I woke up this morning as always. I had to pee. Not just had to pee, but fairly certain that if I waited any longer I would end up with a kidney infection. Nonetheless, I turn over on my side for just a Little bit longer. Feeling a Little less pressure on my abdomen, I peered into the eyes of my puppy looking up at me.I believe, for an instant, we shared the same longing to run outside and squat to our great relief, but somehow we were both stuck in our respective sleeping areas. The instant passed and Barro relieved himself on my floor… and I was left contemplating just how much it would suck to hand wash my sheets today.
It was 6am and I thought about just how much I could get done before the heat actually arrived in La Montana. But I really just didnt want to do ANYTHING. Unfortunately, the same wave of emotions was going through my head as always, just as certain as I would tomorrow wake up with the fear of approaching kidney infection. One moment I smiled at just how much you could accomplish here before 8am, and the next momento I was lying in the hammock with Barro on my lap. He seems to share the same emotions as me.
But after Reading a Little bit of ¨Salvador¨ and becoming depressed, laughing a Little bit at ¨The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid¨ and finally regaining my strength to start my day from Paulo Coehlo (thank you Danielle for the kindle) I jumped off the side of my hammock, Barro fell and together we searched for breakfast.
I opened the fridge to find a cup of carrot juice, 3 limes and a giant papaya that I had accumulated all in a matter of 10 mins on my walk home past my nieghbors last night. This made me smile and for the next hour or so my mood was up.
I felt my luck continue as I the bus approached and I thought ¨Wow, I´m going to get the last spot. How lucky¨. My spot was hanging out the door with the cobrador barely holding on by one finger and in a position behind me that would in any other place and circumstance be grounds for molestation. But here there is no such thing as personal space and on the bus you just accept it. But as we pulled over to pick up 3 more ppl, I realized, I was far from the last person to get a spot on the bus. The cobrador kept caling ¨walk to the middle, theres space in the middle¨. But clearly there was not and he should have isntead said ¨sit on someone´s lap, stick your face farther into someone elses deoderant-less armpit or get off.¨ It was the first time in my life I didnt know where my left arm was.
But lets see, whats going on in life. A couple weeks ago I was asked to be the Madrina for the 3rd grade girls class in school. After I mistakenly bought a softball instead of futball, I frantincally rushed to clean my own soccer ball so I had something to present the class. But that was a cool day. I found some sort of Iguana called a ¨chenga¨living in my kitchen area that occassionally also uses my bathing area and is supposedly deadly. I also found a cat behind my fridge who likes to sneak in through my windowless window and eat my dog food. I have killed 2 scorpions in my bedroom and seen 1 other running on the ceiling. A cockroach fell onto my lap in the letrine and I´m pretty sure I have ¨regalale¨-d all my mangos away to the neighbors.
As for the Salvador book, it was written during the war period and is an interesting perspective on the history of hte country. One part that stuck out was a quote about how many people here smoke cigarettes. The author noted that the chances of living long enough to die from the effects of cigarettes was so slim that the health risks weren´t a concern. I wonder how the statistics have changed today with the increasing homicide rate, upper respiratory infections and diuretic problems. This is sometimes why your emotions get down.
But other Little moments make me laugh and bring me back up. Like walking into a house and seeing a women in the nude bathing…but thinking about how scandalous it is to have part of your thigh exposed in a daring pair of shorts. Or when my counterparts granddaughter sits on my lap on rubs my legs because they are so smooth. Yes, I still shave! And if she is not doing that she is rubbing my chest. I dont know, apparently boobs are nothing here. I am now only offered a fork 1 out of 2 times I eat and only end up using it 1 out of 3. A Salvadoran friend visited my house and was shocoked I could leave my cereal box out because I didnt have rats.
I dont know. These Little moments have to make you laugh.
But Thursday I have my Asamblea General. My boss is coming to my Little community and Im supposed to present myself to my ENTIRE community (expecting they show up), explain the Peace Coprs and my program, and talk about what I could possibly do here to help. Needless tos ay, Im stressed and procrastinating. I have to still give out over 60 invitations, make some posters and trying to sound like I make sense in spanish and am somewhat sophisticated. We´ll see…
This blog has once again turned out to include about 10% of what I wanted to say, is mostly rambling, a Little bit of compaining, and nothing of real importance. I will try to work on that…
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
How to Keep Track of Time
Okay Im back...
So last week, when my computer charger conveniently died and refused to come back to life and I woke up early to get to town to use the internet, only to find no signal and then it finally came back on and my blog got erased...
I was writing about how I have noticed that time, in fact, moves on. Sometimes youre just not so sure here. But when I looked at photos on facebook of my puppuy (do i talk about him too much?) and see how big he is already, I realized that he will be my judgement that the days are becoming weeks and a month will pass soon enough.
I had also written about the community diagnostic and census I have been doing. And while I thoroughly enjoy meeting all the different community members, the smiles on their faces when I enter their houses, paying careful attention not to smack my head on the roof as I do everytime I enter my counterparts, it is hard. To start the perspective off of how the day first day went, I walked into my counterparts house to meet her to start the house visits, and their were men their cutting her wires because she can{t pay her electricity bill. I should have seen this coming, as we would often sit in the dark of her house, struggling to make eye contact as we spoke over coffee. Its cooler with the lights out, she would tell me.
At the houses, the questions are awkward. When I ask if they have studied in school, they respond ^yes, up to second grade^. When I ask the women if they work, some say yes, in the house. When I ask if their 15 year old daughter is in school, they say no, she has to take care of her baby. When I ask if their husband works, they say, no because their is none. Or maybe in the fields, twice a week. Some make 30 dollars a month, and others are lucky to have 100. Few make more, but only because they have a son, a brother, a mother, in the states who sends them 50 bucks every 2 months.
Some houses are made of mud, others sticks. Some have torn up plastic somewhat sheltering the ceiling. Most just eat beans and corn and tortillas...when they can afford it. I feel very out of place at times and uncomfortable that I have so much more than they have.
But I can see potential for projects. I{d like to start some small businesses. I think I can get people to learn how to make hammocks and sell them. Id like to do a water project. A waste project. The roads need fixing. The children need better education. The adults need education. I hope I can help.
Unfortunately, its sometimes hard to not like it all get you down. I get sad and sometimes I feel a little helpless.
Its the little things that pick me back up. Like when my counterpart asks me if I would like to eat ¨pupusas or comida¨. I still dont get what that means. pupusas are also comida. but it makes me grin. I still am amused, and thoroughly repulsed, at how socially acceptable it is to hawk up a huge loogy and spit it on the floor of your house, your friends house or straight in the middle of your ADESCO meeting, as long as you smear it with your foot afterwards. I can{t open the side door of my house without 3-9 children running in, torturing my dog, sweeping my floor and offering me paternos. mmm good fruit.
My mornings usually always start off well. A book in the hammock. Mangos freshly fallen on the ground outside. A refreshing outdoor shower. But everyday is sure to have hard moments. You just have to keep the right mindset.
That being said, I am extremely homesick right now, and would like nothing more than being in an air conditioned house, watching a movie on the couch wrapped in a blanket with my mommy close by. I better look at photos to see how much my dog has grow...its been 3 weeks since I got him...
So last week, when my computer charger conveniently died and refused to come back to life and I woke up early to get to town to use the internet, only to find no signal and then it finally came back on and my blog got erased...
I was writing about how I have noticed that time, in fact, moves on. Sometimes youre just not so sure here. But when I looked at photos on facebook of my puppuy (do i talk about him too much?) and see how big he is already, I realized that he will be my judgement that the days are becoming weeks and a month will pass soon enough.
I had also written about the community diagnostic and census I have been doing. And while I thoroughly enjoy meeting all the different community members, the smiles on their faces when I enter their houses, paying careful attention not to smack my head on the roof as I do everytime I enter my counterparts, it is hard. To start the perspective off of how the day first day went, I walked into my counterparts house to meet her to start the house visits, and their were men their cutting her wires because she can{t pay her electricity bill. I should have seen this coming, as we would often sit in the dark of her house, struggling to make eye contact as we spoke over coffee. Its cooler with the lights out, she would tell me.
At the houses, the questions are awkward. When I ask if they have studied in school, they respond ^yes, up to second grade^. When I ask the women if they work, some say yes, in the house. When I ask if their 15 year old daughter is in school, they say no, she has to take care of her baby. When I ask if their husband works, they say, no because their is none. Or maybe in the fields, twice a week. Some make 30 dollars a month, and others are lucky to have 100. Few make more, but only because they have a son, a brother, a mother, in the states who sends them 50 bucks every 2 months.
Some houses are made of mud, others sticks. Some have torn up plastic somewhat sheltering the ceiling. Most just eat beans and corn and tortillas...when they can afford it. I feel very out of place at times and uncomfortable that I have so much more than they have.
But I can see potential for projects. I{d like to start some small businesses. I think I can get people to learn how to make hammocks and sell them. Id like to do a water project. A waste project. The roads need fixing. The children need better education. The adults need education. I hope I can help.
Unfortunately, its sometimes hard to not like it all get you down. I get sad and sometimes I feel a little helpless.
Its the little things that pick me back up. Like when my counterpart asks me if I would like to eat ¨pupusas or comida¨. I still dont get what that means. pupusas are also comida. but it makes me grin. I still am amused, and thoroughly repulsed, at how socially acceptable it is to hawk up a huge loogy and spit it on the floor of your house, your friends house or straight in the middle of your ADESCO meeting, as long as you smear it with your foot afterwards. I can{t open the side door of my house without 3-9 children running in, torturing my dog, sweeping my floor and offering me paternos. mmm good fruit.
My mornings usually always start off well. A book in the hammock. Mangos freshly fallen on the ground outside. A refreshing outdoor shower. But everyday is sure to have hard moments. You just have to keep the right mindset.
That being said, I am extremely homesick right now, and would like nothing more than being in an air conditioned house, watching a movie on the couch wrapped in a blanket with my mommy close by. I better look at photos to see how much my dog has grow...its been 3 weeks since I got him...
Monday, April 12, 2010
Time
Time is so weird here. I´ve been on the internet for 30 mins now and I´m rushing. I slept in til 6 am today...and then read another chapter of my book. Yes I´m reading Twilight still. But only because I wanted something that would completely take me out of El Salvador for the night and not make me homesick. And yes, reading about vampires and warewolves does just that. Not that I don´t like it here, I love it, but sometimes you just want a break from refried beans, chicken shit and gravel dirt roads. Otherwise, I have to admit, I´m not a Twilight person. And if it weren´t for the fact that I mistakenly read New Moon before the first book (I was pretty confused the whole way through), I would not have read more than one of the series. I hope the Twilight fan club will take it easy on me.
Anyway, I´m rushing because I have lots to do. After I finally got out of bed, swept...like usual but it´s gotten much harder. Usually it just sucks because no matter how much you sweep there´s still dust and halfway through you can´t see through the cloud of dust...but now my dog attacks the broom. So either I kick him aside or wait til he gets smacked in the face (if you´ve seen me clean you know I´m rather aggressive) and learns his lesson. After I showered, water was actually running today :), outdoors, looking up at the sky ... and my neighboors who live on a hill above me :/ ... I studied some spanish and headed to my counterparts to see what we had planned for the day. I remembered I had to go to town to make copies of some paperwork to use for my upcoming community census. I ran to the 10:10am approaching bus only to realize I forgot the paperwork. It worked out okay though because Barro has been biting the crap out of me so I figured I´d run back to the house and leave him there.
After waiting 20 mins without any sign of a bus or pick'up, I decided to start walking. Shortly after, a couple fellows from Intervida, the NGO I will be working with, drove by in a pick up and stopped for me. I even got to ride INSIDE the car and I swear, maybe it was the wind, but I felt air conditioning. We chatted a lot and my spanish was fortunatley going smoothly this morning. Without surprise, the conversation ended with ¨how old are you and do you have a boyfriend¨... and I didn´t have to pay for the lift :)
See one of the benefits of being a gringa is that people are amazed by you. It doesnt matter what you are wearing or what you look like any certain day, you WILL get cat calls. People will stop and say ¨buenos dias¨ or ¨salu¨ as you pass by, offer your fruit if you visit their house and give you free rides to town.
A downfall is that sometimes you DONT want to be noticed. Cat calls as I exit the latrine, still make me uncomfortable. Sometimes I just want to have regular small talk with people without explaining the mission of the Peace Corps or comparing life in New York to life in the Campo. I´m not complaining, its just sometimes you don´t want to be the gringa. I kid you not, even the cows meander over to the fence in the morning to stare at me as I brush my teeth.
Anyway, back to time. I´m rushing, even though I´ve been here an hour now...because after internet time I have to make photo copies, visit the post office to introduce myself and make sure I´m actually using the right address, go to the grocery store and get home before my dog dies of heat exhaustion in the house. Or eats my soccer cleats. one or the other.
Othertimes, Time passes slowly. My mommy asked me what a daily routine is like. Hmmm, right now, I wake up btw 5-6am, sweep my house, straighten up a bit. Let my dog out or pour a bucket of water on the floor if he´s already peed it. Oh that reminds me, he´s lucky I tuck my mosquito net in because he falls off the bed an average of twice a night and I wake up to find him crying on his back trapped in the net. He´s cute, but not the brightest pup. Anyway, next I eat some sugarless cereal with bananas, about the only healthy thing I eat all day, bathe, relax, listen to some music, study and then head to my counterparts at about 8-9am. Its about a 3 min walk down the dirt road with my pup at my heels. There we chat a little. They tell me we are going to town at 9:30am so I know to be ready to go at 11am. I´m sure to receive a second breakfast of greasy eggs and beans with 2 tortillas if I can´t get to them first to say ´solo uno´. I gulp down some coffee and eventually we get our day started. The day can consist of actually going to town on the 30min bumpy ass bus ride, shopping, meeting people and sweating. Or visiting neighbors houses. Playing soccer. Going to the river with the kids or the waterfalls. Anything really. This week I am starting the cenus though. I need to visit all the families to do an evaluation and start doing needs assessments. I will walk around with the Health Promoter to do this since he knows the houses the best. Sò I´m rushing today so that can get it all done and home before I am too exhausted to get up tomorrow for a longgg day of repeating the Peace Corps mission, my program, why Im here, yes I´m Catholic, no I cant talk about ARENA or FRENTE or anything about politics here, sure I´ve have another cup of coffee and some pan dulce, no I dont have money to give you guys, yes the climate is different here, my name is Jaime, not high-me, yes its funny cause its a guys name here, not Yaimy, just Jaime, no I can´t understand your 2 names even if you say them 3 times and, vaya pues, I have 378 more houses to visit so I must go.
I have a little over 2 weeks til my boss comes and I have to present my findings to her and the entire community... so I don´t feel like I have much time. But as I sit at the table listening to Juan play the guitar under the stars tonight with the drunk bolos singing along, I´m sure to feel like I have all the time in the world and enjoy every passing moment.
Anyway, I´m rushing because I have lots to do. After I finally got out of bed, swept...like usual but it´s gotten much harder. Usually it just sucks because no matter how much you sweep there´s still dust and halfway through you can´t see through the cloud of dust...but now my dog attacks the broom. So either I kick him aside or wait til he gets smacked in the face (if you´ve seen me clean you know I´m rather aggressive) and learns his lesson. After I showered, water was actually running today :), outdoors, looking up at the sky ... and my neighboors who live on a hill above me :/ ... I studied some spanish and headed to my counterparts to see what we had planned for the day. I remembered I had to go to town to make copies of some paperwork to use for my upcoming community census. I ran to the 10:10am approaching bus only to realize I forgot the paperwork. It worked out okay though because Barro has been biting the crap out of me so I figured I´d run back to the house and leave him there.
After waiting 20 mins without any sign of a bus or pick'up, I decided to start walking. Shortly after, a couple fellows from Intervida, the NGO I will be working with, drove by in a pick up and stopped for me. I even got to ride INSIDE the car and I swear, maybe it was the wind, but I felt air conditioning. We chatted a lot and my spanish was fortunatley going smoothly this morning. Without surprise, the conversation ended with ¨how old are you and do you have a boyfriend¨... and I didn´t have to pay for the lift :)
See one of the benefits of being a gringa is that people are amazed by you. It doesnt matter what you are wearing or what you look like any certain day, you WILL get cat calls. People will stop and say ¨buenos dias¨ or ¨salu¨ as you pass by, offer your fruit if you visit their house and give you free rides to town.
A downfall is that sometimes you DONT want to be noticed. Cat calls as I exit the latrine, still make me uncomfortable. Sometimes I just want to have regular small talk with people without explaining the mission of the Peace Corps or comparing life in New York to life in the Campo. I´m not complaining, its just sometimes you don´t want to be the gringa. I kid you not, even the cows meander over to the fence in the morning to stare at me as I brush my teeth.
Anyway, back to time. I´m rushing, even though I´ve been here an hour now...because after internet time I have to make photo copies, visit the post office to introduce myself and make sure I´m actually using the right address, go to the grocery store and get home before my dog dies of heat exhaustion in the house. Or eats my soccer cleats. one or the other.
Othertimes, Time passes slowly. My mommy asked me what a daily routine is like. Hmmm, right now, I wake up btw 5-6am, sweep my house, straighten up a bit. Let my dog out or pour a bucket of water on the floor if he´s already peed it. Oh that reminds me, he´s lucky I tuck my mosquito net in because he falls off the bed an average of twice a night and I wake up to find him crying on his back trapped in the net. He´s cute, but not the brightest pup. Anyway, next I eat some sugarless cereal with bananas, about the only healthy thing I eat all day, bathe, relax, listen to some music, study and then head to my counterparts at about 8-9am. Its about a 3 min walk down the dirt road with my pup at my heels. There we chat a little. They tell me we are going to town at 9:30am so I know to be ready to go at 11am. I´m sure to receive a second breakfast of greasy eggs and beans with 2 tortillas if I can´t get to them first to say ´solo uno´. I gulp down some coffee and eventually we get our day started. The day can consist of actually going to town on the 30min bumpy ass bus ride, shopping, meeting people and sweating. Or visiting neighbors houses. Playing soccer. Going to the river with the kids or the waterfalls. Anything really. This week I am starting the cenus though. I need to visit all the families to do an evaluation and start doing needs assessments. I will walk around with the Health Promoter to do this since he knows the houses the best. Sò I´m rushing today so that can get it all done and home before I am too exhausted to get up tomorrow for a longgg day of repeating the Peace Corps mission, my program, why Im here, yes I´m Catholic, no I cant talk about ARENA or FRENTE or anything about politics here, sure I´ve have another cup of coffee and some pan dulce, no I dont have money to give you guys, yes the climate is different here, my name is Jaime, not high-me, yes its funny cause its a guys name here, not Yaimy, just Jaime, no I can´t understand your 2 names even if you say them 3 times and, vaya pues, I have 378 more houses to visit so I must go.
I have a little over 2 weeks til my boss comes and I have to present my findings to her and the entire community... so I don´t feel like I have much time. But as I sit at the table listening to Juan play the guitar under the stars tonight with the drunk bolos singing along, I´m sure to feel like I have all the time in the world and enjoy every passing moment.
Friday, April 9, 2010
What Happens in 2 Months
After reading the comments-posts from my sisters Danielle and Amanda on my last blog... I got my first real feeling of homesickness. Being here is such a roller coaster of emotions. Everyday I am learning new things. Before I came, I feared the bucket bathes, the bugs, the intermittent electricity, the unknown. Now, I can honestly say I enjoy bucket baths and how each pour of cold water momentarily takes my breath away. I still don´t like the bugs, and my legs look like I have the chicken pox, it never ceases to amaze me how big they can grow (and oh. my. god the toads are like squirrel sized) and how ear piercing the sounds are at night. The canton sounds even a little bit more tranquilo when the lights go out ... and the best part of it all is that I never know what the next day is going to bring.
Other times are hard. I still can´t get over how dirty my toes are ALL THE TIME. and there´s just nothing you can do about it. Its dirty, its dusty, when it rains its muddy. You just have to accept dirty feet. But it sucks. I´m still not great at spanish and campo spanish is so hard. The slang makes certain sentences impossible to decipher and I´m pretty sure my counterpart is making fun of me on a regular basis. This also sucks. I just want to be able to put into words what I´m really thinking. Everyone asks you ¨how much did that cost¨ and it gets annoying. I´m sorry I spent 40 dollars on my dog but I don´t want one of the mangy, rabie breeding flea infested street hounds that you guys like to kick in the face.
Most times are confusing. You live in a beautiful countryside surrounded by mango trees, zapote trees, jacote trees... mountains, waterfalls, rivers...and yet you taint it all with garbage. The people are so happy and so friendly, yet there are an average of 13 homicides a day, making El Salvador the top 10th most dangerous country in the world. You can´t wash your hair when its cold out or you will get Gripe. You cant shower after exercize because you will get Gripe. Your dog will die if he has a bathe at night. Your dogs hair will fall out if you give him beans. If you drink too much cold water you will get fat. Certain aspects of the culture shock you will never get used to.
But the hardest part is doing things like reading my sisters comments. Danielle has been the best support I have had since making the decision to come here. It kinda surprised me... maybe because I´m used to her sticking pieces of glass in my mouth as a toddler, having fights in middle school where we would throw cat poop into each others rooms, or seeing my clothes on her in facebook pictures...recently. But I don´t think I could have done this without her.
Amanda is growing up without me and I can see that from her amazing writing skills (are you copying my papers?) and reference to *achem boys* wtf!?
Christina, where are your comments? You must be busy studying for APs ,) But I´m so sorry I can´t be there during your last year of high school and transition into college.
I miss seeing my family everyday and laughing with my friends. I miss eating out of the gallon carton of ice cream. I miss Sam even though I have a new dog. I miss having regular conversations with my Grandma that don´t always start with ¨¨Where are you again? El Salvador!?¨ I miss penne alla vodka. Filet mignon. Qtips that dont bend when you try to clean your ears. Air conditioning. The feeling of home. It´s starting to get there...but I don´t think it will ever really feel like home without the people I love around me...within arms reach.
Fortunately, I have a cell phone, I can get to the internet, and I know my family is there for me. I am lucky for many reasons. And very proud to have the family and friends that I have. Thank you all for everything... I REALLY could not be here without you.
Other times are hard. I still can´t get over how dirty my toes are ALL THE TIME. and there´s just nothing you can do about it. Its dirty, its dusty, when it rains its muddy. You just have to accept dirty feet. But it sucks. I´m still not great at spanish and campo spanish is so hard. The slang makes certain sentences impossible to decipher and I´m pretty sure my counterpart is making fun of me on a regular basis. This also sucks. I just want to be able to put into words what I´m really thinking. Everyone asks you ¨how much did that cost¨ and it gets annoying. I´m sorry I spent 40 dollars on my dog but I don´t want one of the mangy, rabie breeding flea infested street hounds that you guys like to kick in the face.
Most times are confusing. You live in a beautiful countryside surrounded by mango trees, zapote trees, jacote trees... mountains, waterfalls, rivers...and yet you taint it all with garbage. The people are so happy and so friendly, yet there are an average of 13 homicides a day, making El Salvador the top 10th most dangerous country in the world. You can´t wash your hair when its cold out or you will get Gripe. You cant shower after exercize because you will get Gripe. Your dog will die if he has a bathe at night. Your dogs hair will fall out if you give him beans. If you drink too much cold water you will get fat. Certain aspects of the culture shock you will never get used to.
But the hardest part is doing things like reading my sisters comments. Danielle has been the best support I have had since making the decision to come here. It kinda surprised me... maybe because I´m used to her sticking pieces of glass in my mouth as a toddler, having fights in middle school where we would throw cat poop into each others rooms, or seeing my clothes on her in facebook pictures...recently. But I don´t think I could have done this without her.
Amanda is growing up without me and I can see that from her amazing writing skills (are you copying my papers?) and reference to *achem boys* wtf!?
Christina, where are your comments? You must be busy studying for APs ,) But I´m so sorry I can´t be there during your last year of high school and transition into college.
I miss seeing my family everyday and laughing with my friends. I miss eating out of the gallon carton of ice cream. I miss Sam even though I have a new dog. I miss having regular conversations with my Grandma that don´t always start with ¨¨Where are you again? El Salvador!?¨ I miss penne alla vodka. Filet mignon. Qtips that dont bend when you try to clean your ears. Air conditioning. The feeling of home. It´s starting to get there...but I don´t think it will ever really feel like home without the people I love around me...within arms reach.
Fortunately, I have a cell phone, I can get to the internet, and I know my family is there for me. I am lucky for many reasons. And very proud to have the family and friends that I have. Thank you all for everything... I REALLY could not be here without you.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
One Good Thing About Music
My days consist of moments of "I need to blog about that" and then I sit here and have nothing. It doesnt help that it takes me 6 attempts to get the quote marks to show up because the keyboards here look exactly the same but function differently... enough to make you not care about grammar and punctuation. But it interferes with my thought flow.
Right now Im sitting in the internet cafe with Barro Zeus passed out at my feet. Barro is my little puppy that I purchased yesterday unexpectedly. I went with David on his schools field trip to an artesania. He acquired a grant from Kids to Kids to show a group of kids from his school a workshop on black pottery. It was pretty amazing. Not only because I had a "Ghost" moment as the instructor was teaching me how to work the spinning machine, but because the finished products were so cool. Okay, not as cool as the process in making them, but it was an amazing morning....
Okay let me backtrack. It didnt start amazing. So I woke up, at 5, as usual. Sometimes by choice, other times not, but either way Im up before there is light. Whether it is the chickens, the cows, my dire urgency to pee, the mosquito bites that torture me alive, the praying mantises that have been swarming my room, or mangos falling on my tin roof and scaring the living daylights out of me... I get up. I was particularly rushed this morning because I wanted to take a bus and not a pick up into town. The rocky dirty roads leave you both with tremendous backpains and a layer of dust coating your body by the time you arrive sweat drenched in Osicala. So I was determined to make the 7 am bus. You would think this would be easy but I am quite lethargic in the morning and my addiction to music causes delays. My philosophy is that "One good thing about music is when it hits you feel no pain." Okay thats not mine but I like it. Its the first thing I do when I get up in the morning and it really cheers me up and sets the mood for my day. My recent obsession has been the Toots and the Maytals. Anyway, after postponing my bucket back to the last possible minute, I encountered the problem of procrastination. You see my landlord had built me a bathing area outside and this would be my first day using it. I did not anticipate him coming back this morning to do some finishing touches. For some reason, 5 minutes after I wake up he is outside my house. Everyday. Im still not sure how he manages to walk his farm field, maenuevre his cows, open the wire fence and get to my house by the time I have exited the latrine...but he does it everytime.
Anyway, I quickly packed a bag and headed to his house to shower. As I was walking out frantically with my hair still wet, I saw the bus coming. I threw my backpack over the fence to my counterparts house and jumped on board. Frazzled, with 20 bucks in my pocket, but ready for the field trip.
Soon after arriving, I fell in love with Zeus, the 1 month old puppy living at the artesania house. After approximately 3.5 mins of deliberation, I owed 20 bucks to David and had a puppy covered in clay in my arms. Hence, Zeus became Barro. translation: clay. Fluffy black with brown paws, 6 toes on each foot, possibly a rott weiller, and with every passing person asking "how much for the chucho". NOT FOR SALE. And although I got about a full 20 mintues of sleep last night, I have fallen in love and it didnt matter if he peed my bed. Which brings me to my next train of thought...
I woke up this morning, after tossing and turning all night with Barro on the side of my head, at 4am. I gave up trying to go back to sleep and headed outside to watch the sunrise. Yea I had a few hours but I could hear the world coming to life as I pulled the covers off and I wanted to get out there. At first I was bummed I hadnt brought my book, but before I realized it, it was 630 am. It started dark, quiet, with a slight hum of the birds wakening, flowers opening and, of course, a rooster crowing here and there. As it got brighter, it got louder, a little warmer and I heard Barro crying at the door. I scooped him up, grabbed a blanket and together we watched the sunrise. It was an amazing start to my day. And for that, Im glad Barro didnt let me sleep. After a quick pee on the hotel floor, we packed up and headed to breakfast at the Perquin Lenka Hotel.
That morning, during the clay field trip, Daniel and KCs counterpart in Perquin texted me to come to a Development Meeting at the Hotel Lenka in Perquin. Its awesome up there, and I was interested in the meeting, and they have apple pie, so I packed as soon as I was home from the field trip and headed up there. Since the meeting was at 4pm, and its an hour away, I was forced to spend the night in the hotel overlooking the mountains...and take 2 hot showers. My first hot showers since Ive been here. 2 monthes. And I was torn between enjoying a 30 minute long experience... and social responsibility. I compromised.
My sister Danielle recommended I talk about WHAT IM ACTUALLY DOING HERE. Reading my blogs, I may sound like Im on vacation. So maybe I should explain.
I kinda talked about the confianza thing. Basically, in the next...now 7 weeks, I have to know my community. Were required to do a Census. I have to go around to the 400 households in my community see what level education they have, how much money they bring in...most likely from family memebers in the US, what their needs and wants may be. I have to meet the community leaders. Youth groups. Womens group, Schools, Mayor, Police, etc. Ive met most already. End of April I have to present my findings and possibilities for plans of action to my entire community and my boss. Basically, I have to stop staring at the beauty that is my dog, jumping off bridges, furnishing my house, bathing in waterfalls, playing soccer, and get to work. Well not really...all that stuff helped get my face out in the community...but now I need to start seeing how I can help the people here know how to help themselves.
Im not sure yet. But what I do know is that there is A LOT of potential here. I have met so many ppl that have told me whatever I need to ask. That means they want to work and thats what I need. My counterparts have great ideas and are strong women. There are a lot of kids who are pretty obsessed with having a gringa so Im pretty sure I can convince at least a handful of them to work with me.
The trademark of my area is Henequen. This is hemp. It grows here and people fabricate it into many products. Working on the management of this business will definitely be an area I touch upon. I would like to form more sports groups, especially for women. And Art classes. Im already working with illiterate adults and the Police have requested English classes. I wouldnt mind getting on their good side. I would like to work on a Trash service for my canton, since 100 percent of the community burns it... or just litters. Litter is everywhere and it sucks. I have lots of other options, but I have to look into them more deeply in the next few weeks as I get to know people on a more personal level now. Im gonna steal a quote from a former volunteer and that everyone here uses to explain how important it is getting to know the community and forming a mutual trust...thats what im working on now...
¨Your community will not want to know what you know until they know that you know what they know.¨
Hence, I have got to start knowing what they know so that they know that I know what they know and then they will want to know what I know.
And so, I am putting Barro back into his basket, throwing my backpack on my back, grabbing my grocery bag of dog treats, swinging my purse of coras for the carro onto my hip, and heading out to the first pick up I see to my little mountain side, with a smile on my face everytime I hear the Toots still humming along in my head...
"We gon' do our best, Never let it rest.
Till our good be better. And our better best"
Right now Im sitting in the internet cafe with Barro Zeus passed out at my feet. Barro is my little puppy that I purchased yesterday unexpectedly. I went with David on his schools field trip to an artesania. He acquired a grant from Kids to Kids to show a group of kids from his school a workshop on black pottery. It was pretty amazing. Not only because I had a "Ghost" moment as the instructor was teaching me how to work the spinning machine, but because the finished products were so cool. Okay, not as cool as the process in making them, but it was an amazing morning....
Okay let me backtrack. It didnt start amazing. So I woke up, at 5, as usual. Sometimes by choice, other times not, but either way Im up before there is light. Whether it is the chickens, the cows, my dire urgency to pee, the mosquito bites that torture me alive, the praying mantises that have been swarming my room, or mangos falling on my tin roof and scaring the living daylights out of me... I get up. I was particularly rushed this morning because I wanted to take a bus and not a pick up into town. The rocky dirty roads leave you both with tremendous backpains and a layer of dust coating your body by the time you arrive sweat drenched in Osicala. So I was determined to make the 7 am bus. You would think this would be easy but I am quite lethargic in the morning and my addiction to music causes delays. My philosophy is that "One good thing about music is when it hits you feel no pain." Okay thats not mine but I like it. Its the first thing I do when I get up in the morning and it really cheers me up and sets the mood for my day. My recent obsession has been the Toots and the Maytals. Anyway, after postponing my bucket back to the last possible minute, I encountered the problem of procrastination. You see my landlord had built me a bathing area outside and this would be my first day using it. I did not anticipate him coming back this morning to do some finishing touches. For some reason, 5 minutes after I wake up he is outside my house. Everyday. Im still not sure how he manages to walk his farm field, maenuevre his cows, open the wire fence and get to my house by the time I have exited the latrine...but he does it everytime.
Anyway, I quickly packed a bag and headed to his house to shower. As I was walking out frantically with my hair still wet, I saw the bus coming. I threw my backpack over the fence to my counterparts house and jumped on board. Frazzled, with 20 bucks in my pocket, but ready for the field trip.
Soon after arriving, I fell in love with Zeus, the 1 month old puppy living at the artesania house. After approximately 3.5 mins of deliberation, I owed 20 bucks to David and had a puppy covered in clay in my arms. Hence, Zeus became Barro. translation: clay. Fluffy black with brown paws, 6 toes on each foot, possibly a rott weiller, and with every passing person asking "how much for the chucho". NOT FOR SALE. And although I got about a full 20 mintues of sleep last night, I have fallen in love and it didnt matter if he peed my bed. Which brings me to my next train of thought...
I woke up this morning, after tossing and turning all night with Barro on the side of my head, at 4am. I gave up trying to go back to sleep and headed outside to watch the sunrise. Yea I had a few hours but I could hear the world coming to life as I pulled the covers off and I wanted to get out there. At first I was bummed I hadnt brought my book, but before I realized it, it was 630 am. It started dark, quiet, with a slight hum of the birds wakening, flowers opening and, of course, a rooster crowing here and there. As it got brighter, it got louder, a little warmer and I heard Barro crying at the door. I scooped him up, grabbed a blanket and together we watched the sunrise. It was an amazing start to my day. And for that, Im glad Barro didnt let me sleep. After a quick pee on the hotel floor, we packed up and headed to breakfast at the Perquin Lenka Hotel.
That morning, during the clay field trip, Daniel and KCs counterpart in Perquin texted me to come to a Development Meeting at the Hotel Lenka in Perquin. Its awesome up there, and I was interested in the meeting, and they have apple pie, so I packed as soon as I was home from the field trip and headed up there. Since the meeting was at 4pm, and its an hour away, I was forced to spend the night in the hotel overlooking the mountains...and take 2 hot showers. My first hot showers since Ive been here. 2 monthes. And I was torn between enjoying a 30 minute long experience... and social responsibility. I compromised.
My sister Danielle recommended I talk about WHAT IM ACTUALLY DOING HERE. Reading my blogs, I may sound like Im on vacation. So maybe I should explain.
I kinda talked about the confianza thing. Basically, in the next...now 7 weeks, I have to know my community. Were required to do a Census. I have to go around to the 400 households in my community see what level education they have, how much money they bring in...most likely from family memebers in the US, what their needs and wants may be. I have to meet the community leaders. Youth groups. Womens group, Schools, Mayor, Police, etc. Ive met most already. End of April I have to present my findings and possibilities for plans of action to my entire community and my boss. Basically, I have to stop staring at the beauty that is my dog, jumping off bridges, furnishing my house, bathing in waterfalls, playing soccer, and get to work. Well not really...all that stuff helped get my face out in the community...but now I need to start seeing how I can help the people here know how to help themselves.
Im not sure yet. But what I do know is that there is A LOT of potential here. I have met so many ppl that have told me whatever I need to ask. That means they want to work and thats what I need. My counterparts have great ideas and are strong women. There are a lot of kids who are pretty obsessed with having a gringa so Im pretty sure I can convince at least a handful of them to work with me.
The trademark of my area is Henequen. This is hemp. It grows here and people fabricate it into many products. Working on the management of this business will definitely be an area I touch upon. I would like to form more sports groups, especially for women. And Art classes. Im already working with illiterate adults and the Police have requested English classes. I wouldnt mind getting on their good side. I would like to work on a Trash service for my canton, since 100 percent of the community burns it... or just litters. Litter is everywhere and it sucks. I have lots of other options, but I have to look into them more deeply in the next few weeks as I get to know people on a more personal level now. Im gonna steal a quote from a former volunteer and that everyone here uses to explain how important it is getting to know the community and forming a mutual trust...thats what im working on now...
¨Your community will not want to know what you know until they know that you know what they know.¨
Hence, I have got to start knowing what they know so that they know that I know what they know and then they will want to know what I know.
And so, I am putting Barro back into his basket, throwing my backpack on my back, grabbing my grocery bag of dog treats, swinging my purse of coras for the carro onto my hip, and heading out to the first pick up I see to my little mountain side, with a smile on my face everytime I hear the Toots still humming along in my head...
"We gon' do our best, Never let it rest.
Till our good be better. And our better best"
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Good Friday...not so Good
Soooo much has happened in the past few days that it´s a shame I´m not gonna remember nor have the patience to write it all. First a disclaimer: I am really trying to learn spanish as fast as possible and doing so, it is easy to forget how to spell things in english or get confused since my brain is exhausted.
Anyway, I figured I´d start with Good Friday. I was ready to head home to my site after a particularly traumatizing evening. It involved two horses rather excited to see each other but I won´t go into details. I used to love animals, still do, but definitely have a new perspective on them being here. And appreciate the abilities of vetenarians much more. Anyway, as I was walking out of my counterparts house, she told me that I have to sleep there tonight. All the men, mostly the drunks, would be going around robbing the houses for Good Friday. It´s tradition. And I would be scared to be in my house alone. Strange. But apparently it´s all in good humor.
So that night I shared a bed with my counterpart and her granddaughter. At first, the bed sharing wasn´t my favorite. But as the nights get lonelier and lonelier... I kinda like it.
The other night I was visiting some neighbors and I was talking to one guy for a really long time. It was fun because he is a police who works at the ports and airports so he has experience talking to Americans. Campo spanish is verrrrrry difficult to understand due to the slang and lack of pronunciation. But this guy knew to speak slow for me. Anyway, after awhile of talking he would say things like ¨äy hombre!¨ to me and I felt cool. Like I fit in. Or when I eat limes people tell me I´m Salvadorena.
Yesterday was awesome too. We went to the rio torola. I saw a couple of guys jump off the bridge and I decided that I wanted to too. Peace Corps does tell us to participate in all community activities....
Anyway, I climbed to the top and was in the center of a big crowd of Salvadoran men. A dumb gringa full clothed, with shoes on, sitting on the edge of a bridge 60 feet in the air. My counterpart was at the bottom screaming and my salvadoran friends had my camera. There was no turning back. So I thought back to the moment I went skydiving and knew what to do. Throw myself off the side without thinking. Well it felt like my ass was what hit the water first so I´m sure I didn´t look pretty. But it was fun. And when I felt my hand throbbing and saw my palm was bruised (didn´t know was possible) and looked up, I realized how high the bridge was. Not sure if I would do it again....
As for this morning. I woke up at 5am trying to convince myself that I could hold me pee...but I couldn´t. I pulled my top sheet off, my first day of feeling cold in 2 months (it poured rain at the river, forgot that part) and waddled to the latrine outside. Well as soon as I walked out I hear my landlord screaming from across the field to come milk the cows. It´s my own fault because I had told him I wanted to learn, but all I really wanted to do was crawl back into bed. Instead, I threw some water on my face from the pila, walked tentatively around the grazing bulls (I´m still scared of getting tossed) and sat down on the rock in front of a swollen set of utters. The process is kinda interesting. You bring a baby out and let him get the milk flowing from the cow. The baby does this by head butting the cow in the utters. After he gets a little, we start milking. Its sticky and kinda awkward but it was cool. Later I´m going horseback riding...
I´m really happy here. For one thing, my site is beautiful. Besides for it being extremely extremely dusty, and I never feel clean, and everything is constantly covered in a layer of soot, its awesome. As I round my corner from my house, I have a beautiful view of the mountains. The hemp plants that grow blanket the mountainside nearby and its beautiful. I´m a 20min walk to the waterfalls which are also amazing. I´m happy to know that´s where my water source is as well. The people are so kind and so excited to have me here. It´s quiet, but people are always talking to me. There´s always stuff to do, but I´m always relaxed.
Once I remember the rest of what I have been doing I´ll post again. A few quick things I have learned:
1. To clean your house you do not sweep. You throw a bucket of water on the ground.
2. It is always necessary to eat more than 1 tortilla at every meal. Use excessive amounts of oil and salt. And eating with your hand makes it taste better.
3. Pick-up Trucks are much faster than buses to get to town. But you will have whip lash when you get there.
4. Straightening your hair is really sexy.
5. Toilet paper is a luxury.
6. Eating fish and egg soup all week during Semana Santa is torture but it must be done.
7. I miss spaghetti, tomato sauce and chocolate.
Anyway, I figured I´d start with Good Friday. I was ready to head home to my site after a particularly traumatizing evening. It involved two horses rather excited to see each other but I won´t go into details. I used to love animals, still do, but definitely have a new perspective on them being here. And appreciate the abilities of vetenarians much more. Anyway, as I was walking out of my counterparts house, she told me that I have to sleep there tonight. All the men, mostly the drunks, would be going around robbing the houses for Good Friday. It´s tradition. And I would be scared to be in my house alone. Strange. But apparently it´s all in good humor.
So that night I shared a bed with my counterpart and her granddaughter. At first, the bed sharing wasn´t my favorite. But as the nights get lonelier and lonelier... I kinda like it.
The other night I was visiting some neighbors and I was talking to one guy for a really long time. It was fun because he is a police who works at the ports and airports so he has experience talking to Americans. Campo spanish is verrrrrry difficult to understand due to the slang and lack of pronunciation. But this guy knew to speak slow for me. Anyway, after awhile of talking he would say things like ¨äy hombre!¨ to me and I felt cool. Like I fit in. Or when I eat limes people tell me I´m Salvadorena.
Yesterday was awesome too. We went to the rio torola. I saw a couple of guys jump off the bridge and I decided that I wanted to too. Peace Corps does tell us to participate in all community activities....
Anyway, I climbed to the top and was in the center of a big crowd of Salvadoran men. A dumb gringa full clothed, with shoes on, sitting on the edge of a bridge 60 feet in the air. My counterpart was at the bottom screaming and my salvadoran friends had my camera. There was no turning back. So I thought back to the moment I went skydiving and knew what to do. Throw myself off the side without thinking. Well it felt like my ass was what hit the water first so I´m sure I didn´t look pretty. But it was fun. And when I felt my hand throbbing and saw my palm was bruised (didn´t know was possible) and looked up, I realized how high the bridge was. Not sure if I would do it again....
As for this morning. I woke up at 5am trying to convince myself that I could hold me pee...but I couldn´t. I pulled my top sheet off, my first day of feeling cold in 2 months (it poured rain at the river, forgot that part) and waddled to the latrine outside. Well as soon as I walked out I hear my landlord screaming from across the field to come milk the cows. It´s my own fault because I had told him I wanted to learn, but all I really wanted to do was crawl back into bed. Instead, I threw some water on my face from the pila, walked tentatively around the grazing bulls (I´m still scared of getting tossed) and sat down on the rock in front of a swollen set of utters. The process is kinda interesting. You bring a baby out and let him get the milk flowing from the cow. The baby does this by head butting the cow in the utters. After he gets a little, we start milking. Its sticky and kinda awkward but it was cool. Later I´m going horseback riding...
I´m really happy here. For one thing, my site is beautiful. Besides for it being extremely extremely dusty, and I never feel clean, and everything is constantly covered in a layer of soot, its awesome. As I round my corner from my house, I have a beautiful view of the mountains. The hemp plants that grow blanket the mountainside nearby and its beautiful. I´m a 20min walk to the waterfalls which are also amazing. I´m happy to know that´s where my water source is as well. The people are so kind and so excited to have me here. It´s quiet, but people are always talking to me. There´s always stuff to do, but I´m always relaxed.
Once I remember the rest of what I have been doing I´ll post again. A few quick things I have learned:
1. To clean your house you do not sweep. You throw a bucket of water on the ground.
2. It is always necessary to eat more than 1 tortilla at every meal. Use excessive amounts of oil and salt. And eating with your hand makes it taste better.
3. Pick-up Trucks are much faster than buses to get to town. But you will have whip lash when you get there.
4. Straightening your hair is really sexy.
5. Toilet paper is a luxury.
6. Eating fish and egg soup all week during Semana Santa is torture but it must be done.
7. I miss spaghetti, tomato sauce and chocolate.
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