For some reason El Salvador likes to celebrate Christmas early and I don´t know why. On my calendar, which someone gave to me here for buying a pillow, Christmas is marked on the 25th, but mostly christmas day is just a day off from the fields...relaxing. My kind of Christmas. Nope, all the celebrting happens on Christmas Eve. And it´s awesome! This year, my town´s getting geared up for their annual soccer tournament/mariachi concert/beer festival. We´ll eat lots of pupusas and dance and those that can walk home will. Those that can´t and whose families are ashamed of them will be left laying (seriously) in the street, drunk and incoherent, enjoying the celebration of our dear lord´s birth. It ain´t the states, but it´s something to remember most definitely.
We birthed a cow this week! First time I was ever close to something like that. Man, it was gross, and it was awesome. The little guy was walking within two hours. It happened right in my back yard. Luckily I wasn´t the one deemed to stick my arm in there and turn it around first (one of the calf´s legs was stuck and needed some help). I got my camera out and did some documenting instead.
I´m looking forward to a laid back holiday with the sun shining and a couple close friends. let´s see...gotta catch a bus now, but wanted to bust the blog drought before i split. adios.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Visitors, etc.
August was really a whirlwind month. Kelby, Lizzie, Carrie, and I met in Carrie´s beautiful little city, Antigua, Guatemala for a perfect vacation. It was my first time taking a trip across the border, and the trip, in hindsight, was more refreshing and necessary than I had been thinking. Beyond that, I had a wonderful time with some old friends, plenty of beer, swimsuits, volcanoes, and the works. Lizkelb treated me to a delicious dinner at a fancy little joint in Antigua among other things; Kelby took some great pictures, but more than anything, just good to be around some old friends. That should speak for itself. Thank you both.
My second visitor: Eric. Booya, we saw this country that´s for sure. After a few days in my community Eric and I left overfed with tamales and memories of this hike we took to the ridge of the mountains seen behind my house. I have often sat on my back patio wondering when I´d have the chance to climb the cerro. Eric, of course, was my inspiration and inspirer. We climbed with 7 other folks from my community, one of which was wearing flip flops and beat us all to the top where we were greeted by this beautiful grassy noll, goalposts all ready. Spent a couple days at Lake Coatepeque where swimming was our passtime between afternoon rainshowers. Katy and a couple other vols joined us and enjoyed Eric´s company more than mine. Next off to the beach. We surfed...tried to surf.
I sent Eric home sick, but it seems that he´s recovered and back in the swing of things with his senior year at the university. wow. A whirlwind tour of friends and family, still leaves me with memories I think I´ll keep just for myself for now.
So now I´m back, settled into my house, and bouncing around the community looking for more work, finishing where I left off, and keeping as busy. Spent a lot of time with the remainder of August in the field planting corn with some of my farmer friends...
till next time
My second visitor: Eric. Booya, we saw this country that´s for sure. After a few days in my community Eric and I left overfed with tamales and memories of this hike we took to the ridge of the mountains seen behind my house. I have often sat on my back patio wondering when I´d have the chance to climb the cerro. Eric, of course, was my inspiration and inspirer. We climbed with 7 other folks from my community, one of which was wearing flip flops and beat us all to the top where we were greeted by this beautiful grassy noll, goalposts all ready. Spent a couple days at Lake Coatepeque where swimming was our passtime between afternoon rainshowers. Katy and a couple other vols joined us and enjoyed Eric´s company more than mine. Next off to the beach. We surfed...tried to surf.
I sent Eric home sick, but it seems that he´s recovered and back in the swing of things with his senior year at the university. wow. A whirlwind tour of friends and family, still leaves me with memories I think I´ll keep just for myself for now.
So now I´m back, settled into my house, and bouncing around the community looking for more work, finishing where I left off, and keeping as busy. Spent a lot of time with the remainder of August in the field planting corn with some of my farmer friends...
till next time
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
My community´s ADESCO (sort of a formal community council or less formal town hall) just had their elections. I say just had, but the elections actually took about two months to complete. So I should say they just got finished with elections. The former president passed away unexpectedly a few months back, and rather than replacing him immediately the group decided to wait until the rest of the directiva (secretary, treasurer, etc.) were up for reelection. For the first time in the history of Cacahuatalejo, women now hold significant positions within the directiva. Young people are beginning to fill roles that have remained stagnant for some time. Many of the new members are those that have been doing the work for the last few years anyway, since those that were sitting on the board before were respected older community members that couldn´t read or write. Hopefully this will open some doors for my participation as well. I´ll leave it at that, as I´m in no mood right now to make predictions.
I had the chance to eat one grand, delicious cucumber, sprinkled with salt just off the vine before the plants whithered. I don´t know what happened. I leave for two nights and they´re lush and green. Two days later they look like weeds. They´re on life support now, and i´m personally executing any bug that i find within their leaves between my fingers. My friend Louise came over to help with the rescue. She´s a painfully positive person, but i knew hope was fading when we were working on the cucumbers and all she talked about was how nice the tomatoes looked. People passing on the street tell me that the cucumbers look great, which is disconcerting because now I know they are comfortable lying to me.
The computers should be arriving soon. Will be good to see a bit of effort pay off. The classroom that we built is almost done, so right now I´m just crossing my fingers on that one.
Ah, sio much more, but I´m out of time. Something new and a bit more refreshing next time I promise. Salud!
I had the chance to eat one grand, delicious cucumber, sprinkled with salt just off the vine before the plants whithered. I don´t know what happened. I leave for two nights and they´re lush and green. Two days later they look like weeds. They´re on life support now, and i´m personally executing any bug that i find within their leaves between my fingers. My friend Louise came over to help with the rescue. She´s a painfully positive person, but i knew hope was fading when we were working on the cucumbers and all she talked about was how nice the tomatoes looked. People passing on the street tell me that the cucumbers look great, which is disconcerting because now I know they are comfortable lying to me.
The computers should be arriving soon. Will be good to see a bit of effort pay off. The classroom that we built is almost done, so right now I´m just crossing my fingers on that one.
Ah, sio much more, but I´m out of time. Something new and a bit more refreshing next time I promise. Salud!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The Delay
It's been awhile. Sorry. We are what makes us tardy.
The school garden has been built. Seeds planted. Waiting to see what insects will attempt to destroy our good work. And then we will fight back: a metaphor, perhaps, for my service as of lately. There are ups and downs here just as there are anywhere for any person. All in all, life is surely good.
I recently came back to my site after spending the better part of a week in spanish classes at the training center in San Vicente. The classes were needed. As most of the phrases and topics of conversation in my rural site tend to be a bit redundant, it's good to take the opportunity to expand into more complex learning. In truth, this means I am attempting to speak Spanish like a 4 year old rather than a three year old.
Hung out with my host family in Molineros for a couple days. The rains have started coming. I don't think I realized how much I had missed trying to shout a conversation with Gladys over the ruckus of rain pattering on the corrugated tin roof above the patio. It had been 5 months since I visited Molineros. The community remains unchanged more or less, but what a strange feeling to be in the same place where i started, now after 5 months of absence. Sitting in the same old hammock thinking of what my expectations were, how they have changed, the good and the bad. What I am learning right now, my god, knowledge is empowering and enabling, but sometimes ignorance is bliss. I was excited to finally have the ability to converse freely with my family. The language barrier is ever decreasing, and never ending. So much to learn.
Mario, my old neighbor, and I began to talk about the war. I began to understand I think. Just a beginning, a little bit of a feeling. In academia, I've studied many conflicts, wrote many papers, was graded on what input I could offer to classroom discussions (often not much), and there is certainly an important place for that. But whatever I didn't retain while I was there in the classroom; it hits like a brick now.
It's difficult to quantify what I've done yet, but many of you have asked what kind of projects have kept me busy. Here's an updated working list:school garden, english classes, computer room construction at the school, sex ed. lectures, local community elections, etc. I'll expand on those later.
Please if you're interested in any specific aspect of my PC work, or anything really, just post a comment.
The school garden has been built. Seeds planted. Waiting to see what insects will attempt to destroy our good work. And then we will fight back: a metaphor, perhaps, for my service as of lately. There are ups and downs here just as there are anywhere for any person. All in all, life is surely good.
I recently came back to my site after spending the better part of a week in spanish classes at the training center in San Vicente. The classes were needed. As most of the phrases and topics of conversation in my rural site tend to be a bit redundant, it's good to take the opportunity to expand into more complex learning. In truth, this means I am attempting to speak Spanish like a 4 year old rather than a three year old.
Hung out with my host family in Molineros for a couple days. The rains have started coming. I don't think I realized how much I had missed trying to shout a conversation with Gladys over the ruckus of rain pattering on the corrugated tin roof above the patio. It had been 5 months since I visited Molineros. The community remains unchanged more or less, but what a strange feeling to be in the same place where i started, now after 5 months of absence. Sitting in the same old hammock thinking of what my expectations were, how they have changed, the good and the bad. What I am learning right now, my god, knowledge is empowering and enabling, but sometimes ignorance is bliss. I was excited to finally have the ability to converse freely with my family. The language barrier is ever decreasing, and never ending. So much to learn.
Mario, my old neighbor, and I began to talk about the war. I began to understand I think. Just a beginning, a little bit of a feeling. In academia, I've studied many conflicts, wrote many papers, was graded on what input I could offer to classroom discussions (often not much), and there is certainly an important place for that. But whatever I didn't retain while I was there in the classroom; it hits like a brick now.
It's difficult to quantify what I've done yet, but many of you have asked what kind of projects have kept me busy. Here's an updated working list:school garden, english classes, computer room construction at the school, sex ed. lectures, local community elections, etc. I'll expand on those later.
Please if you're interested in any specific aspect of my PC work, or anything really, just post a comment.
Friday, March 2, 2007
New Job
We were able to raise enough money for several used computers to be installed at the school in my community. Woohoo. So there´s one little project under my belt. Our belts. Thank you especially to all who donated from the states. Parents of students also contributed a great deal of time to our effort. Of course, it´s not as simple as just buying the computers, now we have to build a room for them...round 2.
Most of the time I´ve spent working here so far has been in the school. Between teaching 6th grade english classes, doing a little composting project for a future school garden, and organizing the computer thing, I seem to be bouncing back and forth between my house and the Centro Escolar preparing meeting topics or carrying shovel It´s strange though, how the personal and the professional tend to meld in this setting. There is no timesheet or other means of evaluating until the end of the month when I type up what´s going on and send to my boss for review. Much of my "work" right now is simply getting to know my neighbors and remembering their names (it´s harder than you might think). The typical two-year volunteer timeline consists of a good portion of your first several months in-site doing house visits, attending community meetings, playing soccer, etc., anything that helps you to formulate a diagnostic of what your particular communtiy wants and needs and trying to fill in the gaps where you have the capacity and interest. And even more importanly, it´s a time to get ourself feeling comportable in your new home, with the new language. Hanging with people is an important part of ditching the isolation.
Well, I´m getting there I think. I enjoy hanging with the kids at the school, many of which seem genuinely interested in some of the little projects I´ve proposed. We had a good turn out of student volunteers to help me construct the compost, which was great. These kids know where to find everything we needed, whereas I´m at a loss most of the time. For example I gave a couple of them a big grain sack and asked them to go find some cow poop and dry leaves. They were back in ten minutes, sack filled to the brim with the good fresh stuff. In fact, like many grade schoolers, a bunch of the kids who were so quick to help me and interested in actually learning about what an organic compost was are the same kids that loath the classroom, slouching, waiting for the precious ring of the recess bell every couple of hours.
English is tough. Sixth graders are tough. So some how it´s my job to make learning another language "cool", which is especially hard during the final period of on Friday, but we´re coming along alright. We were learning words for american money the other day. I was holding up coins for the class and the students are shouting "Neekool! Dwerm!(dime)", until we finally came to the hundred dollar bill (which was drawn on the board), and i say "Que es este?"
"Hundy!" says the little poindexter in the front row. "Benjamin!" says another with the serious look of a teacher´s pet. OK, but for the most part i really do take the class seriously. :)
Thursday, February 8, 2007
The Beginnings
I`ll do my best to get all caught up. For about 5 months now I´ve been living here in El Salvador; three months of training in San Vicente and about two months at my site, the little cowboy cantòn, Cacajuatalejo. Training mostly consisted of Spanish classes, tech sessions, a few field trips and nights out with the other trainees. Also, I spent a good deal of time with my host family in the little community of Molineros. I got along splendidly with my host family by the way, but I´ll write about them another time.
I had fun getting to know other volunteers in my training group; 26 of us in all. Having peers to share the beginning of this experience with was comforting in many ways. Although all of us here decided to take this job for an assortment of different reasons, we didn´t have to start this thing alone. Essentially, 10 weeks of training gave me time to get my feet under me and begin to adapt to , well, life in a foreign country.
I swore in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer on November 31, 2006. We went to the American embassy in San Salvador, rose our right hand and swore to uphold the constitution, etc. Had a party afterwards. It was great. So now we´re volunteers. After 10 weeks of hand-holding, we are on our own. That was certainly a vulnerable experience; rolling into my community on a bus late on a Friday afternoon. I hadn´t made any sort of temporary boarding arrangements before this, and I distinctly remember that feeling in my stomach as the bus pulled away from the dirt road intersection in the middle of my Cantòn (village), my new home. All i could think was - well now what?
Of course much has happened since my arrival to Cacagua (short for Cacahuatalejo), and I´m excited to share some of what has progressed. Until then...
I had fun getting to know other volunteers in my training group; 26 of us in all. Having peers to share the beginning of this experience with was comforting in many ways. Although all of us here decided to take this job for an assortment of different reasons, we didn´t have to start this thing alone. Essentially, 10 weeks of training gave me time to get my feet under me and begin to adapt to , well, life in a foreign country.
I swore in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer on November 31, 2006. We went to the American embassy in San Salvador, rose our right hand and swore to uphold the constitution, etc. Had a party afterwards. It was great. So now we´re volunteers. After 10 weeks of hand-holding, we are on our own. That was certainly a vulnerable experience; rolling into my community on a bus late on a Friday afternoon. I hadn´t made any sort of temporary boarding arrangements before this, and I distinctly remember that feeling in my stomach as the bus pulled away from the dirt road intersection in the middle of my Cantòn (village), my new home. All i could think was - well now what?
Of course much has happened since my arrival to Cacagua (short for Cacahuatalejo), and I´m excited to share some of what has progressed. Until then...
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Blog Entry Number One
Well, I did it. My first blog. Hot damn. For all of those who doubted, you had good reason as compruters are not my forte. However, I thought this would be a good way to keep in touch and show some pictures, etc.(that´s if i can figure out how to download pictures). I`ll try to think of some interesting things to write. However, I just finished reading 1984, so forgive my caginess. It´s weird writing something that you know anyone can see at anytime. Not to mention, opinions change. Including mine. Often. So take what i write with a grain of salt (or as a grain of salt?), and we´ll all be better for it. Cheers to all my amigos, and welcome to a little bit of my life in El Salvador.
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