My Life Right Now

This past month has been a little crazy, starting with landslides, losing my wallet, going on a hormonal roller coaster, people think I'm married, and finally having my house broken into possibly by one or several youth group members. I don't really want to know who did it. I don't want to lose trust in anyone plus it will label them as a delinquent and give the group a bad name.

Youth are all painted with the same brush here. If it were one of the youth group members the older generation could yank the girls out of the group and or prevent future youth group projects. Which is a shame because we just jumped from 50 members to 75 after our 2 yr anniversary of being formed.

My new host mom swears up and down it had to have happened when I left my door open to go running. I always leave my door open when I'm in the house or if I'm going to run a quick errand. Thats how safe it is in my community. We don't have drunks and I can walk home safetly after dark or early morning because we have street lights and people who care about the safety of others. Unfortunately, this time I did shut my door and you need a key to open it even though it wasn't locked, but there's a trick that you can do with some rope and a tree branch that will jimmy the door open and anyone can get in if its not locked. I don't know, evidence points to forced entry, and someone who isn't a hardened thief and doesn't have to many resources because they didn't steal my Computer or my iPod just $40, my cell phone, and the earphones to my iPod. The earphones turned out to be the best evidence I had because a friend of mine had visited and we both saw the earphones in the iPod before we left and I shut the door. I came back-I went to sleep, and I went to go running the next morning and wanted to listen to music but I couldn't find my earphones. After running I came to look for them again and discovered the money missing as well. SO enough of that.

I have enough to worry about now that there is some gossip that I went to the mayors office and got hitched in secret. Though how secret could it have been if people know about it. I've had five people ask me if in fact I am married. The rumor is that someone saw me in the mayor's office one day a couple of weeks ago getting married to my ex. When I ask who saw me getting married they say "As a Ver" which is short for "vamos a ver" and translates either to "we'll see" or "who knows" In this instance it is "Who Knows" I then follow up with, "Well who told you?" "No recuerdo." "I don't remember" they tell me. In other words they don't want to reveal their source.
I have no evidence that I wasn't married except for the fact that I was in San Salvador the alleged week that it happened. The ex denies marrying me. I have no papers saying I was married. There are no actual witnesses to the event. Other than these very easily verifiable facts people still insist that I am in fact married. And despite my protests to the contrary of this "boda" of lies (wedding of lies) they believe and spread the rumor I'm going to "llevar" bring the ex to the states with me when I go in a year.
The youth group is having a grand time with it teasing me about it. The problem is that not all salvadorans understand sarcasm. So I can say "OH YEAH I totally got married, we're gonna have 12 kids and adopt a dolphin." Some would laugh and understand the outlandishness of the statement others would ask or say 1. What's a dolphin? or 2. I think a cat would be more sensible. So If I try to play it off sometimes it goes over well and other times it turns into "confirming the rumor" I suppose as far as rumors go its pretty harmless its just ANNOYING especially with the youth group teasing. This mostly ends with me not knowing the best way to stifle the gossip. Hasta el proximo!

Busy Month

El Salvador has seen better days but truth be told it has seen far worse. A little more than a week ago the rainy season ended with a bang by raining so long and so hard that the earth moved from higher elevations to lower elevations.. . .or landslides. In the central region it rained about 350cm in 4 hours, therefore an extreme amount in a very short period of time. Luckily in my town the river that is actually in a gorge only rose a couple of feet for a half day, unfortunatly our water pipes cross the river at the lowest point and they did get broken. I'm sure we have temporarily fixed the problem until it could be permantly fixed. We were only without water for 6 days. All is well in town though.

I've been out of site so much recently I don't feel like I'm able to get any work started. I've been talking about starting a summer camp but I'm never home for youth group meetings. For example this week was mid-service medical were we got to donate all bodily fluids for testing and be interviewed about our health practices and risky behaviors. Very exciting and I missed my youth group meeting.

I wanted to go translate for an NGO next wk but I just don't think that is my best decision with Thanksgiving, my Birthday, follow-up doctor visits that will take me out of site.

I'm actually too tired right now to make this blog coherent. Good night

1 Week

Don't get me wrong I love el Sal, but I am super excited to come home. There was some talk about me going to DC, but that would depend on my dearest DC pals sending me. I myself cannot pay to go see you guys. I"M SORRY. If you wanted you could come visit me in bama. I'll be there the 5th-25th. If you are interested in sending me up, just contact me via Facebook, or email and we'll get something together. I don't really have much more to say. I'm teaching science in the school which let me tell you is harder than it should be. The science book mixes earth science, physics, chemistry, and biology. So the kids are learning about Leptons before they have even figured out the parts of a cell. . which don't get me wrong is cool that they get an introduction to higher sciences the only problem I have is the organization of the material. Rather than the chapter teaching one whole theme it teaches 4 but never fully explains any of them. They have to go to the next chapter to finish learning it. Oh well, I only have one more week of teaching and then I"M HOME!!!

EEPS

So this month has been a rollercoaster so far. It started out really high. Most of the volunteers went to the swearing in of the new group in San Salvador it was a night of frivolity and maybe all of us spent way more money than we should have. So money is needless to say tighter than most months. To top that off i was mandated by peace corps to move houses. There's a lot of stupid details but it was for "security". I still love my host family. I've visited them everyday and it feels weird to be a part of the family but not live there anymore. My host mom told me she loved me yesterday and i said i love you too and she started crying. Damn I never wanted to do that to her. i always thought that I might move one day just to have more privacy but I always felt like I couldn't do that to my host mom and I was right, I couldn't have done this to her becuase i wanted a little more privacy.

Now I have a different house that has WAAAAYYYYY more privacy, which for a gringo means a lot. I get to cook for myself all the time now which is awesome but i'm not above accepting food donations from my favorite families. One day i aspire to buy a fridge so that i can keep dairy and protein that is not in the form of a bean. I had to buy some kitchen and eating equipment sooo money is even tighter than is humanly acceptable. Imagine facing 17 more days in the month with $50 to your name. In other words NOW ACCEPTING DONATIONS!!!! Lol asi es la vida of a Peace Corps volunteer.

As far as projects go I've been writing my face off in spanish and english soliciting for $. So I've been begging personally and professionally for some time now. If we get the money my youth group is gonna have a cleaning campaign for the pesticide and chemical fertilizer bottles that people don't know what to do with. Mostly they just chuck them where ever but we're trying to make that stop. Where ever isn't very safe or healthy.

In other news I'm coming home in OCTOBER for 3wks. I am VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY excited. When I think about it I get all giddy. Which is good cause this week has been such a bummer.

Peace Out

Hello Friends and Family

I just wanted to see if anybody who reads this is interested in helping out. Education opportunities are few and far between here in El Salvador and a lot more difficult for girls than boys. El Salvador still has culture that is machista and tends to value (not overly but even so) boys more than girls. I have been very lucky in my site placement. I live in a place where women's rights are actively pursued, but it is not the case all over El Salvador. I'm posting information to an organization run by current peace corps volunteers in El Salvador that give scholarships to girls to aid them in pursuing their dreams and in so doing making opportunities for current and future generations of women.





While basic public education is free and high school matriculation is also paid for by the Salvadoran government, families still must pay for school uniforms, books, transportation to and from class, as well as bear the burden of funding extracurricular activities. Many rural families, earning an average of $4 per day, struggle to put food on the table, making it even more difficult to provide for their children`s education. No student loans are available through the government.

Furthermore, the gap between rich and poor citizens, within both developed and developing nations, is growing, according to the UNDP 2007 report. While the richest two percent of the world's adult population owns more than half of global household wealth, over a billion people worldwide in 2007 had an income equivalent of a dollar a day or less (UNDP Report 2007). Thus, for more than a billion people worldwide, education has become a privilege instead of an inherent right.

Of Salvadoran youth,
• 48% aged 15-24 attend school
• 88% of those who study belong to the upper-class
• 40% say they are optimistic for a better future
• 50% live on a disposable income of less than $2/day

On graduation rates:
• 36% of Salvadoran youth who are studying finish 9th grade
• Only 12.6% will graduate from high school
• 1.26% of those will study in college
• 0.013% will graduate from college
• 25% of all Americans have a Bachelor’s degree

Of the 52% of Salvadoran youth aged 15-24 who are not studying at any level,
• Some work as farm hands picking coffee, cutting sugarcane, and growing corn for $5 per day
• Some work 12-hour days in clothing factories for $50 per week
• Some work as maids in wealthy households far from their families for $4 per day
• 42% of youth currently seek jobs
• Only 36% of youth say they are confident they will find a job

*Source: 2005 Government youth survey from the National Secretary of the Youth, La Prensa Gráfica

For these reasons, a group of Peace Corps volunteers formed a committee with local nonprofit organizations to provide scholarships to poor, rural Salvadoran girls who without outside assistance would discontinue their studies. This scholarship program, called Mujeres y Jovenes en Desarrollo (or Women and Youth Development) not only provides the means for girls with the aptitude and desire to continue their studies, but also provides them with technical training that compliments their studies (under themes such as leadership development, women's empowerment, equality, and community development).

Northamerican friends and neighbors along with Salvadoran businesses donate each year. Our current goal is to raise $2400 by Labor Day to put us on track to award new scholarships in addition to continuing to assist our current scholars for the 2010 school year.

To donate online, please visit:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=519-122

or contact the Peace Corps Office of Private Sector Initiatives at:

1111 20th St. NW
Washington, DC 20526
800.424.8580 ext. 2170
pcpp@peacecorps.gov

Please note your donation is tax-deductible (if in the U.S.A.) and is greatly appreciated!

Pretty Suerte

I posted a video. . We'll see if it works. I don't really have the savy to work it out if it doesn't. I hosted a trainee this wkend. Like when I went to morazan a newbie came to visit me to see what volunteer life is like. I talked his head off poor thing. I could not shut up. I tried to ask him questions but he was very pensive most of the time and maybe the fact that I was a fountain of. . . . information? was a good thing.

He's a cool guy. He plays rugby therefore he has to be cool. Plus he's japanese. . come on a japonese rugger definately a worthwhile trainee. But poor thing he was sick for 2 of the days he was here. He caught the gripe (flu) that everyone in the country has and can't get rid of. He stayed with my friends Victor and Milagro so that I wouldn't have the stigma of having a boy stay with me in my house. It was fun though walking around the community with him and getting stares. I get to answer questions about him for the next 3 months. WOOT.

While he was here it was really interesting to see where his head was and what questions he was asking and remember that those were the same concerns that I had. That during training its fine but then you're dropped off in a big black void of being a volunteer and its pretty scary that you don't know your future and to top that off you'll be by yourself. But then you get to your community realize that really isn't that big of a deal. The stuff you can't even imagine will smack you upside your head that will be your problems. . not electricity or running water or how well you speak spanish. . though all very valid concerns will pale in comparason to stupid gossip or people's unwillingness to work with you because your not of the same "whatever" Those will be much bigger problems and harder to evercome than getting used to roughing it.

Also while he was here I realized how much confianza (trust and confidence) people of my community have in me and that made me feel very warm and fuzzy. I've been in country for 10 months and in my community for 8 months. In 8 months people like me for me, we make jokes, i play with their kids, we cook together, and we share so much that I don't know how I'm going to live without the people here in Gualcho. I don't even want to think about end of service but eventually I'll have to start looking for a job and preparing for my life back in the states. I guess I'm just very grateful for the peace corps life and it is bittersweet all the time.

Tired

Yesterday we had a spanish Cooperativa de Paz come to our community to meet with our youth group and women's group. The cooperativa gives support to our womens movement so annually they make a trip to El Salvador to check it out. Part of the group was a bunch of university students. They were really good people. I enjoyed talking to them. Some of them were living in Honduras when the coup went down. They say that its all still shrouded in a bunch of mistery and some of the officials are going "missing" That could mean that they are going into hiding voluntarily or other more nefarious methods. There is some banter from the older generation (not the younger) about going to fight in Honduras. I.E. my host dad and a few others. . . well they're not saying they want to go fight just that El Salvador should send people to go fight. My community is left and the party in Honduras that was "couped" is left. The official president, Zalaya, I should say who was couped is leftist. The "coupers" are right. So to explain my random language "to coup" is now a verb. "Couped" is the past tense."Couper" is the party or side that officiates s a coup and a "coupee" is one who has been removed from power by the "couper" For those of you who don't know how to prounouce coup its COO like the sound a creepy mom or grandma makes to a baby.
Anyways, my town put their best foot forward and the youth dance team/group was AMAZING. They really have been practicing. I might be in love with all of them. After they show we had a baile. . .anyone who knows my community knows that to not have a baile would be RUDE. It was a great visit and I'm only sad that I didn't see the spaniards off this morning but I had to catch a bus to buy cake ingredients. YUM!