One Year in... Snakes, Shampoo, and Self-Defense

So I just got done paining my nails dark purple…. I have to keep my nails painted dark colors because life around here keeps your nails pretty dirty. Like my dad always used to say, I could grow tomatoes under these fingernails on most days, haha. Well it’s the rainy season, so it rains almost everyday, keeping everything pretty muddy, but also cooled down a bit, which is a wonderful thing. I like to enjoy a rainy afternoon on my hammock reading a book or hanging out with some neighborhood kids. So I don’t know if I mentioned before, but I had a mouse problem in my house. They had actually made a nest inside of my boxspring! I could feel the little guys scratching around underneath me, and I’ll let you know something pretty repulsive and slightly embarrassing: They ate up all of my underwear out of my dirty laundry. GROSS. So I’ve gotten that situation taken care of and I also got my bat problem taken care of, so I no longer feel like batman living in a batcave. So I’ll stop complaining about my critter problems, but that’s the fun stuff so I figured I’d throw it in here first. Oh yeah, and a coral snake slithered past my back door tonight (If I need to go out to the latrine tonight, I think I’ll just hold it). I guess I’ll wait until my mom gets home from her visit next week to post this so she won’t cancel her plane ticket! I am PROUD to say that after my 4th up-close-and-personal run-in with snakes in El Salvador, I finally feel like my fears are subsiding.

So now I’ve been here for over a year and I’m feeling really good about the different projects I’ve got going on. The 12 kids in my hammock-making group have been working hard every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon twisting string, and they will soon have enough made to start weaving their hammocks. The youth group I’ve been working with has now made and sold two big batches of aloe vera shampoo, raising a lot of funds that they will use some of to put on a community celebration Children’s Day in October (By the way the Mothers Day and Fathers Day events put on by the youth group were both huge successes). Remember how on Mother’s Day and Father’s day we always used to ask why we didn’t get a kids’ day? I know, I know, EVERYDAY is kids day. Well that might not necessarily be the case in a developing country, so it will be nice to have a day for all the kids in the community to play some games, have some fun, break open some piñatas, and win some prizes. Also, on at the Children’s Day Fiesta my ballet class is going to perform and to show the community what they’ve been learning all year. They’ll be wearing really cute pink leotards and ballet skirts which they earned with good attendance, courtesy of our generous donor, the lovely Jeannie Koenemann. My idea now is to change it up and have their next performance be hiphop or some other style.

My eco-group girls have finished making their recycled bottle flowers and also made some cool recycled bracelets made from woven strips of chip bags. I learned how to make these AMAZING wallets/ change-purses/ any-kind-of-bag-you-want out of chip bags. You may have seen them before in fair trade stores made by co-ops in Mexico or such, and its really really cool because the materials are literally FREE and you end up with an awesome product. Plus, you are re-using trash that here would end up on the ground, littering the community. SO I’ve been perfecting the art so that I can teach it to people in my site. I tried first with kids, and it turns out it’s a little difficult, so I’m going to get together some adult women who want to learn. Right now we’re just collecting bags. I am supposed to teach the new group of volunteers who have arrived in the country how to make them, as well as the recycled flowers, during their training, so that they will be able to bring the knowledge to the communities where they will work. Upcoming eco-group activities include an excursion to the Cinquera forest, a hike with the youth group on Mount Guazapa, and a one night camping trip which might be this weekend or might be postponed because of rain.

So I learned from another volunteer how to give these classes on women’s self defense. I saw her give the class at that camp I told you about in another blog session…. The camp for the scholarship girls… well anyways I sort of felt like since I had taught dance that I could teach these self defense classes- does that make sense? Its all physical right? The volunteer who taught them was finishing her service and she wanted to pass on her skills… So she gave a few of us interested volunteers a training one weekend and now I’m giving the classes. So far I’ve given two classes in my site and one in another volunteer’s site. Peace Corps wants to incorporate the class in the training for new volunteers for their own personal security… I think its good for women in such a machista (macho/ male dominated) society to be able to defend themselves mentally… and if necessary, verbally…. And its nice just to know that if a situation ever arose, that you could defend yourself physically too (or at least break their nose… or their balls…)

Cucumber Penises, Hammocks, and Worms

So I’m just typing away in my house sitting in front of a fan and listening to ani difranco. Thank goodness for electricity. When I talk to my friends who don’t have electricity I am wow-ed every time.
So I went home to the states and had a beautiful time. As soon as I got back I went to a three day camp for 20 young girls who won high school and college scholarships given by a group of Peace Corps Volunteers I’m a part of called WYD (Women and Youth Development). Basically we meet monthly and each year Peace Corps Volunteers choose girls in their site to apply for the scholarships . The girls who win the scholarships attend the camp focused helping the girls to be successful individuals. We included self-esteem, stress management, problem solving, women’s health and life planning, how to write a resume, how to interview, a self- defense class, yoga, and financial management. We gave them planners and journals and covered the expenses for their travel, stay, and food while at the camp. The money comes from donors in the US. The camp was an awesome success. I taught yoga, lead some problem solving challenges, and did a stress management class. My favorite part was the self-defense class taught by another volunteer. At one point during a sexual health class I saw a wide-eyed girl struggling to put a condom on a seriously oversized cucumber. I took a mental photo and then handed her a smaller banana. The girls that attended the camp were inspiring. They all came from poor financial backgrounds, but their positive energy makes them SO special.. So basically leaving the U.S. was difficult, but coming back to such a great experience reminded me of why I came here in the first place.
So, I applied for a grant for a workshop to teach a group of kids in my site how to make hammocks. The project is called Hands on Hammocks and you can read about it on the website www. Kidstokids.org under the projects being funded right now... because we got the grant! Yay. So we’re waiting on the money for that and we’ll get started.
I’ve taught my Eco-group that meets on Sundays about organic and inorganic trash and how composting and worm-composting works. We got some wood donated and we’re building a worm-composting box this week. When I look at the worms, I try not to think of the intestinal kind that we learned about in medical training. Gross.
My weekly dance class is still going well. My mom is working on rounding up some ballet skirts to send down to the girls. They all know the basic ballet steps I have taught them and the French names… but they LOVE free dance so much its hard for me to not let them spend the last third of every class just free-dancing their little butts off. Its priceless.
The weekly English class is still going well, too. Last week we sang “Head Shoulders Knees, and Toes”… (with Eyes, Ears, Mouth, and Nose). The week before we acted out and learned animals, saying the English animal name and making up movements and sounds. It was hilarious.
VIVERO- A vivero is a tree nursery. Someone from my community on the city water committee told me the committee wants to start one. I got an organization called Trees, Water, and People to come in and do a two-day workshop about trees, reforestation, how to start a vivero. The workshop was free and a success. If the vivero is a success, the trees will be given out to all the villages in the municipality to be re-planted. Trees= Good.
What else? Um… Environmental classes in the school about trash, trees, the water cycle, energy…
There’s a new youth group that’s pretty much awesome… Thanks to all friends and family in the States who helped out by the way! They have been working to put on a big Mother’s Day celebration tomorrow. They are going to act out and lip sinc to songs as entertainment…. Which I find entertaining myself, but I think in a different way then they do. J
At a recent In-Service Training I learned how to make natural aloe vera shampoo. My next exciting project is teaching the youth group how and where to get the materials so we can make and sell shampoo as a fundraiser. It feels really cool to mix up the goop with your hands and that’s my main motivation for starting this shampoo initiative. Just kidding. I want to do it because it’s a great way for them to make money and once I’m gone they can still do it…. Sustainability= Good. …. But I will still help them out…. just to get my hands in the goop.
I just learned how to make these awesome flowers out of 2 liter plastic bottles. A Salvadoran lady taught me and the final product is awesome… and its recycled art! I can’t wait to teach my Eco-group how to make them. When I finally learn how to post photos and combat my technological laziness, I want to post a photo of my sweet-ass plastic bottle flowers.
OH YEAH- in March we did a biodiversity-themed drawing contest for Earth Day hosted by the U.S. Embassy. I entered in the 2 winners I chose from my school, and one of them won 2nd place in the National contest. So he won a really nice big framed Map of El Salvador for the school. To put the greatness of this map into perspective, some of these kids have never looked at a map of their country. Now they’ll have a great big one they can look at all the time. By the way, I was going to do a big world map mural project, but I decided to wait until next dry season.
So there is this tree called Ujushte, the seed of which is highly nutritional. It has lots of vitamins, protein, iron, etc. Its like a magic seed because you can make TONS of things out of it… bread, cookies, tortillas, horchata… and especially good for El Salvador because you can make anything out of ujushte that you can make out of corn… and they make everything out of corn. Also just one full grown tree can supply enough seeds for a whole community… or so they say. The only problem is that the people don’t know about it, or realize how much it could help them. So I found out about this seed during In-Service training, and guess what? I have not only one, but three Ujushte trees visible from my house. SO an Ujushte project is on the way.
I keep talking to people about the trash situation and nothing has come of it. I’m working on that.
That’s all I can think of right now. So don’t get me wrong, it seems like I’m busy and I am in a way, but I still have LOTS of free time.
I read a lot of books. I watch a lot of dvds. The other day it rained and I played in the rain with my neighbor kids Marlon and Yessica and we had a dirt fight.
Ani Difanco is still my best friend. And Biggie Smalls. And Billie Holiday. Its funny how music can transport you through time and place.
OH MY GOD I forgot to mention the snake that was behind my house the other night when I went out to brush my teeth. AND the snake that I didn’t see until it was slithering out from in between my FEET as I was walking home the other day. Horrifying to say the least. But on the bright side I still have my beloved mosquito net which I always keep meticulously tucked under the edges of my bed so I at least feel safe in my bed at night from whatever snakes, rats, bats, scorpions, beetles, and any other evil demons pests from hell. If only my mosquito net had an internal AC system and soundproofing from roosters and chickens. I’m only kidding… in an entirely serious sort of way.

Rite of Passage: My First Dysenteric Experience

So My mom came to visit me and we had a great time. We spent a few nights in Milingo and a night in Molineros, so she got to experience the two placed I have lived. She also got to see San Salvador and the beach. In my site, people were SO exited to meet her. EVERY SINGLE PERSON I introduced her to said "Que Joven!" and "yo pense que era tu hermana" which means... "How young"... "I thought she must be your sister." SO I guess my mom left with a confidence boost. They also brought her lots of gifts. She recieved a teddy bear, a box, a little woven bag, an embroidered cloth, more little cloths, coconuts, tangerines, mangoes, candies, earrings.... I told you they like to give, even though they don't have much.

So I was super careful of everything my mom ate and drank while she was here, but I must have forgotten to knock on wood the last time I said "I'm so lucky I've been here for seven months and I haven't gotten sick from the food or water." Almost all of my friends had by this point some type of diarreah/vomiting/infection/parasite/poop in your pants experience, so by this point I was feeling pretty lucky.... but I knew inevitably I would have to make that rite of passage. I just didn't know it would happen the night before my mom's plane was supposed to leave.

So basically it was nausea/vomiting/severe abdominal pain/diarreah/fever/dehydration that I found out later at the hospital was caused by amoeba parasites and a severe bacterial infection. My mom stayed an extra day to help take care of me (I'm a lucky girl) and then I spent four nights in the hospital. The hospital was nice and they took good care of me. I'm alive and feeling much better.
One of my friends had the same thing and when she was released from the hospital she came in to visit me. Also my host mom from training came all the way down from San Vicente to visit me in the hospital one morning and bring me gatorade and juice boxes. How sweet!

Well theres been a lot of stuff going on, and I've been having to spend a lot of time in the capital recently, for work reasons and others (Superbowl- Go Saints!).

Thats all for now. Miss you all!

Training, Turkey, Soccer, My New House and my First Christmas Away from Home… also Work

Ok so its been FOREVER since I blogged… I think I’ve got to go all the way back to November, when the landslides happened….

TRAINING: So Training 2 was rescheduled and moved from San Vicente to Santa Ana, at the National School of Agriculture. The 16 of us in the Sustainable Agriculture/Environmental Education Program stayed together in a big house. Real World El Salvador! …without the plushness or the amenities. We learned about worm composting, organic farming practices, local trees and plants, forming environmental groups, community garbage management projects, etc.

TURKEY: After training several of us went to Lago de Coatepeque to celebrate Thanksgiving. Its a beautiful lake right in the crater of a volcano. The house we rented (for cheap!) was SO lovely; I hope we go back to the exact same place next Thanksgiving. We cooked turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. It was delicious.

SOCCER: After Lago de Coatepeque, I went to a Peace Corps soccer game in Chinameca, in the east. There are monthly games between PC volunteers and Salvadorans in the community that hosts the game. It’s a nice reason to hang out and see another part of the country.

MY NEW HOUSE: When I got back to my site, I was told there was a house I could move into! Previously there weren’t any available houses, and I was very ready to have my own space. Its a common cinderblock house built by Habitat for Humanity after the war. It was empty, except for a bed and a table. Using my moving-in allowance, I bought a small refrigerator, a two-burner gas stove, a hammock, dishes, a pot and a pan, etc. People from the community have lent me a gas tank, blankets, and chairs, and also helped me build a closet and a bench. The family that owns the house has been so helpful. Don Rigo comes over and fixes things… he built a roof over my outdoor washing area so I have some shade and cover from the rain. I didn’t have a private place to bathe, so I was bucket bathing outside in my clothes (shorts and a tank) like many Salvadorans do. Don Rigo built me a place to bathe with sheet metal and shower curtains. I pay $20 rent, plus electricity and water ($5-10), but I only make $300 a month, and it disappears like magic (trips and phone cards).
So now I live in my own house and I cook for myself, which is awesome. Kids come over and play cards on my porch, and friends come visit and bring oranges, bananas, star fruit, etc. People like to give you the little that they have.

CHRISTMAS: So in December people are in holiday mode. My community had a couple dances to raise money, but one of them turned into a giant drunken brawl.
I went to the beach for two days with my friend and her parents who were visiting. It was a sandy beach, so I felt just like I was in Charleston or Alabama!
I’m not going to lie and say it wasn’t hard to spend the holidays away from home. I tried to fight the homesickness by making myself a little Christmas tree and decorating it. It was pretty pitiful… like Charlie Brown Christmas. Here (and in most Latin America) they celebrate Christmas on the 24th. My old host family had killed one of their cows, like many people do so they can have meat on Christmas. At a church service, the sermon warned that sometimes we forget the “true meaning of Christmas” and think that it’s “all about the meat.” So like we get excited about gifts, they get excited about meat…. And I was excited too! We had carne asada! Then I went and traded Secret Santa gifts with friends. Later we went to a dance party. I was invited to a friend’s house and we had panes rellenos (bread stuffed with chicken and veggies). At midnight everyone hugs and says “Feliz Navidad” and shoots off fireworks. I was lucky to have a community that celebrated, because many people don’t celebrate because they don’t have the money.
The next day, the 25th, I went into the capital and met up with friends for a movie, dinner, and dancing.
In December I started running with my neighbor! She is a police officer so it is safe for us to go, and its mostly just lucky that she runs because that’s VERY rare here.

NEW YEARS: I went to my training community, Molineros. We ate more panes rellenos, and shot off more fireworks and hugged at midnight. The next day was the Fiestas Patronales of Molineros, so there were rides, and more fireworks. They did this thing called Torito Pinto, in which basically these guys run around with a bull shaped thing on their backs that shoot off fireworks. They are these crazy fireworks that shoot off in all kinds of unpredictable directions. Its really dangerous, but it really was fun. Everyone goes running and hiding behind houses. I’m sure every year people get burned. I rode on a really sketchy Ferris Wheel and got a great view of the valley and the volcano. Later that night we went to a huge dance party.

WORK IN MY SITE: I came back to my site, had some meetings in my community, and planned my dance classes! I’m teaching two weekly ballet/creative movement classes, ages 7-11, and 12-14. They love it, and I hope to find a way to get them some ballet shoes and maybe some little ballet skirts or leotards. At some point I’ll be looking for donations! I tried to get an adult yoga class going but it’s taking a little more effort.
I’m working with a woman in my community to start a World Map Mural project. We’re going to raise money to buy the supplies, and using a grid system, have a group of kids paint a huge world map mural on one of the school walls. We’re also talking about getting a project going teaching kids how to make hammocks. The point is to teach the kids a traditional trade, to give them a possible source of income in their future, and keeping them out of gangs, etc. I really want to get these kids involved in a recycled art project as well. We planned the first meeting of an environmental group, and elected a president, secretary, and treasurer. I’m also bringing a group of volunteers to my site in February to perform the play version of the Dr. Seuss book The Lorax. It’s in Spanish, rhymes, has an environmental lesson, and involves some rapping, haha.

MORE SOCCER: So last weekend I went to another Peace Corps Soccer game in Juayua, a really cool town. Lots of my friends came and we had a good time. It was CRAZY windy though.

This week my mom is here visiting me!

The Landslides

So last week I went back to my original host training community/family for Training II. After having been in our sites for two months, the whole group of volunteers I was sworn in with goes back to San Vicente for another few weeks of technical training. So we all got there and were super excited to be all back together again and to see our host families. So training started with a couple days of spanish classes. The first weekend we all planned a trip to the beach because we all wanted to be together and share stories about our sites, relax, etc. We had our bags packed for a one night trip to the beach, however the trip was cancelled because of a tropical depression that was causing a lot of rain in the country, so because of security reasons we weren't allowed to go . So we were all ready for a trip and we wanted to go somewhere, so most of us just came into San Salvador for the night to hang out and stay at a hotel. Some stayed behind in the host communities around San Vicente. That was Saturday night.
Sunday morning we found out that during the night rains had caused mudslides, landslides, and flooding throughout the country, the worst of which was a huge landslide of the side of the Chinchontipec Volcano that came down on the town of VeraPaz, basically right where my host community is. VeraPaz is right down the road, like a 10-15 min walk from Molineros, my host community. We used to go running there in the mornings during training, and thats where people in my community go to Mass. Now its completely covered in giant boudlers rocks and mud. There were a lot of deaths and a lot of people lost their homes. The death count in the country is over 130 and there are over 13,000 people without homes. The friends of mine that stayed behind had really intense experiences, and saw a lot of awful things that day. Even though it would have been good to be there with them to help, I'm really lucky we happened to be in San Sal for the night. They were all able to get out and eventually make it to San Salvador with us.
Peace Corps put us all on Standfast mode which means we cant leave where we are if were in a safe place. We couldnt go back to San Vicente because the rain hadn't stopped so the possibility of further destruction was to high, and with so much craziness going on and all... some bridges were down, so we couldnt get in to San V anyways. I talked to my host family and they are doing fine... but they said Molineros is covered in mud, and theres no water or anything. There are relief groups coming to help out with everything, and we all really want to be allowed to go back to San Vicente and help, but since its not safe we can't go yet. We will be notified when we can be a part of any relief effort. Training has been postposed until next sunday, were still in San Salvador, but tomorrow those of us who live in places that are doing alright are going back to our sites. The Sustainable Agriculture/Environmental Education group is going to have our training now in Santa Ana instead of San Vicente. Im sad that Im not going to get to stay with my host family in Molineros because I was looking forward to spending time with them, and I feel like I need to be with them right now. As soon as Im allowed to go back, Im going back. My stuff is still all there , too but someone from Peace Corps is going in to get all our bags and stuff from San Vicente and bring them to us.... but we've all been wearing the same clothes for a couple days. We cant complain though when all these people have lost homes and family members and we get to stay in a hotel in the city. Peace Corps sent in a Psycologist to the San Salvador office to speak to our group and some other volunteers whose sites were affected about disasters and dealing with the experience emotionally. Again, Im really lucky I wasnt there when it happened.
So the past few days have been sort of a whirlwind of not knowing whats going to happen next.
Unless things change and I'm allowed to go back to Molineros Im going to Milingo (my site) tomorrow and then going to Santa Ana, Sunday for two weeks.
I'll try and keep you guys updated on the situation in San Vicente.

Birthdays, Swimming pools, and watermelon jack-o-lanterns

So not long after my last post, I recieved the new that my grandfather passed away in the states. So I was able to forward vacation days and fly to New Orleans to be with my family for 6 days. Although it was under sad circumstances, it was still really nice to see everyone and be in a comfort zone with them for a little while. Its shocking how different things are in the United States in comparison to El Salvador. I can´t begin to explain it.
After being home with my family, coming back was tough, I´ll admit. It was a good week though in my community because we had just started to use the new basketball court. I play basketball much better that I do softball, or soccer, the sports most often played here, so I was pretty excited about the popularity of the basketball court. Plus, its a smaller social space than the soccer field so its a really great place to go just to talk to people, meet people, and hang out.
I went to a rodeo that week, too. It was quite an interesting day. I didn´t know the word for rodeo in spanish and it wasnt in the dictionary so I didn´t even know what I was going to see... and I wasn´t able to meet up with the person I went to meet up with... and my phone was dead... so I saw a rodeo by myself, haha. Some of you whom I´ve talked to know some more interesting details of that story!
I met several times with a lot of women who are interested in learning a trade and forming a cooperative. We have talked about a lot of ideas and I think we will end up forming a few smaller groups so they can do what they are interested in.... for example, some want to embroider and make bags, tablecloths, etc. others want to start a bakery, and others want to make jewelry and artesania. This will be a continuous project for me so we´ll see what happens. I also went with a group of women from the communitu to San Salvador for a women´s march for the international day of the woman. We left really early in the morning, but our bus got a flat tire.... then we walked up a huge hill, and eventually we made it to San Salvador and marched in the march. It was really cool that so many women went and wanted to celebrate and stand up for their rights. The organization that paid for the bus also gave each women money for lunch, so thankfully a lot of women were able to go because of that.
So my birthday is in October, so several of my friends and I net up in San Salvador for one night and had cake and champagne and celebrated my birthday as well as some other october birthdays. It was super fun and great to see the other volunteers. For my actual birthday I was in my site, but one of my volunteer friends came to visit me for a few days. It was nice to be able to show where I live to someone! I was so surprised and excited because a few of my girlfriends that live in my community threw me a birthday party! It was a surprise and they blindfolded me and we had a cake and they made sandwiches for everyone, we danced, etc. Parties are expensive, so I was so grateful and it made me feel really loved! The next day I went to the birthday party for a little boy, and that night a friend of mine invited me over to have cake at her house for her birthday.... so I had a lot of birthday cake in the span of a few days....
The next week I had a general assembly in my community, with the help of someone from the Peace Corps office, to explain to the community who I am, what is Peace Corps, the environmental education program, what I can and can´t do for the community, etc. I was nervous to speak so much in front of a lot of people in spanish, but I think I did a good job and it was a success.
The next weekend I went to Molineros, my old host community during training, to celebrate the birthdays of the grandmother and the little girl in that family.... more birthdays! So we went on a trip to some swimming pools and it was lovely! The little girl , Sindy, got quite a lot of use out of the mermaid doll I gave her for her birthday at the swimming pools. They swim in shorts and tshirts, so I´ve got a rockin shirt-shorts tan. That night we had more birthday cake! It was SO nice to visit my other host community and spend time with them.
The NEXT week, this week, actually yesterday.... I went with Catherine, the other volunteer who is still finishing up her time at my site, and a group of kids, on an excursion to some swimming pools in Suchitoto. They are right next to the lake, so its a really pretty place. We spent the entire day there and we all had an awesome time. However, I got bit several times by some bug called a Conga, and the welts are huge and they itch like crazy..... I guess bug bites are old news....
SO yesterday was halloween, and even though they don´t celebrate halloween here, Catherine had a little halloween party at her house with the family she lives with. We did bobbing for apples, pin the nose on the witch, and we carved jack -o- lanterns out of watermelons. We also did face painting so the kids all looked like monsters, skeletons, animals, etc. It was hilarious.
So TODAY at five o clock in the morning my host sister woke me up and asked me if I wanted to see them kill a pig. So they got the pig and tied it up so it was hanging with its back legs in the air. Then they cut a hole in its neck where the artery is I guess and let it bleed out.... they kept the blood... they said were going to eat it.... hmmmm...... Im not sure about that. Ok so then I went to the pasture to bring the cows with my host sister, but when I got back the pig was relatively hairless. They were throwing boiling water on it and shaving off the hair. When it was completely shaved they cut off strips of skin and fat off the outside. The whole process took a really long time so I missed the rest of the chopping up of the meat while I was bathing. Too bad... I guess we´re having pork for lunch!

Some more details that maybe I´ve forgotten..
So to get here I take a bus from San Salvador or about an hour and a half and get off at the entrance to the community. Theres about 200 homes in the community I think.. actually i still havent figured it out bc when I ask people they tell me numbers anywhere betwee 100 and 300.. there are 270 students that attend the school, half in the morning and half in the afternoon... but most homes have more than one child. Anywhere from two to four generations of a family usually live together in a house or houses next to each other. Its also very common for teenage girls to have children of ther own.
From the bus stop I walk about 5 to 10 mins down a cobblestone-mud street to my house. Milingo is realy green. That was one of the first things I noticed... there are a lot of trees and plants in general which is really nice and makes it pretty. Its he rainy season now. There are 2 seasons, rainy and dry.. so it either rains every day or it doesnt rain at all. In November the dry season wil lstart and it will be less green and hotter, but then i will be able to go running since the ground won´t be so muddy.
Girls in the community like to do their nails a lot and they like to do mine, too. Ive had my nails pained like 7 times already and they paint them with diferent colors and designs, like flowers, dots, etc.
I boil my water and keep it in a big jug' I haven´t gotten sick so far.... I shouldn´t have said that though.... most of my peace corps friends have had some stomach issues so Im extremely lucky!
My family has cows, like 25 chickens, roosters that crow a LOT, 2 big pigs, two baby pigs, goats, and we ha a rabbit but it died, three dogs, and a cat. I think thats all the animals...besides the mice haha
I go to mass every sunday in Suchitoto with Karla, my host sister. The church is beautiful. Suchitoto is super close, quaint, small, and easy to get to and easy to navigate. Theres the post office, church , park, stores, market, internet cafe, etc. all right there in a span of a couple of blocks.
I bought a hammock the other day so after lunch when its hot and we´re all sittin around resting, I won´t be hogging one of the family´s hammocks...
The other day after like 2 hours of washing all my laundry and hangin it on the line, the line fell down and everything fell into the dirt! I think I almost cried, haha, but we just let it all dry and knocked off the dirt later.
The grandmother of the family died last week. When someone dies, all the family comes together and they stay up ALL night praying and singing and drinking coffee and eating pan dulce. Not everybody stays up all night but a lot of people do... they they have the funeral in the church the next day and then do the burial in the cemetery. Then for the next nine days they do a prayer service each night and serve coffee... then on the ninth day they stay up all night again. Then each year on the anniversary o the death they do the same prayer services for 9 days... and they do that every year for 9 years. Pretty intense but a tradition that I really like. I didnt make it all night...I went to sleep at about 1 or 2 oclock. but bedtime here is between 7 and 9 so that was late. People also wake up between 4 and 7 am.
Last night was one of the prayer sevices and the uncle of the family was teaching me to play songs on the guitar and he played and sang too. We had walked there in the rain so i was all wrapped up in a towel... and a little girl had put my hair in a million braids. We also had cake for my host fathers birthday. It was a fun night. Walking back in the dark-rain-mud was fun too...
I also forgot to mention that September 15th was independence day and there were a lot of parades and a big dance- a lot of fun. I got to see a lot of folklore dancing too... they girls wear really pretty colorful dresses!
I´ve been making a lot of new friends in my community, especially young women near my age, or anywhere between 18 and 35 ish which I count a near my age. Most of them have families and children, but they invite me to come over, to go places with them, etc. which makes me feel really welcome and like I have friends. Also several women have come to me with interest in starting a women´s group to sell things like artesania, jewelry, bags, embroidered cloths, anything we can make.... So I´m really excited about forming a women´s co-operative. I am also getting a friend to teach me to make these cool bags out of woven strips of plastic chip bags... chip bags make up a lot of the litter around here...they´re everywhere. So it would be awesome if we could all start collecting the bags and turning trash into money. I can´t wait to learn how to make them and show all my girlfriends-We´re having a meeting tomorrow about it. I only wonder if people would buy them... maybe in Suchitoto since turists come there. The great thing is that the women have lots of ideas and are really enthusiastic about it because a lot of them are mothers and a lot of them are single mothers and they don´t have jobs. Plus they enjoy having a reason to leave the house and spend time with other women. Helping women and helping the environment are two things I really am passionate about, so this idea gets me really excited! I really like these women, too, so it ill be fun to work with them.
Yesterday was a big community meeting to elect new leaders for the development association. It was supposed to start at 1 oclock and I got there a half hour late and of course I was the first person there... I enjoy the slow pace of life here and that everybody is chill about time. It can be confusing though.... I never know if I should show up on time or an hour later... its hard to know. Im the type of person who stresses out about being late though so its nice I don´t have to ever feel that way here.
The school director has spoke with me about ideas she has for me to work on at the school.. they include starting a school garden for the students to manage, and a plastic bottle collection program to sell them to recycling plants. Also she wants me to teach dance classes and help with the english classes. I will also be regularly doing environmental teaching activities in the school.
I´m also planning on working with another group of young women who are on the health commitee, because they want to go projects involving the issue of trash and trash burning and litter, etc. because all those things affect health, too. The goal is to get people to not burn or bury their trash, but to collect it and separate recyclables and for the garbage truck to come pick it up regularly.
So for those of you who have been askng me what I´m actually doing work-wise maybe that gives you a better picture...but right now I´m mostly just adjusting to the community and learning about life here and how things work in the community, and getting to know people... and working on my spanish.
If anyone actually read all of that I´m really impressed...... Everything is just so new and there´s so much to say!
!Salud! Adios!