I Missed The Bus: And It Was Something I Would Never Ever Do Again

Jutiapa, Cabanas, El Salvador April 27, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope that this letter finds you well. As all of you know, I am serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador. I have started a project for which I need your help. Two other volunteers that live and work in my community and I are trying to improve the transportation situation for high school students in our municipality.

The municipality in which we live is the 8th poorest in the country and it has a population of 6,584 people, of which, only 627 persons live in the village of Jutiapa itself. Thus, 94.8 % of the population live in isolated rural areas, without easy access to amenities and public services, like the high school. Recently, Non Government Organizations in collaboration with the government of El Salvador offered more scholarships to students who wish to study past 9th grade. Despite this new emphasis on education and the monetary support, 82 students still lack reliable transportation to and from the high school.

The only high school in the municipality is located in the pueblo of Jutiapa, more than 12 miles from some parts of our community. Because there are no school buses, the students’ only option is to walk 3 hours ONE WAY! Additionally, the road they walk is not only dangerous for young girls, but in the rainy season, the students have difficulty keeping their books and themselves dry.

With all of these obstacles, the drop out rate is high. The 3 of us, along with local leaders and the high school director, believe that transportation will increase the number of students who will decide to attend and to finish high school. Our goal is to raise $6,000 to purchase a 4x4 vehicle that will be used exclusively for school transportation. The funds are being raised through Peace Corps Partnership, which relies on donations from family, friends and returned Peace Corps volunteers in the United States. I am asking you to make a tax deductible donation to help improve the lives of the kids in Jutiapa. To donate please go to www.peacecorps.gov/contribute and select our project (Project Number 519-133) and follow the instructions. I will not know who donates or how much. If you cannot donate, please tell other people who might be interested in helping.

Thank you in advance for your support and for all the emails while I've been here.

Lite Bite and Big Ass Skies

I have a bike in my site, it is red and just the right size for me, and it's name is Suzi. Or Sucia.
I can get from my house to Ito's house in 8 minutes. I can get from my house to Cerrón Grande in 25, and I can get from my house to Jutiapa in one hour on my bike. Before coming here I used to ride my bike all the time. I had this one classic Schwinn cruiser that my friend Katie gave me and I rode it everywhere. It was so easy to ride too because there were no hills. Anywhere. Here there are lots of hills and trees and mountains or rolling hills. I never realized how big the sky is in Lubbock. I mean I always heard people talk about it and there was even a campaign that capitalized on how in some way Lubbock has many other giants besides it's breathtaking sky.

I knew I would miss certain things, showers for example, is now a treat whenever I stay in the capital or in a hotel or hostel. The shower doesn't even have to be hot or warm. And I am not even going to complain about taking bucket baths, I like them, but maybe it is more because I never get to have showers that make them so great. I knew food was going to be different and even though I did not exactly enjoy tortillas like I do today, I truly miss having a huge thing of peanut butter always at the ready. Something I truly miss are cell phone plans. Here you have to buy a card or "recharge" at a store and at times there will be these great promotions where you can talk back in the USA or send texts to friends for only one quarter.
What do I miss the most? Lite Bite. Yeah I think it would have to be Lite Bite. Amazing food, the smell, the music, the owner, the tables and hookahs and pita bread. The bahklava and hummus and lemonade and lentil soup. I miss riding my bike there with a book and a journal. I miss the different reactions people would give me when I had Lite Bite to go and ate it at their house. I think Lite Bite represents something about Lubbock that I really love, local cuisine. That's truly what I miss. It is a city that will continue to perplex and make me wonder about so many things that would only happen in that city, on the giant side of Texas.