This past weekend I proposed to my girlfriend! I started to make plans to propose months ago. More than 7 months ago my fiance and I went to Los Planes de Renderos for our first night out together. We weren't even dating, we just went out to get to know one another, but since that day I have felt a very great and deep love for her.
Since the 4th was our 7 month anniversary, I wrote a poem for her called 7 Roses. On the 4th I gave her the 1st rose and with every rose I also gave a little slip of paper that had a promise about what I want to be for her. The real fun started the morning of the 5th. We went to the botanical gardens in Antigua Cuscatlan and hungout and walked around the whole morning. After we had a nice lunch near the town center and then we went to this place called World Games. We went to this place for her birthday and we both just loved it. They have arcade games, air hockey, and there was even a mechanical bull that I did!
After playing we went back to the house and took a breather. We had spent pretty much all morning and most of the afternoon walking around and playing so we were pretty tired. After resting for a little bit we headed to Los Planes de Renderos to have dinner. Before we left I had given her the 6th rose and the corresponding paper.
We got to Los Planes and I had her wait outside the restaurant where we first ate out together. I went in and made sure everything was ready. A month prior to this weekend I went and let them know that I wanted to reserve a table and have some flowers and candles and have the mariachis sing songs for us. When I walked in to check everything the flowers looked amazing and they had even been hand picked by the owner of the restaurant from her very own house! Before eating though we both walked to the lookout point where you can see this really amazing view of San Salvador.
We talked about the first time we came here, what we both thought about that first night, what are hopes were at that time and what they are now, and we remembered other really amazing times that we had had together. I asked her if she remembered what the pieces of paper said and after she told me I pulled out the last piece of paper that said, "I will love you for all of our days." I then got on one knee and proposed. She said yes and we both hugged and cried.
Afterwards we walked back to the restaurant and while we walked I told her there was one more rose that I had to give her. We walked in and she saw the table and could not believe it. There was a white table cover symbolizing purity and another one on top of it that was red symbolizing love. We had our own waiter, were sung to by marachis, had the best table in the place, and after eating we were told that the owner wanted to meet us and we thanked her for the beautiful flower arrangement.
I would not have been able to do any of this though without the help of my fiance's amazing sister and our greatest supporter. She was the one who helped find me a ring, drive me to Los Planes a few times to plan with the restaurant, and she did everything with lots of love.
I will never forget this weekend. I am so thankful to have found someone so incredible and look forward to sharing myself with this woman.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Pray and Help
The past few weeks have been hard for many Salvadorans. I remember the day the rain started I was walking to the bus stop and arrived completely soaked. I remember thinking that it really was not too bad considering I would be in my house within a few minutes and would have no worry about flooding or water dripping from the ceiling. And the rain did not stop. For almost 2 straight weeks.
I had a hard time sleeping some nights. I never got cabin fever, rather I could not help but think of Salvadorans and even volunteers who were simply stuck. I would get texts about evacuations and even deaths, like the one of a little girl because of a tree that fell onto her house and a wall that crashed on top of her. Or the thousands of people who were evacuating their communities, leaving their families, and in their hands they carried the remains of everything they have. I even had a scare one night in my house. One of the trees behind my home started hanging lower and lower exhausted by the rains and it made a loud sound on my roof. It woke me up around 4 in the morning. I was wide awake. I started planning. Alright, if the tree falls down and comes crashing in then what am I going to take? Easy, my cell phone and the envelope of the letters and pictures from my girlfriend and family. I went outside just to see the tree was and knew that it was impossible for it to fall and crash through the house.
I cried a lot at night. I prayed a lot. And finally the rain stopped, we started to help. The program I work for is funded by CASSA or Compania Azuceria Salvadoreña (Salvadoran Sugar Company) and they had hundreds of people helping fill bags with cooking oil, tortilla mix, sugar, salt, water, beans, and other foods. We went for just half a day and sent more than 1,500 bags out within a few hours. In one day more 5,000 bags were sent to families that are in shelters throughout the country. There were more than 200 students volunteering during the weekend and hundreds of men and women who came to volunteer as well. You can pray all you want but at some point you have to get off your knees and help. It was amazing to see men who had just gotten off of work and were dirty and sweaty, volunteering for 5 hours when they could have been at home.
Peace Corps had us stay in our homes due to the fact that the streets were very unsafe to be on. I had not seen my girlfriend for almost 2 weeks and there was nothing else I wanted after the rain but to see her. On saturday I told her I was at the school and that I would be busy so I would just give her some texts every chance I got. The truth is that I took a bus in the morning to surprise her at her job. I finally got to her store and just walked in, my heart pounding. We both hugged and cried and laughed. She couldn't believe it. She stared at me for a few minutes because she was so surprised. I spent the rest of the day reading a book while she worked and then we talked the whole night.
The next day I came back to my site and now we are back to work at the program and also splitting our time with volunteering for everyone who was evacuated. I am so thankful for what I have. I can't believe I get to have so much. I just hope you and me are doing a good job with what we have and take advantage of our ability to help others.
Just so you have an idea of how bad it was here I have inlcuded some of the data from the past few weeks. Also I am not asking you to send money or do anything with any particular project. I am just asking you to think about helping your neighbor, your Boys and Girls Club, your community, the after school program.
Don't wait for something like this...
I had a hard time sleeping some nights. I never got cabin fever, rather I could not help but think of Salvadorans and even volunteers who were simply stuck. I would get texts about evacuations and even deaths, like the one of a little girl because of a tree that fell onto her house and a wall that crashed on top of her. Or the thousands of people who were evacuating their communities, leaving their families, and in their hands they carried the remains of everything they have. I even had a scare one night in my house. One of the trees behind my home started hanging lower and lower exhausted by the rains and it made a loud sound on my roof. It woke me up around 4 in the morning. I was wide awake. I started planning. Alright, if the tree falls down and comes crashing in then what am I going to take? Easy, my cell phone and the envelope of the letters and pictures from my girlfriend and family. I went outside just to see the tree was and knew that it was impossible for it to fall and crash through the house.
I cried a lot at night. I prayed a lot. And finally the rain stopped, we started to help. The program I work for is funded by CASSA or Compania Azuceria Salvadoreña (Salvadoran Sugar Company) and they had hundreds of people helping fill bags with cooking oil, tortilla mix, sugar, salt, water, beans, and other foods. We went for just half a day and sent more than 1,500 bags out within a few hours. In one day more 5,000 bags were sent to families that are in shelters throughout the country. There were more than 200 students volunteering during the weekend and hundreds of men and women who came to volunteer as well. You can pray all you want but at some point you have to get off your knees and help. It was amazing to see men who had just gotten off of work and were dirty and sweaty, volunteering for 5 hours when they could have been at home.
Peace Corps had us stay in our homes due to the fact that the streets were very unsafe to be on. I had not seen my girlfriend for almost 2 weeks and there was nothing else I wanted after the rain but to see her. On saturday I told her I was at the school and that I would be busy so I would just give her some texts every chance I got. The truth is that I took a bus in the morning to surprise her at her job. I finally got to her store and just walked in, my heart pounding. We both hugged and cried and laughed. She couldn't believe it. She stared at me for a few minutes because she was so surprised. I spent the rest of the day reading a book while she worked and then we talked the whole night.
The next day I came back to my site and now we are back to work at the program and also splitting our time with volunteering for everyone who was evacuated. I am so thankful for what I have. I can't believe I get to have so much. I just hope you and me are doing a good job with what we have and take advantage of our ability to help others.
Just so you have an idea of how bad it was here I have inlcuded some of the data from the past few weeks. Also I am not asking you to send money or do anything with any particular project. I am just asking you to think about helping your neighbor, your Boys and Girls Club, your community, the after school program.
Don't wait for something like this...
FACT SHEET ON RAINS IN EL SALVADOR
DUE TO TROPICAL DEPRESSION 12E
· Since the entrance of Tropical Depression 12E, which occurred on October 10th of this year to date, the country has registered a historical maximum amount of rainfall of 1,500 mm in some areas. This amount of rain almost doubled the amount of rainfall reported during hurricane Mitch (1998).
· Average precipitation in El Salvador is approximately 1.800 mm per year. So far, in ten days some areas of the nation have registered more than 80% of the amount of rain that falls in one whole year.
· Hurricane Mitch, in 1998, caused 861 mm of rain, meanwhile Tropical Storm Stan in 2005 produced 766 mm of rain.
· So far, the death toll due to the tropical depression 12E has reached 34.
· Preventive evacuations maintained low the death toll in comparison with other natural disasters. Hurricane Mitch caused 240 human loses, Ida left 198 dead, and Stan registered 69 casualties.
· To date, a million people have been directly affected by the rain.
· There are 55,976 evacuees (15,195 families) and there are 683 shelters and refuges.
· In comparison, during Mitch the country had 10,000 affected and during Ida (2009) the amount reached 7,428 in 75 shelters.
· 10% of the national territory is flooded. The rainfall has affected directly 181 municipalities, which represent 70% of the total of municipalities nationwide.
· Authorities have distributed more than 470 metric tons of food to the victims.
· There are 18,445 flooded homes, 2,222 affected wells and 879 landslides on highways have been accounted for. There are more than 2,000 houses at high risk of flooding or to be affected by landslides.
· On October 17 the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador declared state of public calamity and disaster throughout the country for the next 60 days, as a result of the situation of vulnerability.
· There are 2,935 manzanas of damaged crops (around 5,000 acres).
· The heavy rains have caused the mudslides and flooding, swollen rivers, destroyed 4 bridges and damaged 14 other in the main routes.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Un Pequeño Deseo
I feel pretty settled in now. I have most of my routines figured out. I work from 7am to 530pm. At first I was coming home completely exhausted and now I usually go for a run whenever I get back to the house. My favorite part of the day is my walk after work. I have to take 2 buses to get back to my house, but I figured out that I could omit the 1st bus and walk to the bus stop for my 2nd bus in pretty much the same amount of time.
The work has been really amazing lately. I hosted a photo exhibition for a week at my program's campus. These photos had been on display throughout all of the American Embassy and so I had some Peace Corps Volunteers come and speak (in english) to the students at Superate. We talked about the Peace Corps' three goals, the reason each of us became volunteers, why it is good to volunteer, and then we took questions. There were about 3 or 4 students from each grade that asked us questions (again in english).
Later that same weekend I gave a speech at the Sonsonate City Hall on the 11th of September about the National Day of Service and Remembrance. I spoke of my personal memories, the violence, the images. I congratulated the 100s of students that came to volunteer and asked them to remember that we truly honor victims of violence through service to our community, and not with more violence.
The 15th of September is Independence Day and so Carmen and I woke up early and were the first ones at the stadium Magico Gonzalez. We saw over 130 bands, the Armed Forces band, and also a military demonstration. And also we got to see and hear President Funes speak. It was really amazing. And free!
A few days later we went to this really cool waterpark called Termal Del Rio. They had this huge slide that had a 4 story drop which felt like it was straight down. We charged right for it, but Carmen was a little worried. I just said, don't think about it, just come up with me and then we will go down and you will have done it and it will be fun. So we got up, and she said, no, I can't do it. I said, you cannot go down through the stairs, you have to go down the slide, and if you keep thinking about it you are not going to do it. She took about 30 seconds, sat down, and DID IT! When I got down, I said, how was it, and she said, I feel like my heart is in my throat!
Later that day we checked out this thermal pool in the park, one side heated and the other side cool. It was so nice. At night we talked about her big accomplishment and we both realized that we never saw any other girls doing the big slide. She was the only girl who did it!
Finally, I just finished a week of HIV/AIDS and Sex education talks. I feel like there were a lot of myths that we got to discuss and clarify and it was really cool to see the students go from "not really knowing anything" to "very knowledgeable". Right now we are working on an English camp, a leadership workshop, and enjoying the nightly rains.
The work has been really amazing lately. I hosted a photo exhibition for a week at my program's campus. These photos had been on display throughout all of the American Embassy and so I had some Peace Corps Volunteers come and speak (in english) to the students at Superate. We talked about the Peace Corps' three goals, the reason each of us became volunteers, why it is good to volunteer, and then we took questions. There were about 3 or 4 students from each grade that asked us questions (again in english).
Later that same weekend I gave a speech at the Sonsonate City Hall on the 11th of September about the National Day of Service and Remembrance. I spoke of my personal memories, the violence, the images. I congratulated the 100s of students that came to volunteer and asked them to remember that we truly honor victims of violence through service to our community, and not with more violence.
The 15th of September is Independence Day and so Carmen and I woke up early and were the first ones at the stadium Magico Gonzalez. We saw over 130 bands, the Armed Forces band, and also a military demonstration. And also we got to see and hear President Funes speak. It was really amazing. And free!
A few days later we went to this really cool waterpark called Termal Del Rio. They had this huge slide that had a 4 story drop which felt like it was straight down. We charged right for it, but Carmen was a little worried. I just said, don't think about it, just come up with me and then we will go down and you will have done it and it will be fun. So we got up, and she said, no, I can't do it. I said, you cannot go down through the stairs, you have to go down the slide, and if you keep thinking about it you are not going to do it. She took about 30 seconds, sat down, and DID IT! When I got down, I said, how was it, and she said, I feel like my heart is in my throat!
Later that day we checked out this thermal pool in the park, one side heated and the other side cool. It was so nice. At night we talked about her big accomplishment and we both realized that we never saw any other girls doing the big slide. She was the only girl who did it!
Finally, I just finished a week of HIV/AIDS and Sex education talks. I feel like there were a lot of myths that we got to discuss and clarify and it was really cool to see the students go from "not really knowing anything" to "very knowledgeable". Right now we are working on an English camp, a leadership workshop, and enjoying the nightly rains.
Monday, February 28, 2011
From the Campo to the Ciudad
My two years of Peace Corps service have concluded and I am leaving my humble home in the campo for an equally humble home in the city. I am fortunate enough to have lived in such a wonderful and safe community. I will never forget my time in Cabañas. I will always carry with me the memories of: the stores of my two neighbors, the amazing sounds of the night, dogs barking and roosters crowing, the evangelicals screaming and crying, the early mornings when my neighbors blasted their music, time moving slowly, the sunsetting on giant hills, eating at my Padrinos, talking for hours in the street every night with Chele and Padre and Pacheca, Rio Lempa, and what my girlfriend likes to call "la buena". The good life.
What I won't miss is the machismo. That is pretty much it. And I still live here and it is still the only thing that I cannot accept about this country. The trash burning is not that bad to me, I actually don't mind how it smells, and there is no other option so that is just how it has to be.
Now I live in Sonsonate, the valley of the Holy Trinity. I love it here. The weather is hot and perfect, I am 20 minutes from the beach, and I have a really great job. I am working with this program called Superate (better yourself) where they specialize in teaching English, Computers, and Life Skills to high school students. I work with the Life Skills teachers providing resources for HIV/AIDS/Sex education, leadership classes, and I also have a poetry club. It is a really incredible group of people that work here, and the students here are so hungry to change and be successful.
It is very different being here. I have the internet everyday, I get to speak in English if I want because all the teachers can speak it, and I live in one of the largest cities besides San Salvador. Sometimes I still can't believe that I am still here and I still get to do this.
What I won't miss is the machismo. That is pretty much it. And I still live here and it is still the only thing that I cannot accept about this country. The trash burning is not that bad to me, I actually don't mind how it smells, and there is no other option so that is just how it has to be.
Now I live in Sonsonate, the valley of the Holy Trinity. I love it here. The weather is hot and perfect, I am 20 minutes from the beach, and I have a really great job. I am working with this program called Superate (better yourself) where they specialize in teaching English, Computers, and Life Skills to high school students. I work with the Life Skills teachers providing resources for HIV/AIDS/Sex education, leadership classes, and I also have a poetry club. It is a really incredible group of people that work here, and the students here are so hungry to change and be successful.
It is very different being here. I have the internet everyday, I get to speak in English if I want because all the teachers can speak it, and I live in one of the largest cities besides San Salvador. Sometimes I still can't believe that I am still here and I still get to do this.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
You Gonna Eat That!? - Mike Watkins /No Cavities And A Negative Stool Sample
Hey, hellooooo.
it is has been a few months, clearly, and now I am proud to say that I have completed my first year of service, had my medical evaluation and am very healthy, and I have no cavities. I am very fortunate to only have gotten amoebas, on more than one occasion, and to have been sick only once this whole time here.
Things are much different, they have been for quite some time. I feel different in my community. Not different as in set apart, but rather I feel just like another member of my community. Whenever I don't eat pupusas for more than 2 days I crave them, I eat 3 tortillas for lunch everyday instead of a half of one like my first months, and I have a dog that is serious about take caring of me. Little kids in the street will now speak to me in English after having taught them how to hear"How are you" and respond with "I'm good thank you." My boys are much more protective with me, they look out for me, make sure I am safe when I am not in site. My community has also met my brothers so they ask questions, want to be updated about them. There are so many more things that have changed that have made it hard, some days, to really envision that in less than a year I will be leaving.
Sometimes I feel like I am not actually going to go back, that is that I am not going home, I am home. Every single house in my community has someone that is right now, or has been recently, in the United States working. I heard a friend the other day tell me something that I could really relate to. He said he felt like his home was in the States, but his country is El Salvador. Sometimes I feel the same way, but reversed.
Now with a year left I am writing lots of letters to South Africa, finishing my reading list, seeing my projects come together, and planning some big changes in the next year and a half.
it is has been a few months, clearly, and now I am proud to say that I have completed my first year of service, had my medical evaluation and am very healthy, and I have no cavities. I am very fortunate to only have gotten amoebas, on more than one occasion, and to have been sick only once this whole time here.
Things are much different, they have been for quite some time. I feel different in my community. Not different as in set apart, but rather I feel just like another member of my community. Whenever I don't eat pupusas for more than 2 days I crave them, I eat 3 tortillas for lunch everyday instead of a half of one like my first months, and I have a dog that is serious about take caring of me. Little kids in the street will now speak to me in English after having taught them how to hear"How are you" and respond with "I'm good thank you." My boys are much more protective with me, they look out for me, make sure I am safe when I am not in site. My community has also met my brothers so they ask questions, want to be updated about them. There are so many more things that have changed that have made it hard, some days, to really envision that in less than a year I will be leaving.
Sometimes I feel like I am not actually going to go back, that is that I am not going home, I am home. Every single house in my community has someone that is right now, or has been recently, in the United States working. I heard a friend the other day tell me something that I could really relate to. He said he felt like his home was in the States, but his country is El Salvador. Sometimes I feel the same way, but reversed.
Now with a year left I am writing lots of letters to South Africa, finishing my reading list, seeing my projects come together, and planning some big changes in the next year and a half.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Your Brother is Better Looking Than You And Your Older Brother
The past 3 weeks have flown by.
My two brothers and sister in law came in,
And I am finally coming down from strep.
I remember when we hungout last time in June of 09. They both told me that they would come and visit me, and a year later they both came to this country where I serve. I had already had almost a month to practice before they came. I got to see the reactions of someone who had never been out of the USA, and the reaction of a seasoned traveler. We also wrestled a few times.
While they were here we celebrated my first full year in this country. And even though I can clearly remember certain poignant parts of this first year, I tend to think of that first year for another volunteer. I never expected anything before coming here, except that I expected it to be hard. And it is. I also knew that I would probably become closer to people as my spanish got better. You can ask my brothers, Tonio and his family are one of the best reasons to come and visit me and El Salvador.
My two brothers and sister in law came in,
And I am finally coming down from strep.
I remember when we hungout last time in June of 09. They both told me that they would come and visit me, and a year later they both came to this country where I serve. I had already had almost a month to practice before they came. I got to see the reactions of someone who had never been out of the USA, and the reaction of a seasoned traveler. We also wrestled a few times.
While they were here we celebrated my first full year in this country. And even though I can clearly remember certain poignant parts of this first year, I tend to think of that first year for another volunteer. I never expected anything before coming here, except that I expected it to be hard. And it is. I also knew that I would probably become closer to people as my spanish got better. You can ask my brothers, Tonio and his family are one of the best reasons to come and visit me and El Salvador.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, March 19, 2010
A More Perfect Union
I have been here since tuesday. I got amoebas. Maldita amoebas!
I just have diarrhea. And I have lost about 10 pounds since tuesday.
On friday the newest group of trainees were sworn in, bound by the
constitution and the truths therein to uphold the ideals from which
John F Kennedy created the Peace Corps Act. To volunteer and help.
Friday night we welcomed the newly trained volunteers to a night of drinking and dancing and all around rump shaking. It was a great night, and also something of an initiation. Imagine if you will, a group of mainly 23 to 30 year olds who for two months were "not allowed" to drink during training, being served at the embassy with some of the best food in one of the most beautiful/elegant places I have been to (seriously there is a Marine that opens up the bathroom doors), and then being finally allowed to drink on the eve of your first day in site. It is not a joke. It's swearing in day.
Fortunately me and the other veteran volunteers stayed an extra night to make sure we could walk properly back into our sites. We spent most of the day recovering, watching shows in english on TV, and catching up with people back in America. There was something I knew about Peace Corps before coming here that I had yet to experience. Peace Corps Volunteers. I knew a few before coming here, the brother of a friend who I had a spanish class with, and also the friend of a friend that I got to know before coming. Both guys were so incredible.
Every group that comes in brings in their own personality.
What I have noticed is that in this country with every volunteer that I have met I am at awe at how weird I do not feel. I was in shock for the first few months at how well we all felt around each other. Like we knew each other before, like we went to school together, or swam at the Sea horse together, or were made to play with each other because our parents were friends and yet we grew up and still liked each other even though our parents weren't friends anymore.
I hardly feel normal. What is normal? If I hardly feel normal
then maybe what I feel is what is normal and what I hardly feel
is not normal. What I feel around volunteers, and around the
people in my group is something that I am trying to learn to
explain.
Community is the closest thing to describe it. Its much more than that.
It is like being with a lot of people who are so much like you, and sharing a
sense of service, and passion, and love for the people, and this country, and
your own country, and any other country, and unity in moving forward. Forward.
Moving forward.
I am trying to learn how to bring that back. One of the goals of the Peace Corps.
And something America really needs today. Not for progression of this party or
that party, not for the gain of more capital, and most certainly not because we are
the best maldito country in the world. Because everyone is watching. Because we
got off to a bad start and we move forward and it gets better. We see in each
other something that feels normal. We know that there is some way for us to
volunteer. And help.
I just have diarrhea. And I have lost about 10 pounds since tuesday.
On friday the newest group of trainees were sworn in, bound by the
constitution and the truths therein to uphold the ideals from which
John F Kennedy created the Peace Corps Act. To volunteer and help.
Friday night we welcomed the newly trained volunteers to a night of drinking and dancing and all around rump shaking. It was a great night, and also something of an initiation. Imagine if you will, a group of mainly 23 to 30 year olds who for two months were "not allowed" to drink during training, being served at the embassy with some of the best food in one of the most beautiful/elegant places I have been to (seriously there is a Marine that opens up the bathroom doors), and then being finally allowed to drink on the eve of your first day in site. It is not a joke. It's swearing in day.
Fortunately me and the other veteran volunteers stayed an extra night to make sure we could walk properly back into our sites. We spent most of the day recovering, watching shows in english on TV, and catching up with people back in America. There was something I knew about Peace Corps before coming here that I had yet to experience. Peace Corps Volunteers. I knew a few before coming here, the brother of a friend who I had a spanish class with, and also the friend of a friend that I got to know before coming. Both guys were so incredible.
Every group that comes in brings in their own personality.
What I have noticed is that in this country with every volunteer that I have met I am at awe at how weird I do not feel. I was in shock for the first few months at how well we all felt around each other. Like we knew each other before, like we went to school together, or swam at the Sea horse together, or were made to play with each other because our parents were friends and yet we grew up and still liked each other even though our parents weren't friends anymore.
I hardly feel normal. What is normal? If I hardly feel normal
then maybe what I feel is what is normal and what I hardly feel
is not normal. What I feel around volunteers, and around the
people in my group is something that I am trying to learn to
explain.
Community is the closest thing to describe it. Its much more than that.
It is like being with a lot of people who are so much like you, and sharing a
sense of service, and passion, and love for the people, and this country, and
your own country, and any other country, and unity in moving forward. Forward.
Moving forward.
I am trying to learn how to bring that back. One of the goals of the Peace Corps.
And something America really needs today. Not for progression of this party or
that party, not for the gain of more capital, and most certainly not because we are
the best maldito country in the world. Because everyone is watching. Because we
got off to a bad start and we move forward and it gets better. We see in each
other something that feels normal. We know that there is some way for us to
volunteer. And help.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Bicicleta, Bicicleta
I am at the mayor's office trying to, wait a second, the mayor just walked in!
(Super fast spanish, on his part, me trying to get to the point, he is a busy man) And success!
I am here to solicit transportation for a break dance camp that I am taking my kids to this next week. It is going to be at the Lago de Coatepeque and I was invited by two other volunteers that have put it on. I am taking 4 high school aged guys from my site and there is going to be workshops on different break dance moves. The coolest part about the camp is that most kids that are into break dancing feel like it is a bad thing because of the stigma that only delincuents are break dancers. Through the camp they get to meet other kids who are into it just as much as they are, they learn it is fine to enjoy break dancing, and in fact it is a healthy and artistic outlet for them. We also ask that when the students return back home they volunteer 15 hours of their time to community service.
I have been waiting all day for Don Adrian (the mayor). I am in Jutiapa where there is another volunteer who is in the Municipal Development program. There is only one bus that leaves for Jutiapa in the morning and it is at 630am. The problem is is that if I would have gotten there at 7 or 730am and then talked to Adrian for 5 minutes and gotten the OK for transportation I would to have had to wait for the bus to leave at 12pm. And if he wouldn't have been here this morning (like he wasn't) I would have totally missed him and wasted a whole morning. So this morning I left on my bycicle from my site all the way to Jutiapa. Close to 20 kilometers or 13 miles. It was super hilly, really hard at a few points, and overwhelmingly beautiful with the most fantastic views of El Salvador I have seen. Jutiapa is at a higher elevation than my site so it was cool to get to a few spots and just stop and look down at my site, all of the green and brown and dried up corn fields.
Things are getting busier every week. Last week me and about 15 kids had our first meeting to discuss forming a dance team. I tried forming a dance team about a month ago to no avail. I have learned that things do not have to be so hard here, and when you give more responsibility to the people they will at least try to do their part. Instead of creating a meeting and time for the dance team this time I asked Mirian, a 16 year old 8th grader, to be in charge and find out what day and time we could have a meeting. An hour later she had the day and time and I made a little poster to remind everyone. At the meeting we went through all the questions, why we want a group, where we will practice, and who will teach. We made a plan for all the questions except one, the teacher. I said I would search for a teacher, having no clue where to go, who to ask, or how it would work. It is exciting. It is the same feeling I had in July when I was in Washington DC. Clueless about the country I would soon be living in, what I would be doing, how I would be helping. I decided to talk to the director of the Instituto Nacional de Ilobasco. A really nice high school in my nearest pueblo. I explained the situation and he told me to come back the next day to meet a kid that could possibly help. I came back, talked to the kid and the guidance counselor, and tomorrow we will have our first dance team practice with our teach Eric. Success!
Time goes by slower
Acabamos de llegar
Learning bout success.
Money it is not
Nap at least once everyday
We need to slow down.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Be Part of The Solution
I just got my bookshelf!
I had Javier build me a bookshelf in October. He told me it would be a few months and I would have it. Javier is the local carpenter, he lived in Las Vegas for a few years working in a restaraunt, and he also learned carpentry.
Javier makes me laugh so much. I am late all the time, I lose track of it, and in a country like this one, that way of living makes most things a little easier and or less stressful. I did not think it would take Javier until February to get me the bookshelf. He makes me laugh because even after he had made it it took him weeks until he actually brought it over to my house. But asi es the life where I live. I would literally go to his house with the hopes of takign my bookshelf home, staring at it, hugging it, smelling it, and hoping he realized that I needed it. And every time he would just say "Yeah I'll bring it over later no worries." I knew that did not mean today, so I would sit down, talk about Las Vegas, carpentry, futbol, and girls.
Now that I have a bookshelf I feel like my house is a complete.
That is not to say that I have any of the conventional services of a complete house.
My house is a room.
I do not have:
a bathroom, toilet, water, or a fridge.
School has started back up and that means a few of my projects are going to start happening soon. One of my projects that I have had since I have been in my site has been with Stove Team International. It was created by a Peace Corps Volunteer and it is this really great company that provides ecological and economical stoves for salvadorans. They are really cheap, great quality, and good for the environment.
Also I am starting youth groups, art groups, and in general organizing people to just work together. I am really excited about a project that I will be starting really soon that will be a pen pal type of correspondence to my junior high alma mater. I am going to work with the spanish teacher their and have her kids write to my kids in spanish and then my kids will write back and talk about themselves, their family, and it is going to be a great way to share each others cultures.
This sunday is the super bowl.
I am going to root for the New Orleans Saints.
I am not from Louisiana, I have no family from there,
nor do I have any money riding on them winning this sunday.
I am going to be able to see the game too. I am going to come to the capital and watch it at a TGI Fridays. I am going to have a burger and beer and wear an american flag.
I had Javier build me a bookshelf in October. He told me it would be a few months and I would have it. Javier is the local carpenter, he lived in Las Vegas for a few years working in a restaraunt, and he also learned carpentry.
Javier makes me laugh so much. I am late all the time, I lose track of it, and in a country like this one, that way of living makes most things a little easier and or less stressful. I did not think it would take Javier until February to get me the bookshelf. He makes me laugh because even after he had made it it took him weeks until he actually brought it over to my house. But asi es the life where I live. I would literally go to his house with the hopes of takign my bookshelf home, staring at it, hugging it, smelling it, and hoping he realized that I needed it. And every time he would just say "Yeah I'll bring it over later no worries." I knew that did not mean today, so I would sit down, talk about Las Vegas, carpentry, futbol, and girls.
Now that I have a bookshelf I feel like my house is a complete.
That is not to say that I have any of the conventional services of a complete house.
My house is a room.
I do not have:
a bathroom, toilet, water, or a fridge.
School has started back up and that means a few of my projects are going to start happening soon. One of my projects that I have had since I have been in my site has been with Stove Team International. It was created by a Peace Corps Volunteer and it is this really great company that provides ecological and economical stoves for salvadorans. They are really cheap, great quality, and good for the environment.
Also I am starting youth groups, art groups, and in general organizing people to just work together. I am really excited about a project that I will be starting really soon that will be a pen pal type of correspondence to my junior high alma mater. I am going to work with the spanish teacher their and have her kids write to my kids in spanish and then my kids will write back and talk about themselves, their family, and it is going to be a great way to share each others cultures.
This sunday is the super bowl.
I am going to root for the New Orleans Saints.
I am not from Louisiana, I have no family from there,
nor do I have any money riding on them winning this sunday.
I am going to be able to see the game too. I am going to come to the capital and watch it at a TGI Fridays. I am going to have a burger and beer and wear an american flag.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Que Le Vaya Bien 2009 part 2
first dance.
me, jocelynn, memo, li, pepe
novia.
me and li.
at tonios wedding.
michael!
padre.
floating on rio lempa.
chele.
the boys that i hungout with on christmas.
at rio lempa on christmas day.
wearing sonias hoodie.
jimmy on christmas eve.
the boys in my site dress up as old men for christmas.Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Que Le Vaya Bien 2009 part 1
girls from my site.
christmas eve.
my boys from fourth grade. the kid on the left is jefferson and i call him senor presidente.
Ito and his family singing songs on christmas eve.
christmas eve/what these guys do everyday, play cards and whistle at the girlies.
campo!
carmela's house.
where i live now. with light, and in the house above there is a super nice bathroom.
where i was going to live, but there is no bathroom nor water nor light.
La Cancha
Don Tonio and me on graduation day. his nephew Ito graduated from high school. 
this is the picture of Los Lideres. Alcalde (Mayor) Adrian, Diablo, Volunteer Miguel, Director Don Chem
gerson
super cute little girl and carlos after graduation.
carlos on graduation day.
below the kids you can see names. those are all the names of the kids who were killed in el mozote.
the memorial in el mozote where many people were killed.
johnny and willy. this is the first day i ever hungout with them.Sunday, December 6, 2009
Bonding in Boys Room
The last few weeks have been very busy here in El Salvador.
The country is still dealing with the loss of over 250 people in San Vicente due to mudslides which were due to a tropical storm and of course deforestation. The people here are used to this sort of way of life, dealing with some sort of disaster and mainly trying to "sobrevivir" or survive everyday. It makes you wonder how or what you can do to empower these people, to improve the quality of life, and to hope that maybe others around the world who are more fortunate see this and decide to help.
For the past week I have been in San Salvador with the other youth development volunteers for more training, but this time to learn about how we can make differences in the lives of the people in our communities. We have learned how to put on youth camps, environmental camps, sports tournaments, english classes, and also how to start small businesses, and prepare students for college or the workforce.
We have one week left of training and this next week should be even better. On tuesday we are going to visit a volunteer that I am really interested in seeing. He is going to show us his theatre group, but what I am more interested in is his break dance team that he started. Of course I cannot break dance nor have I ever break danced, but I do have a lot of kids in my community that can and it would be a really great project for them to be involved in.
Lastly there are 16 youth development volunteers and we are staying in a hotel and have been having a really great time getting to hangout for the past week. But because there are more girls than guys there are a few rooms that have guys and girls in them, except for ours, which includes 4 guys and myself and was named "the boys room". The boys room is a magical place where you can smell however you want to smell, not worry about hygiene or lack of bathing, and of course use the bathroom with the door open. Honestly, it has been a lot of fun and as bad as it smells (all the girls say its like a combination of shoes, pizza, and farts) everyone seems to want to hangout there more than anywhere.
I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and is getting ready for the holiday season. I know it has been snowing back home, but here it is warm, sunny, and all around beautiful.
The country is still dealing with the loss of over 250 people in San Vicente due to mudslides which were due to a tropical storm and of course deforestation. The people here are used to this sort of way of life, dealing with some sort of disaster and mainly trying to "sobrevivir" or survive everyday. It makes you wonder how or what you can do to empower these people, to improve the quality of life, and to hope that maybe others around the world who are more fortunate see this and decide to help.
For the past week I have been in San Salvador with the other youth development volunteers for more training, but this time to learn about how we can make differences in the lives of the people in our communities. We have learned how to put on youth camps, environmental camps, sports tournaments, english classes, and also how to start small businesses, and prepare students for college or the workforce.
We have one week left of training and this next week should be even better. On tuesday we are going to visit a volunteer that I am really interested in seeing. He is going to show us his theatre group, but what I am more interested in is his break dance team that he started. Of course I cannot break dance nor have I ever break danced, but I do have a lot of kids in my community that can and it would be a really great project for them to be involved in.
Lastly there are 16 youth development volunteers and we are staying in a hotel and have been having a really great time getting to hangout for the past week. But because there are more girls than guys there are a few rooms that have guys and girls in them, except for ours, which includes 4 guys and myself and was named "the boys room". The boys room is a magical place where you can smell however you want to smell, not worry about hygiene or lack of bathing, and of course use the bathroom with the door open. Honestly, it has been a lot of fun and as bad as it smells (all the girls say its like a combination of shoes, pizza, and farts) everyone seems to want to hangout there more than anywhere.
I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and is getting ready for the holiday season. I know it has been snowing back home, but here it is warm, sunny, and all around beautiful.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Chucho
I have been in San Salvador since October 29.
I am not on vacation. And I am not sick.
I got bit by a dog.
In the United States the dog is known as "man's best friend."
In El Salvador the dog is known as "man's animal that he doesnt have for the sole purpose of raising to one day kill and eat".
The dog in the United States is a pet, a friend, and a part of the family.
The dog in El Salvador is an alarm, a defense mechanism, and a biter.
The other day I was hanging out with some kids, playing with them in front of their house, and because I am brilliant I saw a dog that was watching us and reached out to pet its head. The dog then bit me and then I screamed a few choice words in english and ran to the house next door which is luckily where I hangout everyday to clean my hand and cry.
At first I was scared. The bite felt like it he went through the palm of my hand and I began to worry that it might have punctured a nerve and would begin to destroy the rest of my hand. After a few minutes I started to move my fingers and the pain began to go down and I knew I would be fine.
I boarded a bus to the closest town, Ilobasco, and went to a clinic where there is free healthcare. For everyone. Everyone. I didn't have to wait long and then I called the Peace Corps office and they told me to come in to San Salvador. It was 7pm and there was no way I could get to San Salvador and I was not in any sort of an emergency, so the next morning I headed here and have been here since then.
They have just been monitoring my hand, making sure it did not get infected, and making sure it stays super clean. The two areas that they were worried about weren't even that big, but one is in my palm and they had to make sure it wasn't serious.
Tomorrow I get to go back home and then the next day I will meet back up with my fellow volunteers in my group for 2 weeks of training in San Vicente.
It has been really tough this past week, not because my hand hurts, but because I really want to be in my site and I miss my community. But I think about that night that it happened and laugh, because when we were cleaning my hand in my friend Jimmys house, his aunt, who is usually really quiet, said with all sincerity "Ese chucho, lo voy a matar. Lo voy a matar (That dog, I'm gonna kill it. I'm gonna kill it)."
That is love.
I am not on vacation. And I am not sick.
I got bit by a dog.
In the United States the dog is known as "man's best friend."
In El Salvador the dog is known as "man's animal that he doesnt have for the sole purpose of raising to one day kill and eat".
The dog in the United States is a pet, a friend, and a part of the family.
The dog in El Salvador is an alarm, a defense mechanism, and a biter.
The other day I was hanging out with some kids, playing with them in front of their house, and because I am brilliant I saw a dog that was watching us and reached out to pet its head. The dog then bit me and then I screamed a few choice words in english and ran to the house next door which is luckily where I hangout everyday to clean my hand and cry.
At first I was scared. The bite felt like it he went through the palm of my hand and I began to worry that it might have punctured a nerve and would begin to destroy the rest of my hand. After a few minutes I started to move my fingers and the pain began to go down and I knew I would be fine.
I boarded a bus to the closest town, Ilobasco, and went to a clinic where there is free healthcare. For everyone. Everyone. I didn't have to wait long and then I called the Peace Corps office and they told me to come in to San Salvador. It was 7pm and there was no way I could get to San Salvador and I was not in any sort of an emergency, so the next morning I headed here and have been here since then.
They have just been monitoring my hand, making sure it did not get infected, and making sure it stays super clean. The two areas that they were worried about weren't even that big, but one is in my palm and they had to make sure it wasn't serious.
Tomorrow I get to go back home and then the next day I will meet back up with my fellow volunteers in my group for 2 weeks of training in San Vicente.
It has been really tough this past week, not because my hand hurts, but because I really want to be in my site and I miss my community. But I think about that night that it happened and laugh, because when we were cleaning my hand in my friend Jimmys house, his aunt, who is usually really quiet, said with all sincerity "Ese chucho, lo voy a matar. Lo voy a matar (That dog, I'm gonna kill it. I'm gonna kill it)."
That is love.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Say dude!
Teaching english,
Dancing bachata,
Bathing in the river,
Playing FIFA Soccer 09 on playstation 2,
Napping everyday in a hammock,
Playing guitar and singing songs,
Drinking café de El Salvador,
Making up magic tricks,
And community organizing.
I had my Asamblea General yesterday. It is a big meeting for the community where I explained to them what Peace Corps, who I am, what I have done so far, what I am going to do soon, and what I hope to do. It was a lot of fun. I have some pictures of my community, although I want to have more pictures but the batteries do not really last here.
Me and Jesús at the river
Jesús and Chele
Jesús in my favorite picture.
Me
Dancing bachata,
Bathing in the river,
Playing FIFA Soccer 09 on playstation 2,
Napping everyday in a hammock,
Playing guitar and singing songs,
Drinking café de El Salvador,
Making up magic tricks,
And community organizing.
I had my Asamblea General yesterday. It is a big meeting for the community where I explained to them what Peace Corps, who I am, what I have done so far, what I am going to do soon, and what I hope to do. It was a lot of fun. I have some pictures of my community, although I want to have more pictures but the batteries do not really last here.
Me and Jesús at the river
Jesús and Chele
Jesús in my favorite picture.
Me
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)