Mini Viaje y Gran Sitio....

Alright... I have a bit of news to share. The latter of which I am far more excited about, but the former ain´t bad either.
This past weekend we had free- so just about everyone made plans to get the hell of dodge and explore. I decided to make a trip to San Salvador with a group of Municipal Developers (¨Munis¨ for short... our training group is divided between the Munis and The Rural Healthers (¨RHs¨)). For the most part it was quite enjoyable, I spend most of my time with other RHs- so I was happy to get to know some of the Munis a little better. But... having said that, I could certainly tell that I was the only RH there. Usually, the difference between our prospetive payoffs for our groups is that Munis get to enjoy more of the classical amenities (indoor plumbing, internet, even electricity!), but have a harder time building confianza and getting work done in there bigger sites. While we RHs do without a flushing toilet, but have an easier time getting to know the gente and getting shit done. Anywho... I still thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the Munis, even though I left my hair dryer at home.
On Saturday, we walked from our hotel to the far more lavish Sheraton. A 6 mile walk- not everyone was happy toward the end of it (ahem... a Muni symptom)- but I enjoyed it, (I always think walking around a big city is the best way to get to know it). The pool there was gorgeous (waterfall and all), the water felt perfect for how effing hot it was.
That night, after sharing a few drinks, I was certainly happy as I gorged on a delicious dinner (that had no rice, beans or tortillas!). I didn´t realize how wonderful having a few drinks with friends can be... especially after it´s been a while, and I´m sure in the future it´ll be a monthly or so tradition.
Sunday was fabulous- 2 of the Munis and I separated to visit Mayan Ruins called Cihuatan, North of San Sal. I was happy to do something that you couldn´t do in the States. There isn´t much left there, but the ambience is certainly still prominent... there´s still a bit of a pyramid left where sacrifices were performed. I could only imagine what life was like back then. Those are probably the oldest remnants of former civilization I´ve ever seen.
By the weekend´s end- I was satisfied and exhausted. But the rest of this week has been spent in unbearable anxiety, because Thursday, we were told where our future sites will be!
I just re-read my entry entitled A Glimpse (and maybe you should too for this entry), all about the site I visited for Immersion Days. Remember how much I loved it? Remember how sad I was to leave? I kept thinking... man... if my site´s like this I know I´ll love it. Well... I´M GOING BACK BABY!!!!!!
It all seems so obvious now, and I´m ashamed I didn´t connect the dots (I did´n´t even think of asking the current volunteer who´s leaving, Mike, if someone was replacing him). Well that someone is me! And I couldn´t be happier. I almost teared up when I heard I´m returning there. The vistas are breathtaking, the climate is much nicer, and the people... oh the people... they are amazing.
There´s a picture I posted of me and a bunch of girls in Illustrating a better Glimpse... Xulma´s is the super affectionate one in red... who I said would probably be my best friend if I lived there... well... even better, she´s going to be my new host sister. I can hardly believe it.
And, even though my site is pretty out there (it´s not remote by distance per se... it´s just really high up), I´m in the state of Morazon, wherer 8 other voulunteers will be located, and who won´t me more than a couple hours away. Apparently, there´s a once a month meeting in Gotera (the district´s biggest city) with all the current volunteers in Morazon... so I´m sure I can join that party.
I talked to Mike on the phone expressing my excitement... and he told me that he think´s this site is perfect for me and I´m perfect for it. So already, I feel as if I´m ahead of the game and the light is shining bright.
Seriously, I can´t believe the kind of luck I´ve had here thus far. Truth be told I´m a little nervous that my expectations are going to be too high for what´s ahead. But I feel almost as if my experience here has been served on a silver platter. I already know I´m going to love my site. And yes, there will be difficulties for sure... but I think I´m dodging a lot of apprehension and won´t have nearly as hard a time as others.
So... in a week´s time, training will be over, and I´ll be in the capital swearing in as an official volunteer. After that- I´ll be moving to my new home for the next two years. And something tells me I´m going to love it...
I don´t know what I´ve done to deserve this kind of luck (maybe I was a philanthropist and a martyr in my previous life) but baby, Life is Good from where I stand.

Elation and Election

So, I haven´t written in a while- part of this is because I was on ¨stand fast¨stuck in my cyberless canton during the elections, but I´ll get into that later...

What I´d like to share is some news that I have thoroughly enjoyed. This past Friday, I went running in the morning in the nearby field (it´s taboo, but I don´t care, I´m taboo already). I passed a house along the way, and a young lady, smiling, asked ¨¿Va a dar vueltas a la cancha?¨(Are you going to run laps around the field). To which I responded, ¨¿Claro, es obvio, no?¨ (Yes... is it that obvious?) She smiled and I left to begin my run... and about 20 minutes later, I see her, a younger girl, and a baby entering the field. As I passed and waved she began running with me. She was wearing sandals and a skirt, but damn, she kept up a good pace. I found this particularly adorably touching.
I made 2 new friends that morning, Mari, 19 and Jesi, 12. When we were finished, they invited me over to eat mangos that afternoon.... and since then have wanted to spend every second with me. I just feel like the prettiest belle at the ball...
But seriously, this sort of unconditional welcoming they show me here is overwhelmingly heartwariming. And now I have a running buddy! And a girlfriend closer to my age,... many of my friends here are kids or mothers... little in between.
And for some more delight....
These past few weeks- our prospective groups (as decided by which canton we´re placed in) have been working on mini-projects with different youth groups. Our project (as more or less chosen by the kids we´re working with) has been to decorate the outside of the school. In order to do this, we had to raise funds. By holding a raffle for a cheap camera one of the students donated, we raised 80 bucks (that´s bank here). I was really excited for this, especially since tickets cost 10 cents a piece. We had ample funds to buy hanging plants, trees, and paint for the picnic tables. And last Saturday, was project day.
You know, I only ever did those big projects with Auntie Jan a few times (building houses in Mexico). I wish I had done more... because the feeling you get is wonderful, and it was the same this weekend. You should have seen how excited the kids were to work... one even showed up wearing an apron, brush in hand. All of these 10-12 year olds were eager to dig holes, as soon as one took a break, another jumped in. Kids even showed up who weren´t part of the project wanting to work. We finished within 90 minutes... I was sorry it was over so fast. We didn´t transform the school completely... but we did give it a nice face lift- and, more importantly- we made the kids happy. This tiny little project´s success gives me hope for what I might do on my own.
And yet-
I still have a llong way to go. This project was a collaboration, with lots of help and set rules, and before I even think of any projects I want to start, I have to think about the level of turst I must build first. In 2 weeks I´m swearing in as an official volunteer- after that, I´m on my own.
And now for a segueless change of subject...
THE ELECTIONS! Now, I´m not supposed to place any personal bias here, but those of you who know me well enough (which I think most of you do) should have no problem figuring how I feel.
Sunday El Salv held its presidential elections. ARENA, the more conservative party who (with aid from the good old US of A) won the 12 year long civil war in 1992. They´ve had offie power since 1989. On Sunday, the opposing party, FMLN- won by a thin margin. And will take power for the 1st time since the party´s creation. In June- for the first time in 20 years- the party power will shift.
My family is a big ARENA fan. In case my Señora worried that I didn´t know how she felt.. put ARENA bumper stickers and calendars in my room.
Time and time again we´ve been told not to express our political preferences (although they know I love Obama, and they love him too)- but man- I really had to hold my tongue a few times. They were going off on how much worse the country will be now... and the best defense I could muster up was ¨I guess we´ll just have to wait and see.¨
So... it´s been pretty exciting. In the past 4 months I´ve been in countries experiencing hugely historic elections. Lucky me...
And, I really do feel lucky. I don´t want to be naive here- because I´m sure I will go through some tough times ahead. But what I´ve experienced thus far has really been fabulous. And although this is probably premature, from where I stand, the future looks bright.

I have more pictures, and can post some later... but I just ran out of battery.


This is Oscar, I got lazy and decided not to change it... but I think you can manage. He´s adorable, he lives with Sean and follows him everywhere, we call him Sombra (shadow). He´s 6 years old, but was eager to help.

Illustration for a better Glimpse....

So... to illustrate my last remarks....
That big one on the left corner is the queen, we had to look in about 3 boxes to find one. Pretty damn cool huh.
These girls are wonderful, I can´t remember (because I can´t really pronounce) all of their names. But Xulma is in red, if I were to live there, I´m sure she´d be my best friend.
This is Wiliam, Mike´s best friend. He has almost nothing, but is one of the happiest kids I think I´ll ever know.

This is us pretending we´re models. I want to emphasize the ¨pretending¨ hugely.


This is where I was. The camera doesn´t do it justice, really... I´m telling you it was friggin GORGEOUS.
That first one shows an active volcano in the background.

A Glimpse...

Well, I´m all better, and I´m thrilled that I am because this past weekend was quite phenomenal actually. We had our Immersion Days- I went to visit a current volunteer at his site to see what the hell it is that I´m about to get into.
Mike´s (the current volunteer) canton is pretty far out there... we were in the southeastern part of the country in the State of Morazon up in the Cacaguatique Mountains, about a two-hour pick-up ride southeast of Gotera... (if you have a map, that´s about the best I can do).
You know, I´ve been nervous, contemplating the possible remoteness of my future site; but after visiting Mike, I´m almost hoping I´ll be isolated.
One benefit is that usually the more remote spots are also the most beautiful, and this place was no exception. The hills were gorgeous, and some of the vistas... even gorgeous-er. I watched the sunrise the first morning and teared up from the beauty. I could see the Golfo de Fonesco, the islands off in the distance, and I swear I could even see Nicaragua (really... you should get a map if you want to visualize this entry).
But even better than just how spectacularly beautiful the site is, are the people. I´ve said it before and I´ll say it again, Salvadorans rock. And in the remote spots, they rock even harder. It´s much easier to get to know people, build trust, and usually they´re more prone to want to work with you. I was there for three days, and I´ve never felt more welcome in my whole life.
The second night I was there I was invited by two girls, near strangers, to have a sleepover at their house. And while I´ll admit the bed was a little crammed, the gesture was moving enough to compensate.
I played all sorts of games with tons of kids, but one in particular, Xulma, was incredibly affectionate. When we were hiding together for hide-and-seek she hugged me and said she wished I would stay forever. I damn near cried, and I had known her for 12 hours . I usually don´t have much patience for kids, but the children here are showing me kindness I´ve never seen before.
All this... and I haven´t really told you what I did there. I got to help with the honey harvest. We zipped up in sexy suits and pulled honey combs out of bee boxes (that´s a driect translation). It was pretty effing awesome (I´m still not sure whether I want to use French for the entries, but I probably will eventually).
Also, to give you an idea of what kind of work I might do, I helped spread cement for a latrine project Mike is working on.
Mike´s been here for 2 years, so it was a cool mix to have us at the tail ends of our journey. Granted, I know the first few months on my own will be very challenging (the aloneness in particular), but after seeing a place that may very well be the spitting image of where I´ll go- I know the pay offs will be more than worth it.
I stupidly forgot my camera, but next time I´ll post pictures. Paz y amor a todos!