You can't find moments in a box

Some new and exciting moments of the week:

• not getting dengue yet (eating a clove of garlic a day really helps fight off those darn zancudos)
• teaching an english class to 7th grade students (and it actually being a great success)
• our first beach trip as a group! (Grilled cheese sandwiches, sunshine, swimming, cervezas, pancakes, king size bed, shower, beauty, grass, sand, the nicest beach house everrrr, etc..) Being at the beach reminded me alot of home (can't really explain it- I guess you kind of get used to the simple way of living down here, and forget about luxuries) but I made a list (because I love lists!) of what I miss most about being home (after family and friends of course!) : thai iced tea, seeing a sky full of stars, washing machines, being big spoon with my dog maggie, AC when i sleep, waking up on my own (not by the sounds of dogs fighting in the street or the cockadoodledo of the roosters), climbing/hiking/biking, not being stared and pointed at while I do my morning jog, a GOOD slice of pizza, american music and going to concerts, "blending in" (however, i feel like a rock star some days down here)
  

This has pretty much been a week of a LOT of spanish learning, and "community contacts" aka playing bull shit and rummy with my group (Apastepeque isn't the most productive group of trainees) 3 more weeks of training and then off to my new community, where I will be far away from the other gringos! Crazy feeling, but I'm ready and excited!!

Just a few things I've learned so far from being down here:

• Mainly, not knowing a language, has really taught me a heck of alot. Relationships with people go way beyond communication. It really is interesting to see how much love you have for other people and the love they have for you, even with very very limited conversation. -A good attitude really does go a long way. I'm just glad there is honestly no such thing as "akward" here. There isn't even a word in spanish for "akward". So me sitting in a room with a group of El Salvadorians not saying much due to my lack of vocabulary, doesn't even phase them as being "akward". They love you for just being there with them.
  "There is one language in the world that everyone understands. It’s the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose…”
• Challenges are our biggest teachers.
• Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
• The more you put into something, the more you get out of it.
• It doesn't matter where you are (or how poorly the living conditions are), its the people.

apastepeque group with our spanish teacher

random pictures

with our youth group (playing dynamicas/ice breakers and conversing about potential projects we are going to do within our community)

@ the rodeo!

My immersion day family, and Alayna, the volunteer

immersion days

Immersion Days were this past weekend, and I got to go to the far away land of Apastapeque (that's right - just a small canton 10 minutes outside of where I live now) Many of the other volunteers are traveling up to 6 hours away, but not I. I was kind of bummed at first when I got my placement. I was looking forward to my first big day of traveling on my own, tackling public transportation in a dangerous country.Thats a self esteem, confidence booster right there. But I guess I wasn't meant to venture out by myself quite yet. My spanish level is one of the lowest, so I guess PC just played it smart, and looked out for my safety on this one. Whatever the reason, It doesn't matter, because it still was an incredible weekend. I spent half the time with another volunteer and the other half with a family. I stayed with the most incredible family. I have never talked as much spanish here as I did with them this weekend. That was my confidence booster for the weekend. I'm able to have a conversation longer than 5 minutes, wow maybe they do understand me after all. They really wanted to learn about me, and they weren't giving up until they did so. They changed words in sentences so that I understood. There were 4 daughters ranging from 7-16, and were all just so wonderful! Its just crazy how comfortable and "at home" i felt at their house. A house where 4 daughters shared a bedroom not much larger then my bathroom in the United States. A house, where I slept pretty much on a piece of wood, where I felt bugs crawling on me as I slept, and a bathroom full of spiders about 20 feet from their house (dodging at least 12 roosters, 3 pigs, and 4 cats to get there). But I felt more safe and "at home" there than I have anywhere else since I've been here. Just another example to show it really doesn't matter where you are, or how much you have. IT'S THE PEOPLE. So I spent half my time with them, and half my time with a volunteer (who has been here for a year). It was great to go around and shadow her, and it got me completely stoked to get to my new site. Some of her projects included teaching english to younger kids, organizing a softball team, yoga class with women, making shampoo with women, etc. I enjoyed my weekend with her and came away with some really good advice. She mentioned how none of her projects have been "visible", like other volunteers bragging, "I built this", or "I painted this.." But to her, success was the confianza (happiness, trust) she had with her community. Bringing together the community and promoting health and friendships, teaching little children a valuable language, etc. I see how well liked and respected she is from members of her community, and from my perspective, I think she has accomplished what she is down here for. Putting a good name to the American people, showing people we are more then just "gringos", developing lasting friendships, inspiring others and at the same time being inspired, and implenting new ideas to their culture. I'm ready to do the same...

a few more thoughts about the savior...

So today was a really great week. We spent most of the week with each other (all 33 of the trainees) doing stuff as a group. It made me appreciate even more the dynamics of our training group. Everyone gets along great for the most part. The more I learn about people, the more I find the quirkyness & weirdness in everyone, which i LOVE.

It was just nice to get out of the community and not have spanish class allllll day. We spent a few days this week in the capital, San Salvador. San Salvador is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with over 2 million people living there. No wonder its one of the most dangerous places ever. We had bus orientation today... Our spanish teacher told us to bring alittle extra money so we have something to barter with when we are held at knife point. I don't think she was kidding. Good thing Peace Corps doesn't put any of their volunteers anywhere close to that city. Anyways, in San Salvador we checked out many museums. Some of them very interesting, some of them not too much, but overall it was great to learn all about my new country. We also went to the US embassy. It was nice to have someone open my drinks for me while I sit on a comfortable couch in air conditioning (hey, when you live like we have lived for the past 3 weeks, you certainly appreciate alot) We had a question/answer session to some guy who looked really important for about hour. I had about 5 cups of coffee (because I can... and it wasn't instant coffee) and about 4 chocalate cupcakes.

So earlier this week we saw other "gringos". I now understand how it feels when I hear other PCV's when they see gringos. Its really weird, like what do we do? Make eye contact? Say hello? Smile and Nod? Or just act like no big deal... But it really is strange, like all I really want to do is ask, "What are you doing here", but I just continue staring at them (as if we don't get enough stares)

Once again I wanted to emphasize how it really is all about the little things here: I was playing baseball with a bunch of girls and women in my community, and I was never involved in such an exciting game of BASEBALL (mind you, with only females as well) they were just screaming, laughing, jumping up and down, congratulating each other, having the time of their lives. Also, I went to a rodeo the other day and during an intermission they had activities. One of the activities consisted of having kids jump over each other (yep, exactly how it sounds) but I mean the whole audience was laughing, clapping, cheering, etc. The other trainees and I just have the look on our face of "Wow, it doesn't take much to please these people" Really cool though. Maybe I'll understand it one day. Maybe not.

Why i have grown to love my family here:
-they skype with their family from virginia every night and sing to their one year old grandson the same song every time. (I sung head, shoulders, knees, and toes to him in spanish the other night!)
-they encourage me to speak in spanish every chance I get
-they don't laugh at me when I do
- they give me coffee like there's no tomorrow
- they seem to know every time when I'm ready to eat, so that I don't have to akwardly ask them for food - they also seem to know just the right quantity of food to give me
- they love to have fiestas
- they love their family
- my 80 year old grandmother pours liquor into my soda when I'm not looking (as she is on her 5th cup of straight liqour)
- i feel safe & at home (well as much as I can in a foreign land)

Just a few things I was wondering about:
- I've gotten at least 200 mosquito bites since I have been here. What if one had Dengue?
- Why do the mosquitos love me and only eat me (the one with the bug spray on) out of everyone in my house?
- How will it be working with youth who have NO idea what a dream or aspiration for the future really is?
- How could it possibly rain THAT much EVERY night?
-What will happen if a tire does fall off of one of those trucks that holds over 40 people?
- How could it possibly get any hotter once summer hits?
- Where will I be today when I urgently have to run to the bathroom? (sorry probably a bit much, but its the truth)
- How much weight will I actually gain? (Living next to an ice cream shop is probably the worst thing that has happened to me since I've moved here)
- How is it that my spanish teacher is one of my favorite people here, even though we hardly know anything about each other because of the language barrier?

One more thing, as a side note: Just as things are beginning to get tough and finding it hard to imagine I'll be here for 2 years, I hear from my parents just how proud they are of me. Thanks guys :) Means alot to have supportive parents, who understand why I am here..

Paz y amor.

my house!

part of the outside; where the bathrooms, kitchen, and pilla are located.

my bedroom

where the bucket baths happen

my backyard; where I do my slackline

where I spend my time when I'm not working

a stranger in a new place

Being thrown into a completely new world leaves you only to reflect often.
With that being said, this weeks blog consists of a series of my reflections thus far:

Things i absolutely love about being here:

• riding in the back of the pick up truck (standing up)- riding through the beautiful country side up in the mountains. However, I still believe I may get injured one day on one of these. It's just surprising how they really can get up to 40 people in the back of a pick up truck.. that can't be good.
• the people.. they are just so friendly.
• the food.. ehh, not so much the tortillas though (they are thick, and not so tasty)
• the volcanos. I think El Sal has about 40 of them. I currently live within a few miles of the 2nd largest one here.
• the palm trees & just how green & lush everything is
• the animals (donkeys, pigs, horses, cows, roosters) roaming the streets & everywhere else.
• the kids; they love to teach you spanish, and they love to learn new words in english, so conversations are never too akward.
• the thunder/rain storms every night. The rain especially, such a soothing way to fall asleep after a long day
• the popularity of soccer
• the women carrying those things on their heads with heaping amounts of food in them. It looks so difficult. Hats off to those tough ladies..

There are many things that I have learned to accept:

• I will not be fluent in spanish over night. It's going to take time and patience, and lots of it.
• It's hot here. It was hot here yesterday and it will be again tomorrow. It's going to be even hotter once summer begins in November.
• I will have to hand wash my clothes for 2 years.
• I will not be taking a warm shower any time soon. My bucket baths will be freezing cold, and I just have to deal with it, no matter how chilled I feel in the morning.
• For 2 years, I may have to lie about my religious beliefs.
• For 2 years, I will have to lie about how much money I really have & I will be the gringa that is the target for theft.
• I will have to explain every time why I am not married right now. 26/female/not married. Unheard of!
• Roosters talk alot at 5 in the morning, thats just what they do.
• Mosquitos love your blood, even with citronella candles burning and deet on your skin.
• I will be living my life in a fish bowl for the next 2 years. People here love gringos & will let their community know what we are up to at all times. (I go for a run in the morning, within 2 hours the whole community knows)

Some things that are still hard for me:

• having my families' maid ask me for money since her baby is very sick and she has no money for milk. Worse; having to lie and tell her I have none
• thinking alot about whats going to happen when I am in my site (the end of September), on my own. (Will I even be able to speak spanish by then? Will there be electricity? Will I be at least within an hour of another volunteer? Where will I even be? What project will I be doing? Will my community and counterpart accept me?)

Finally, There are also some things I may never understand:

• El Salvadorians are some of the most warm hearted and nicest people I have ever met. Why don't they understand how wrong it is to hit and kick dogs.
• El Salvador is such a beautiful, beautiful country.... What possesses people to throw trash everywhere??
• These people are sooo family oriented. It's incredible. Then, why does at least one person from each family go to the states and leave their family behind. So they have more money, so they can buy nice things for their young kids who won't even remember them when they come back to El Sal 5 years later...