One down, one to go.

So yes, I am aware I haven't written in my blog in awhile. Well, for a few reasons: Some punk stole my internet stick, so my internet access is limited. For two, everything is normal for me. I've been here over a year; this is my life. Spanish is my language. These are my people (even though I don't look, think, or eat the same as them). El Salvador is my home, & everything is normal. The roosters waking me up at 5:00 a.m. Electricity going out for days at a time. The rain coming down so hard that I get wet in my house. Spanish, spanish, spanish (is it possible that I'm losing my English?). The constant killing of cockroaches, scorpions, and spiders in my house. The mosquito bites all day long. The continued failed attempts to kill the rats in my house. The heat. The constant sweating. Introducing them to the food I make here and seeing the confused look on their faces. Washing my clothes by hand. Walking 2 hours to go somewhere, when there is no transportation.. Riding in the back of a pick up with 40 other people, when we do have transportation. Dirty feet. Going to the bathroom in a outhouse full of flies, cockroaches, spiders, and alot of "what the hell is that thing" insects. Freezing cold bucket baths that just take the breath out of me. Having the same conversations over and over. (Are you washing your clothes? Yes, I am washing my clothes. It looks like it's going to rain today. I hope it rains, its so hot. Your family? They went back to the states. Aw, when did your family leave? 6 months ago. When are they going to visit again? Next year sometime. Your mom is so young. Yeah. (Thinking, she is actually the same age, it just looks like a 15 year age difference.) WHAT! you DON'T eat tortilla? (With the thought of she's going to die... and before I know it they are back at my house giving tortillas.) Clearing up their perceptions about the United States & answering their bizarre questions; Yes, there are flies in the U.S., Yup, thunder and lightning too. Yes, husbands cheat on their wives up there as well. No, I don't know your cousin Carlos who lives in Los Angeles. STILL clearing up their understanding as to why I am here. (No matter how many assembleas I talk in to the whole community, no matter how many conversations I have with them, they still don't understand why I would want to be here, let only voluntarily.) So you are here doing credit for your University? You must be getting paid a lot of money to live here? Your family lives in San Salvador? Explaining to them, how I want to be here. I want to help them. I want to live like them. In one month I live off enough money that is equivalent to what an average person makes in 3 days of work in the U.S. I refuse to dip into my American savings. I want to live poorly like them; it's part of the experience. In my best attempt to explain all that, they still don't possibly "get it". Why would she want to be here? When all of my family left me and risked their life to go up there.

So yes, if you haven't figured this out already, things slowly get down around here. Slowly but surely. The computer company told us "this week" about 4 weeks ago, so yup still waiting on them. I'll keep everyone posted once we receive them. I recently won a grant to get sports equipment for the school & community. I'm going to my buy baseball gloves for my softball team. (So maybe we won't lose 80-15 anymore. They are starting to practice with the 2 gloves that we do have. They put the left handed glove on their right hand and look at me with the confused look of, "Ok Jamie, now what?".) I also plan to get basketball hoops for the school, and more jump ropes. Once we get the equipment, I hope to help with gym class, and introduce new sports to them.

So I'm heading back to that magical, mysterious place up north, called the United States of America next month (September 22-October 10th!). I'm super excited. It's a weird feeling telling my neighbors here that I will be visiting friends that live 15 minutes away from their family in the states that they haven't seen in over 15 years.

I'm super excited just thinking about all the yummy foods I'm going to eat and the kind of things I plan to do. For example; Back massage, Drive a car if i still remember how to, spend possibly a full day in Target, fish sandwiches and chocolate milkshakes at the Fence, eat Thai food at least once a week, Smores, Blue Moon & Magic Hat, hike to the top of a mountain, ride both my road and mountain bike, put all my hand washed stretched out clothes in the dryer, PIZZA, Waffles, lie on carpet with my dog Maggie, Sushi, take a hot shower at least 2 times a day - Just to mention a few things I will be enjoying ;)

Things I imagine that are going to happen: having a panic attack when I enter a giant grocery store, having everyone telling me how fat I am, getting frustrated when people complain and waste food, not feeling famous (walking around a town and having no one acknowledge me or know my name), feeling overwhelmed how fast moving people are, sleeping 13 hours a night, forgetting that it actually is enforced to obey road signs while driving, gaining another 15 pounds, not having people talking to me ALL the time & potentially having a great amount of alone time, talking about El Salvador every moment of the day, people being completely annoyed that I talk about it so much, and missing the heck out of El Salvador and the people here, but absolutely loving spending time with all my family and friends from the USA!!

38 days!

(Photo #1: Bringing water from miles away from our lake. (No, actually not! But this is what I would be like if I was a PC volunteer in my site 8 years ago) Photo #2 The Park in La Palma, Chaletenango -so beautiful there, Picture # 3 A group of girls during gym class, playing make believe stuff with their trash, Picture #4 - A group of Kindergartners playing in the jungle gym. Photo #5 - Participating in a "marcha" to stop gold mining here in El Salvador, Photo #6- La Palma again, Photo #7- Some 5th grade students and myself (my favorite grade!) The last photo is of my softball team! Can you guess which one I am??)