. There was also a dinner that I snuck into. I pretty much stole food all week long….but more on that later.
The hotel…I’m gonna bitch about the hotel even though I didn’t have to pay for it. It wasn’t really a nice one. In fact, it was bad. They were doing construction when I was there, sometimes at night, so if I wanted water…lets say to wash my hands or flush the toilet…I had to ask them to turn it on. And when I looked at the toilet bowl water there was an oil slick on top from the machinery they were using…so, chances are there was oil in the water I used for showers. I never really did feel clean. There were ants and the bed was nothing I wish to sleep on again….but I survived and managed only to become a little bit cranky. (maybe more then a little bit). Alright, I was just in a bad mood by the end of the week…but I’m an introvert and I never got any alone time. It was driving me nuts. But anyway…on to the campaign!
I spent the majority of the time translating for the same section, near vision. It consisted of five people: Ann, Annie, Carrie, Jason and Roger. They were all nice people and I enjoyed working with them. People would come from having their distance vision checked and then to us. They would check their near vision with a small number chart. For those who couldn’t read, there was a chart with symbols…like stars or hearts. After us, we would either send them to the doctor, send them to have their eyes refracted, get glasses or just release them. For those who didn’t need glasses, we would give them a small knit towel to use to wash and comfort their eyes and sometimes sunglasses or a hat. I think I said the same thing at least 2-300 times a day. It was tiring by the end of the week.
Other sections included: doctors to examine older and diseased eyes, refraction, glasses, fake eyes, consultation and surgery. Surgery was only done on pteregiums or cataracts. In either case, it had to be serious case to receive an operation because there was only a limited number of spots available.
It was interesting and heartbreaking at the same time to see peoples eyes. Some had nubes (pteregiums) and we couldn’t do anything for them unless they were threatening their vision. Your eyes are skin and have stem cells. Nubes form when the sun damages the stem cells on your eyes so that they can no longer prevent the skin from growing over your eyes. From what I can tell…its painful. But only those that had serious cases could receive surgery to remove them.
Other cases included young people who were blinded by accidents, such as a soccer ball to the face, and nothing could be done for them. I also got to see scars from previous eye surgeries. That included the stitch marks on an eye that had received a corneal transplant. Lets just say that if you received an eye surgery within El Salvador in previous years…chances were you were not going to see with that eye again. Many got infected afterward and now are just cloudy.
Many of the people were vary gracias and patient…but not all. Some of the other volunteers were saying that with other eye campaigns, the crowd had be more pleasant. They seemed to think that since this campaign was so large, that the people thought that they could act as they please without there really being a consequence or being embarrassed. I had Salvos fight with me when the testers stated they didn’t need glasses. It went something like this:
‘I need glasses’
‘no you don’t’
‘but my eyes burn’
‘glasses can’t help with that’
‘but I need glasses’
‘no, you don’t’
There were also a lot trying to cut lines, or ask for free medicine. It got tiring at times. Mostly cause they always got mad at me, not the person that told them they didn’t need glasses, but the person who was translating. It’s not my fault!
Another interesting thing to watch was the cultural conflict between the American group and the Salvos. One of the women in my group asked me to ask the Salvo volunteers to direct traffic a certain way. I asked, sometimes they did it, other times they didn’t. She asked me to ask again…I told her to drop it. It’s a cultural thing and you can’t change it is basically what I said. She let it go.
I also had fun with the fact that they couldn’t speak Spanish. One Salvo asked Jason what state he was from. The girl had never heard of Idaho, so I proceeded to tell her it was an ugly state that only had potatoes. Jason learned to recognize when I was telling people that…so he started to interrupt when I got started. It was fun. But, I also tried to help protect them from questions…like when people asked me to ask them how much money they earn. I would tell the questioner that that wasn’t a question I was prepared to ask and that it was personal. By the end I was also speaking Spanish to the English speakers and vice versa. I usually caught it early.
At the end of the week, I was ready to go. I had had a good time with my group, but my little pueblo was calling. Literally, Iris was calling wondering when I was getting back. Friday evening, I said good-bye to my little group of gringos. They were so appreciative and even gave me a couple of bucks for the road. Then on Saturday, I headed home. I left around 7am and got in around 3 something.
Sunday was spent cleaning the house. Though, I caved and had a muchacha come over and wash my clothes. There were a lot of clothes and I just don’t have the strength nor the patience. Besides, she gets them a lot cleaner then I do.
So, I got out there Sunday afternoon. I got to meet up with a lot of the volunteers/doctors that evening. The campaign was held at the church…since it was the only spot that could hold that many people. We had about 4,000 come through that week. It was organized by a church in the United States, but had people from a variety of faiths. Sunday night was the opening ceremonies. People sang, danced and thanked the doctors for coming. I did enjoy the dances, cause they were actually dancing. Many times down here, it’s just girls jumping in a line and swishing their skirts. There was also a dinner that I snuck into. I pretty much stole food all week long….but more on that later.
The hotel…I’m gonna bitch about the hotel even though I didn’t have to pay for it. It wasn’t really a nice one. In fact, it was bad. They were doing construction when I was there, sometimes at night, so if I wanted water…lets say to wash my hands or flush the toilet…I had to ask them to turn it on. And when I looked at the toilet bowl water there was an oil slick on top from the machinery they were using…so, chances are there was oil in the water I used for showers. I never really did feel clean. There were ants and the bed was nothing I wish to sleep on again….but I survived and managed only to become a little bit cranky. (maybe more then a little bit). Alright, I was just in a bad mood by the end of the week…but I’m an introvert and I never got any alone time. It was driving me nuts. But anyway…on to the campaign!
I spent the majority of the time translating for the same section, near vision. It consisted of five people: Ann, Annie, Carrie, Jason and Roger. They were all nice people and I enjoyed working with them. People would come from having their distance vision checked and then to us. They would check their near vision with a small number chart. For those who couldn’t read, there was a chart with symbols…like stars or hearts. After us, we would either send them to the doctor, send them to have their eyes refracted, get glasses or just release them. For those who didn’t need glasses, we would give them a small knit towel to use to wash and comfort their eyes and sometimes sunglasses or a hat. I think I said the same thing at least 2-300 times a day. It was tiring by the end of the week.
Other sections included: doctors to examine older and diseased eyes, refraction, glasses, fake eyes, consultation and surgery. Surgery was only done on pteregiums or cataracts. In either case, it had to be serious case to receive an operation because there was only a limited number of spots available.
It was interesting and heartbreaking at the same time to see peoples eyes. Some had nubes (pteregiums) and we couldn’t do anything for them unless they were threatening their vision. Your eyes are skin and have stem cells. Nubes form when the sun damages the stem cells on your eyes so that they can no longer prevent the skin from growing over your eyes. From what I can tell…its painful. But only those that had serious cases could receive surgery to remove them.
Other cases included young people who were blinded by accidents, such as a soccer ball to the face, and nothing could be done for them. I also got to see scars from previous eye surgeries. That included the stitch marks on an eye that had received a corneal transplant. Lets just say that if you received an eye surgery within El Salvador in previous years…chances were you were not going to see with that eye again. Many got infected afterward and now are just cloudy.
Many of the people were vary gracias and patient…but not all. Some of the other volunteers were saying that with other eye campaigns, the crowd had be more pleasant. They seemed to think that since this campaign was so large, that the people thought that they could act as they please without there really being a consequence or being embarrassed. I had Salvos fight with me when the testers stated they didn’t need glasses. It went something like this:
‘I need glasses’
‘no you don’t’
‘but my eyes burn’
‘glasses can’t help with that’
‘but I need glasses’
‘no, you don’t’
There were also a lot trying to cut lines, or ask for free medicine. It got tiring at times. Mostly cause they always got mad at me, not the person that told them they didn’t need glasses, but the person who was translating. It’s not my fault!
Another interesting thing to watch was the cultural conflict between the American group and the Salvos. One of the women in my group asked me to ask the Salvo volunteers to direct traffic a certain way. I asked, sometimes they did it, other times they didn’t. She asked me to ask again…I told her to drop it. It’s a cultural thing and you can’t change it is basically what I said. She let it go.
I also had fun with the fact that they couldn’t speak Spanish. One Salvo asked Jason what state he was from. The girl had never heard of Idaho, so I proceeded to tell her it was an ugly state that only had potatoes. Jason learned to recognize when I was telling people that…so he started to interrupt when I got started. It was fun. But, I also tried to help protect them from questions…like when people asked me to ask them how much money they earn. I would tell the questioner that that wasn’t a question I was prepared to ask and that it was personal. By the end I was also speaking Spanish to the English speakers and vice versa. I usually caught it early.
At the end of the week, I was ready to go. I had had a good time with my group, but my little pueblo was calling. Literally, Iris was calling wondering when I was getting back. Friday evening, I said good-bye to my little group of gringos. They were so appreciative and even gave me a couple of bucks for the road. Then on Saturday, I headed home. I left around 7am and got in around 3 something.
Sunday was spent cleaning the house. Though, I caved and had a muchacha come over and wash my clothes. There were a lot of clothes and I just don’t have the strength nor the patience. Besides, she gets them a lot cleaner then I do.
Western Conference
The western conference is when all the volunteers in the western part of the country get together. It was actually pretty short. We met on Friday around lunch and were done the next day around lunch. It was held at a beautiful lake, Coatepeque?
The bus trip out there wasn’t bad, especially since we just kept meeting up with more volunteers during the trip. At the bus terminal, Rachael and I met up with all the people from the Cara Sucia (dirty face) area. Later on, we picked up a few more.
The whole thing was basically a meeting where volunteers could share what they were up to. This way, if I want to do a project, I can see who would have information and experience with that type of project. It was definitely helpful and we’ll see what I can put together from it.
They also had some interesting speakers on the second day. One was a gentlemen from the embassy. He was talking about the economy of El Salvador. It’s been a while since I’ve heard terms such as ‘vertical integration’ and ‘GDP’…It’s comforting that I still know what they mean. He was definitely an economist…all for free trade agreements. He got into a little bit of an argument with a volunteer because the volunteer was championing the damage to the every day Salvadorian and he was championing the overall effect. Overall, it was very interesting to hear. The economy is growing, though remittances (money sent home from abroad) make up approximately 18% of the GDP. Unfortunately, that money is being used just for consumerism. It’s not being funneled toward projects that could actually help El Salvador further itself…like roads, schools and water projects. Though there is a movement starting it that direction. It’ll take time.
The next speaker was our security officer…we had less stuff happen in 2006 then 2005. Stuff meaning robberies, thefts and things of that nature. Go us!
Finally, a few NGO’s came out to speak. I didn’t actually get to stay and watch them. I instead took a free ride into the capitol. What can I say…it was just easier.
The truth is, on Sunday I left for Santa Rosa and that is a long trip. So, I decided to break it up by spending one night in the capitol and then completing the trip on Sunday. That night at the hostel was actually quite interesting. I got to talk with people from Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, England and a few other places. It was great. Most were just stopping by El Salvador for a few days.
The bus trip out there wasn’t bad, especially since we just kept meeting up with more volunteers during the trip. At the bus terminal, Rachael and I met up with all the people from the Cara Sucia (dirty face) area. Later on, we picked up a few more.
The whole thing was basically a meeting where volunteers could share what they were up to. This way, if I want to do a project, I can see who would have information and experience with that type of project. It was definitely helpful and we’ll see what I can put together from it.
They also had some interesting speakers on the second day. One was a gentlemen from the embassy. He was talking about the economy of El Salvador. It’s been a while since I’ve heard terms such as ‘vertical integration’ and ‘GDP’…It’s comforting that I still know what they mean. He was definitely an economist…all for free trade agreements. He got into a little bit of an argument with a volunteer because the volunteer was championing the damage to the every day Salvadorian and he was championing the overall effect. Overall, it was very interesting to hear. The economy is growing, though remittances (money sent home from abroad) make up approximately 18% of the GDP. Unfortunately, that money is being used just for consumerism. It’s not being funneled toward projects that could actually help El Salvador further itself…like roads, schools and water projects. Though there is a movement starting it that direction. It’ll take time.
The next speaker was our security officer…we had less stuff happen in 2006 then 2005. Stuff meaning robberies, thefts and things of that nature. Go us!
Finally, a few NGO’s came out to speak. I didn’t actually get to stay and watch them. I instead took a free ride into the capitol. What can I say…it was just easier.
The truth is, on Sunday I left for Santa Rosa and that is a long trip. So, I decided to break it up by spending one night in the capitol and then completing the trip on Sunday. That night at the hostel was actually quite interesting. I got to talk with people from Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, England and a few other places. It was great. Most were just stopping by El Salvador for a few days.
Monday, January 29, 2007
My Birthday!
24! It’s a nice number.
Where to begin…let’s start with the morning. I got up, made myself some pancakes and treated myself to a hot bucket bath. I love hot bucket baths (I’m serious).
From there, it was off to the office. I got there and got all the congrats. They usually said congrats and not happy birthday. It was kinda weird, but cool. I spent the day just chillin. Heidy treated me to lunch…hmmm…free lunch.
In the afternoon I got another surprise. I was sitting on my desk, cause I prefer sitting on my desk then in the chair, when Luis Ernesto came up and was like, “Don Justo wants to see you...something about the Peace Corps”. So, I went down and heard more noise coming from his office. When I walked in, everyone was there and they all stood up and started singing happy birthday! They even bought me a cake! Hmmm…cake. It was really nice.
So, then I was suppose to go play softball, but the teacher I had been waiting for all day never came. That made it to late to go play softball. I hear there were 14 women! That’s huge. I think Rosie rounded up that many to play for me, so…I kinda feel bad that I didn’t make it over there. But, such is life.
I pretty much spent the afternoon chillin at Iris’s place. Till around 6ish when we headed over to Sonia’s place. They blind folded me and led me to her backyard. Which was funny cause they had obviously never led someone who was blindfolded. They forgot to mention steps, hammocks and other obstacles. But, I made it. And when they un-blindfolded me, there were a bunch a friends shouting happy birthday! Another surprise! It was great. They had turkey, rice and some sort of vegetable thing. Then cake, ice cream and the cookies I made. It was great…really great.
That night I had my first Salvadorian sleepover. Heidy lives out in the cantons, and by the time the party ended, it was dark. It’s not always the safest thing to travel down here when it is dark. So, she stayed with me. It was a little weird, but it worked out.
I also opened my package from Mom and Dad after La Fea (my soap opera). I love the Far Side. I got the little calendar that you rip off everyday…I know sit at my desk and giggle. My co-workers ask me what it means…but Gary Larson just can’t be translated and retain the same effect. I’m also pretty sure it’s not their sense of humor. I shouldn’t say that, it can be the sense of humor of some, but not as a whole. I also got more sheets…I love sheets (for the bed). You can’t get nice sheets down here without them costing the world. And yes, in case you were wondering, I pay someone to wash my sheets. I just don’t have the arm muscle, nor the skill to do it. Plus, it only costs a buck.
I continued my fun throughout the weekend. On Friday, I headed out to the capitol. I used the excuse of handing in the computer applications. Side note: I have two schools participating in the program for a total of 15 computers. I was disappointed that one school that stated that it would participate never showed up with the application. All well.
Otherwise, I just kinda hung around with all the other volunteers. I went and saw a movie and then had Pizza Hut for dinner…high living.
Saturday. I caught a ride and headed up to the soccer match in Morizan. I love rides. It was with Allison…she is a PC employee/volunteer. A little tough to explain, but just trust me that she’s all-good. Once there, I actually played soccer. Which would explain why I’m in pain now…but that is beside the point. We lost, but only by 3 goals. Which is huge since half the team was like me…inexperienced. The boys only lost by 1. You could tell the Salvos were getting mad that they weren’t winning by a stronger margin. It was kinda funny. After the fun of the games, we went back to a nice little hotel. The shower was warm, the food good and the beer cold. It was a nice way to end the evening. I slept like a rock.
Sunday was spent traveling. It’s about 7 hours to get from Perkin back to my little pueblito. And that about ends my birthday adventure.
All’s that’s left is to wait for some packages….I love packages
Where to begin…let’s start with the morning. I got up, made myself some pancakes and treated myself to a hot bucket bath. I love hot bucket baths (I’m serious).
From there, it was off to the office. I got there and got all the congrats. They usually said congrats and not happy birthday. It was kinda weird, but cool. I spent the day just chillin. Heidy treated me to lunch…hmmm…free lunch.
In the afternoon I got another surprise. I was sitting on my desk, cause I prefer sitting on my desk then in the chair, when Luis Ernesto came up and was like, “Don Justo wants to see you...something about the Peace Corps”. So, I went down and heard more noise coming from his office. When I walked in, everyone was there and they all stood up and started singing happy birthday! They even bought me a cake! Hmmm…cake. It was really nice.
So, then I was suppose to go play softball, but the teacher I had been waiting for all day never came. That made it to late to go play softball. I hear there were 14 women! That’s huge. I think Rosie rounded up that many to play for me, so…I kinda feel bad that I didn’t make it over there. But, such is life.
I pretty much spent the afternoon chillin at Iris’s place. Till around 6ish when we headed over to Sonia’s place. They blind folded me and led me to her backyard. Which was funny cause they had obviously never led someone who was blindfolded. They forgot to mention steps, hammocks and other obstacles. But, I made it. And when they un-blindfolded me, there were a bunch a friends shouting happy birthday! Another surprise! It was great. They had turkey, rice and some sort of vegetable thing. Then cake, ice cream and the cookies I made. It was great…really great.
That night I had my first Salvadorian sleepover. Heidy lives out in the cantons, and by the time the party ended, it was dark. It’s not always the safest thing to travel down here when it is dark. So, she stayed with me. It was a little weird, but it worked out.
I also opened my package from Mom and Dad after La Fea (my soap opera). I love the Far Side. I got the little calendar that you rip off everyday…I know sit at my desk and giggle. My co-workers ask me what it means…but Gary Larson just can’t be translated and retain the same effect. I’m also pretty sure it’s not their sense of humor. I shouldn’t say that, it can be the sense of humor of some, but not as a whole. I also got more sheets…I love sheets (for the bed). You can’t get nice sheets down here without them costing the world. And yes, in case you were wondering, I pay someone to wash my sheets. I just don’t have the arm muscle, nor the skill to do it. Plus, it only costs a buck.
I continued my fun throughout the weekend. On Friday, I headed out to the capitol. I used the excuse of handing in the computer applications. Side note: I have two schools participating in the program for a total of 15 computers. I was disappointed that one school that stated that it would participate never showed up with the application. All well.
Otherwise, I just kinda hung around with all the other volunteers. I went and saw a movie and then had Pizza Hut for dinner…high living.
Saturday. I caught a ride and headed up to the soccer match in Morizan. I love rides. It was with Allison…she is a PC employee/volunteer. A little tough to explain, but just trust me that she’s all-good. Once there, I actually played soccer. Which would explain why I’m in pain now…but that is beside the point. We lost, but only by 3 goals. Which is huge since half the team was like me…inexperienced. The boys only lost by 1. You could tell the Salvos were getting mad that they weren’t winning by a stronger margin. It was kinda funny. After the fun of the games, we went back to a nice little hotel. The shower was warm, the food good and the beer cold. It was a nice way to end the evening. I slept like a rock.
Sunday was spent traveling. It’s about 7 hours to get from Perkin back to my little pueblito. And that about ends my birthday adventure.
All’s that’s left is to wait for some packages….I love packages
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