Because this is going to be a big one. Where to begin... Oh! I´m a volunteer now, no longer a trainee. Yes... I´ve progressed in the world of Peace Corps Titledom. Allow me to share...
Last... oh wait, no... two Wednesdays ago we all left San Vicente for San Sal to prepare for Swearing In. Saying good-bye to my host family was actually harder than I thought. My 10 year old sister made me a bouquet of flowers out of paper and popsicle sticks along with a card. Damn... if it was this hard to say good-bye after 2 months, I´m going to be a wreck after 2 years.
The next day- in the morning we had a luncheon to meet our counterparts (officials from our site who help us along the way). Mine are awesome, Marvin- the school principal- has a lot of energy and gumption, and Dina- the health promotor is hardworking and kind (a combo I love). It was funny though... we all wanted to make good first impressions, but many of us were tired and maybe just the slightest bit hung-over from the night before (I think I did okay, however).
Then... it was over to the Embassy for the official ceremony.
After some short and sweet speeches- we all stood up and repeated an oath about how we´ll defend the Constitution and what not, then sat down as new volunteers. I got a cute little certificate naming me as such- and shook some official hands to confirm it.
And after.... was a grand celebration. We all went out to dinner where a bunch of current volunteers came from all over the country (which isn´t too hard to do here) and we partied it up. We went out to a club afterward that we practically had all to ourselves (any Salvadorans who were there were probably baffled by the breadth of whiteness) and bonded over drinks and dancing (just let your inner beast out!). It was fantastic fun... I stayed out till 2 am (unheard of in this country)... berfore needing to wake up at 5am to leave for my site ( I was a sloppy oaf on the bus ride).
So... something funny. My site is a 2 hour pick-up ride (and by this.. I mean piling a mosh pit of people into the back of a pick-up truck who then grab on to anything, includuing, qutie commonly, your personals, to stay on) from the nearest city (Gotera). It´s actually not that far distance-wise, but it´s high.. and the roads aren´t really roads. Imagine a 2-hour, Spanish-speaking Mr. Toad´s Wild Ride without seatbelts :-)
Anywho... along the way there was another pick-up stopped from overheating. Like the good sumaritans that Salvadorans are, the driver stopped and people got out to help push it aside. I decided to join in- thinking I was making a good impression... when now I´m sure I´ll go down in the Legendary Idiot Gringa book. I put far too much force on my left knee while pushing.. and it popped out of it´s socket. I fell to the ground in anquish screaming my pain. You know... sometimes it´s a real plus to speak English in a non English-speaking country... because I let out the hugest F-bomb... and no one seemed to mind. My knee popped back into place, and the sharp pain left- but I was still hurting and could barely walk.
What luck I thought. My first day of service... before I get to my site... and this shit happens. But... as I am a firm believer in... there´s always good with the bad. Immediately- these perfect strangers were at my beck and call... lifting me up... helping me walk.... giving me shot-gun... one woman offered her nearby house to stay the night in and rest. Right away I started laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole situation.
From where the ride ended- I still had an hour walk- and these 2 ladies, an old woman and her daughter heading my way carried my stuff and helped me. It was so kind. The 70ish mom who weighs about 90 pounds threw my giant back-pack on her back while balancing her own bag on her head. (All my super heavy gear had already been dropped off by my counter-parts thank goodness). They (my new friends, Carmen and Donata) walked me all the way home (about 30 minutes out pf their way). And when I did arrive- the reception- my oh my. Immediately the kids ran over for hugs- jumping with excitement. When they showed me my room... they had drawn a huge mural of mountains and flowers and butterflies with the words ¨Bienvenida Laura!¨written on top. For a moment... my knee didn´t hurt at all.
So... I´m pretty damn good. The worst is my knee... I had to make a quick trip to San Miguel to get X-rays- no break- just a bad sprain. It was hard to walk and the inflammation prevented me from bending it much (for a while, it looked like my kneww had a brain). But I´m getting better everyday.. I still can´t bend it all the way, but it doesn´t hurt to walk anymore.
And the good completely outweighs the bad. My family is wonderful. Sulma (my best friend and sister) is a11 years old and fabulous. She has a beautiful curious spirit about her.. and always in a good mood. And Yesica, my 13 year old sister, is great too- not quite as affectionate, but more mature, and sporty (score!). My Mom, Maribel, is so kind- she´s been pouring hot water with special herbs and wrapping my knee everyday. She´s very sweet and patient, immediately she said I can stay as long as I want (althogh eventually I may be looking for a place of my own). The dad´s away in the states. I feel very welcome and comfortable to be there... and lucky too.
What now...? My first project is to do a health census of the entire community- which isn´t that large by number- but the vastness is huge. Houses are super spread out and hidden by winding paths and hills and trees. I can already tell exercise will be easy here. Thus far.. it´s going well. I can´t stress how inviting the people are here... none of them mind the census, they´re hapy to do it, and they usually offer pan-dulce, coffee, and a hammock while I´m there. I´ve met some really great people, including a 20 year old named Deysi who I´m forming a friendship with... during her family´s census, I stayed talking for 2 hours. But I can tell that there´s a lot of need here (which actually, is good news)- a lot of people are latrineless, think you transmit aids through kissing, and have never used a condom in their life (My god are there a lot of babies here).
But first things first... getting to know you... which here... is really something wonderful. There´s a saying here: ¨Que lo vaya bien¨more or less ¨That everything goes well.¨ Well, my vayaing is going very well.
Paz y amor a todos! I´ll try to post pictures next time. And remember... you don´t have to wait for me to call you to talk... Mom, and Dad and Chelsea and Paloma all have my number, so if you don´t you can probablty get it from them!
Last... oh wait, no... two Wednesdays ago we all left San Vicente for San Sal to prepare for Swearing In. Saying good-bye to my host family was actually harder than I thought. My 10 year old sister made me a bouquet of flowers out of paper and popsicle sticks along with a card. Damn... if it was this hard to say good-bye after 2 months, I´m going to be a wreck after 2 years.
The next day- in the morning we had a luncheon to meet our counterparts (officials from our site who help us along the way). Mine are awesome, Marvin- the school principal- has a lot of energy and gumption, and Dina- the health promotor is hardworking and kind (a combo I love). It was funny though... we all wanted to make good first impressions, but many of us were tired and maybe just the slightest bit hung-over from the night before (I think I did okay, however).
Then... it was over to the Embassy for the official ceremony.
After some short and sweet speeches- we all stood up and repeated an oath about how we´ll defend the Constitution and what not, then sat down as new volunteers. I got a cute little certificate naming me as such- and shook some official hands to confirm it.
And after.... was a grand celebration. We all went out to dinner where a bunch of current volunteers came from all over the country (which isn´t too hard to do here) and we partied it up. We went out to a club afterward that we practically had all to ourselves (any Salvadorans who were there were probably baffled by the breadth of whiteness) and bonded over drinks and dancing (just let your inner beast out!). It was fantastic fun... I stayed out till 2 am (unheard of in this country)... berfore needing to wake up at 5am to leave for my site ( I was a sloppy oaf on the bus ride).
So... something funny. My site is a 2 hour pick-up ride (and by this.. I mean piling a mosh pit of people into the back of a pick-up truck who then grab on to anything, includuing, qutie commonly, your personals, to stay on) from the nearest city (Gotera). It´s actually not that far distance-wise, but it´s high.. and the roads aren´t really roads. Imagine a 2-hour, Spanish-speaking Mr. Toad´s Wild Ride without seatbelts :-)
Anywho... along the way there was another pick-up stopped from overheating. Like the good sumaritans that Salvadorans are, the driver stopped and people got out to help push it aside. I decided to join in- thinking I was making a good impression... when now I´m sure I´ll go down in the Legendary Idiot Gringa book. I put far too much force on my left knee while pushing.. and it popped out of it´s socket. I fell to the ground in anquish screaming my pain. You know... sometimes it´s a real plus to speak English in a non English-speaking country... because I let out the hugest F-bomb... and no one seemed to mind. My knee popped back into place, and the sharp pain left- but I was still hurting and could barely walk.
What luck I thought. My first day of service... before I get to my site... and this shit happens. But... as I am a firm believer in... there´s always good with the bad. Immediately- these perfect strangers were at my beck and call... lifting me up... helping me walk.... giving me shot-gun... one woman offered her nearby house to stay the night in and rest. Right away I started laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole situation.
From where the ride ended- I still had an hour walk- and these 2 ladies, an old woman and her daughter heading my way carried my stuff and helped me. It was so kind. The 70ish mom who weighs about 90 pounds threw my giant back-pack on her back while balancing her own bag on her head. (All my super heavy gear had already been dropped off by my counter-parts thank goodness). They (my new friends, Carmen and Donata) walked me all the way home (about 30 minutes out pf their way). And when I did arrive- the reception- my oh my. Immediately the kids ran over for hugs- jumping with excitement. When they showed me my room... they had drawn a huge mural of mountains and flowers and butterflies with the words ¨Bienvenida Laura!¨written on top. For a moment... my knee didn´t hurt at all.
So... I´m pretty damn good. The worst is my knee... I had to make a quick trip to San Miguel to get X-rays- no break- just a bad sprain. It was hard to walk and the inflammation prevented me from bending it much (for a while, it looked like my kneww had a brain). But I´m getting better everyday.. I still can´t bend it all the way, but it doesn´t hurt to walk anymore.
And the good completely outweighs the bad. My family is wonderful. Sulma (my best friend and sister) is a11 years old and fabulous. She has a beautiful curious spirit about her.. and always in a good mood. And Yesica, my 13 year old sister, is great too- not quite as affectionate, but more mature, and sporty (score!). My Mom, Maribel, is so kind- she´s been pouring hot water with special herbs and wrapping my knee everyday. She´s very sweet and patient, immediately she said I can stay as long as I want (althogh eventually I may be looking for a place of my own). The dad´s away in the states. I feel very welcome and comfortable to be there... and lucky too.
What now...? My first project is to do a health census of the entire community- which isn´t that large by number- but the vastness is huge. Houses are super spread out and hidden by winding paths and hills and trees. I can already tell exercise will be easy here. Thus far.. it´s going well. I can´t stress how inviting the people are here... none of them mind the census, they´re hapy to do it, and they usually offer pan-dulce, coffee, and a hammock while I´m there. I´ve met some really great people, including a 20 year old named Deysi who I´m forming a friendship with... during her family´s census, I stayed talking for 2 hours. But I can tell that there´s a lot of need here (which actually, is good news)- a lot of people are latrineless, think you transmit aids through kissing, and have never used a condom in their life (My god are there a lot of babies here).
But first things first... getting to know you... which here... is really something wonderful. There´s a saying here: ¨Que lo vaya bien¨more or less ¨That everything goes well.¨ Well, my vayaing is going very well.
Paz y amor a todos! I´ll try to post pictures next time. And remember... you don´t have to wait for me to call you to talk... Mom, and Dad and Chelsea and Paloma all have my number, so if you don´t you can probablty get it from them!
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