"hold on to whatever you find baby,
hold on to whatever will get you through...." (a lil afternoon john mayer)
so it's valentine's day. hooray for corporate holidays? i went to the store this morning to get chocolate chips, and there was a slew of sleepy disheveled looking college boys in the flower section buying cheesy looking flowers and balloons. i bought my dog a pink squeaky bone (20% off!), but she already destroyed half of it, so i had to take it away.
i also baked cookies. it's possible that i forgot to add half the flour...cause they came out of the oven as one large chocolate chip crepe looking thing. gross. i added more flour, and some wheaties, and i think they're ok now.
so that's pretty much the extent of my day.
i need to take more photos. but it's cold and flat light out....and i've already taken quite enough photos of my dog..so..
two days ago marks one month of marital "bliss." (laughing as i write that) newlyweds are so goofy. i'll probably always be this goofy. at least life stays entertaining, right?
today's fun discovery: The Better World Shopping Guide. check out www.betterworldshopper.org . it ranks companies that make everything from food to gas to deodorant to chocolate....and in terms of environmental and social responsibility, tells you who the best, and the worst are. so you can put your money behind what you believe in. matt thinks i'm a nerd. i say, do something about what you care about. in light of that, i bought some organic tea (green) and Newman O's (organic oreos) today. every little bit counts, right?
anyway.
happy valentine's day.
i hope you have someone to give you one of those meaningful 30 second hugs where your heartbeat slows and your breathing starts to match his/hers.... <3
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Puppy goes to the Dog Park. Mayhem Ensues.
So, we took puppy to the dog park today. It was pretty snowy....but surprisingly there were a lot of faithful doggie parents there with their pups (including kimmich and wife!). Pecas....was a little brat. She is really defensive of me, and would freak out when other dogs would come near. So when we first walked in, a few dogs came to play and she was snapping at everyone. The dog owners quickly called their dogs back. They weren't allowed to play with our kid anymore :-(. So then we took her away to an open area so she could play fetch on her own. Too bad the tennis ball kept getting coated in snow and she didn't want to pick it up (too cold!)....
Eventually she warmed up a bit and played with a few other pups....but was terrified of the St Bernard that was circling the place (gentle giant). This one bulldog ran up to me and jumped on me with both paws- almost knocked me over. Pecas didn't like that. She ran to my defense. Also, I was walking around with the tennis ball in my hand when a yellow lab ran up all excited and was trying to take it from me- even though he already had a ball in his mouth. Greedy.
So. Cute day. But our kid's a brat!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
we got hitched!
Welp, we did it. We got hitched! More photos to come but.....here we are, Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Berry! (goodbye, old last name....)
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
10 days!
Here's a wonderful family I met in El Sal, with Matt and I, on our last night in town....
This was my attempt at our Christmas picture. Matt doesn't like pictures, so he wouldn't pose any more after this one.... hahaha....Hello hello!
10 days until the wedding! I am thrilled. And so I was cleaning out my emails, and walking around the house trying to stretch out my weddin' heals, and thought I'd put up a quick blog. The planning is all starting to come together, the wines have been tasted and chosen (the champagne has been tasted, but not chosen) and at 2:42 in the afternoon, I am sitting, unemployed, on the couch, with a glass of wine about to paint my nails. It's a rough life, I tell ya. I have applied for what seems like a billion jobs, and there are a couple I'm really hoping for....but we'll see. I'm not so keen on working at Panera, but it's within walking distance....and I might just end up there! OR at the Sycamore mall movie theater with a black bowtie and a dull face, taking tickets. (hopefully not).
Mom & friends get here in a week, and then comes all the fun with the meeting of the families and the eating and the drinking and the trying to find some things- blue, borrowed, and old....(all I've got is the new so far, hmmm).
Anyway, I'm super excited and can't wait to see everyone and have one fun party. Be prepared for the bbq, the wine, and the ice cream......
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
It's beginning to look a lot like....
...the south pole! It seems like our world is now covered in a two inch thick blanket of ice. That's a far cry from El Salvador, even though we've got a fire in the fireplace. Pecas is taking it well, what with prancing around in the ice-encrusted back yard and trying to dig her way back to El Sal. Wedding planning is coming along, although it still seems like we have a long way to go. Even if parts of Iowa City lost electricity today, the ice hanging off all the trees is gorgeous. I should be out taking pictures! But the only reason I go out walking is to let the dog drag me around (I can't get her to heal for some reason!) across the icy sidewalks of the neighbors who are too lazy (or perhaps busy, I suppose) to shovel the ice and snow in front of their houses. Speaking of neighbors, ours came over last night to say that the new dog was barking at her dogs, who in turn were keeping her baby awake, and could we please keep the dog inside. Really? Maybe, Matt's mom later said, she should consider getting rid of her dogs, since they were the ones keeping the baby awake. Maybe, I said, she should just get rid of the baby.
Our Christmas tree is up with the start of our ornament collection and the holiday beer is in the fridge. Hope everyone is warm and happy! Cheers...
Our Christmas tree is up with the start of our ornament collection and the holiday beer is in the fridge. Hope everyone is warm and happy! Cheers...
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Homebound Impressions
Homebound Impressions:
Boarding the plane in San Salvador, everyone had a ton of luggage. And everyone had Pollo Campero (like KFC I guess. No Salvadoran leaves home without it. – What’s more, I’m now in LAX awaiting my connecting flight to San Diego, and a man just sat down across from me with a large box of it.) There was so much luggage, not all the carryons would even fit. So we took off. The food on American Airlines, by the way, was pretty tasty. It was pretty weird hearing stewardesses speak English again.
So we get to LAX. And I’m super worried about my puppy. I book it through customs (welcome home, Melanie, always sounds good). Exiting customs, I go to get my bags to recheck them, and Pecas is sitting by herself (in her kennel) in the “oversize bags” section. Poor thing. I said hi to her and then took off to get a cart and she started whining and cry. After 15 minutes or so, I collected my black, unidentified bags (not sure what I was thinking there) and headed to the customs baggage thing. They asked me one question: “Do you have any dog food?” And when I said yes (I thought they wanted it to give it to her…I had literally a handful, along with some dog treats), then sent me around the x-ray machine (hence they neither x-rayed nor searched my bags. I’m such a rebel.) and someone else asked to see the dog food. When I showed her, she said “I’m really sorry, but since it’s not in a sealed bag, we’re going to have to ask you to get rid of it.” Uh, ok. Throw it away, I don’t care! After 15 more minutes of waiting for some guy to enter something in the computer about me bringing a dog (he didn’t ask to see her papers or anything though), they sent me off. The baggage guys were like, “Whoa dude, a dog. I dunno where that goes, man.” I said, “oh yeah, and how long have you worked here?” “Uh a while, but I jus’ deal with bags, never seen a dog.” Finally after asking a few other people, they agreed I had to take her upstairs to the “oversize bags” room. There, they told me to take her out of her kennel so they could inspect it or something, and then asked me to put her back in. She did not agree with this, and resisted with all her effort. I felt pretty bad about shoving her back in there.
And so now I’m waiting for my flight. It’s supposed to board in about 15 minutes.
As for being back in the states….it’s super weird. I have replied to every official person I’ve spoken to in Spanish, I felt like such a dork. It wasn’t intentional, I just got so used to having to explain and defend myself in Spanish that it just comes out. It’s kind of funny though, because it really seems to confuse people. Also the fact that I was speaking to my dog in Spanish, hehe.
I’m half ashamed to say that, seeking immediate holiday flavor upon arrival, I purchased a Starbucks Pumpkin Pie Frapuccino. For $4.22. That would buy more than a meal in El Salvador. I don’t think I’ll be doing it again. And it’s sooo weird to see all these white people again. I feel like I stand out, even though when I think about it, I know I don’t.
It’s so weird. I miss El Salvador, even though I was ready to leave, maybe just because it felt normal. Hm. Well, at least it’s the holiday season, so I have family and festivities to look forward to. And my dog, who completes our happy trio of a family in her own quirky way.
It’s good to be back.
Boarding the plane in San Salvador, everyone had a ton of luggage. And everyone had Pollo Campero (like KFC I guess. No Salvadoran leaves home without it. – What’s more, I’m now in LAX awaiting my connecting flight to San Diego, and a man just sat down across from me with a large box of it.) There was so much luggage, not all the carryons would even fit. So we took off. The food on American Airlines, by the way, was pretty tasty. It was pretty weird hearing stewardesses speak English again.
So we get to LAX. And I’m super worried about my puppy. I book it through customs (welcome home, Melanie, always sounds good). Exiting customs, I go to get my bags to recheck them, and Pecas is sitting by herself (in her kennel) in the “oversize bags” section. Poor thing. I said hi to her and then took off to get a cart and she started whining and cry. After 15 minutes or so, I collected my black, unidentified bags (not sure what I was thinking there) and headed to the customs baggage thing. They asked me one question: “Do you have any dog food?” And when I said yes (I thought they wanted it to give it to her…I had literally a handful, along with some dog treats), then sent me around the x-ray machine (hence they neither x-rayed nor searched my bags. I’m such a rebel.) and someone else asked to see the dog food. When I showed her, she said “I’m really sorry, but since it’s not in a sealed bag, we’re going to have to ask you to get rid of it.” Uh, ok. Throw it away, I don’t care! After 15 more minutes of waiting for some guy to enter something in the computer about me bringing a dog (he didn’t ask to see her papers or anything though), they sent me off. The baggage guys were like, “Whoa dude, a dog. I dunno where that goes, man.” I said, “oh yeah, and how long have you worked here?” “Uh a while, but I jus’ deal with bags, never seen a dog.” Finally after asking a few other people, they agreed I had to take her upstairs to the “oversize bags” room. There, they told me to take her out of her kennel so they could inspect it or something, and then asked me to put her back in. She did not agree with this, and resisted with all her effort. I felt pretty bad about shoving her back in there.
And so now I’m waiting for my flight. It’s supposed to board in about 15 minutes.
As for being back in the states….it’s super weird. I have replied to every official person I’ve spoken to in Spanish, I felt like such a dork. It wasn’t intentional, I just got so used to having to explain and defend myself in Spanish that it just comes out. It’s kind of funny though, because it really seems to confuse people. Also the fact that I was speaking to my dog in Spanish, hehe.
I’m half ashamed to say that, seeking immediate holiday flavor upon arrival, I purchased a Starbucks Pumpkin Pie Frapuccino. For $4.22. That would buy more than a meal in El Salvador. I don’t think I’ll be doing it again. And it’s sooo weird to see all these white people again. I feel like I stand out, even though when I think about it, I know I don’t.
It’s so weird. I miss El Salvador, even though I was ready to leave, maybe just because it felt normal. Hm. Well, at least it’s the holiday season, so I have family and festivities to look forward to. And my dog, who completes our happy trio of a family in her own quirky way.
It’s good to be back.
it's official!
Water was too cold to swim....but Lake Atitlan was still gorgeous! Check out www.lacasadelmundo.com
Pecas is in a box right now about to board a plane. I bet she's still cute though.
Host Sis Yulissa just turned 8
Ok so I had to leave really early and we'd just woken up. We don't look our best. She's my best Salvo friend though (Aracely).
View during a hike up to some active lava in Guatemala. I was scared to death, but it was fun in retrospect.
Hm. Not sure how to turn this photo the right way. Matt was mad I made this supposedly touristy photo too artsy.
Melanie/Matthew.
It's official! I'm coming home. As in, I'm currently sitting in the San Salvador airport, hoping my dog isn't too scared in her kennel in whatever holding room they have her in before we fly. So, this past Tuesday, I quit Peace Corps. Matt had been visiting for a while (we visited gorgeous Guatemala), and after one last HIV/AIDS charla (chat) in the middle of the countryside, to mostly women (which Matt helped out with, along with Health Promoter extraordinaire, Misael), I told Misael I was leaving. He wasn't too happy...and I think he burned a hole through Matt's head with the look he gave him. My boss happened to be in my area that day as well, so I was able to officially quit in person. She later talked to Misael and assured him she'd try to get him another volunteer come April. She also told me he wasn't mad at me, just confused.
Why am I coming home? In a nutshell, I'd say because I joined Peace Corps looking for sort of an escape from American culture, and from all the things my liberal education have taught me to dislike. El Salvador is incredibly American, and it seems like everything I dislike about the states is worshiped here. So I became sort of disillusioned about Peace Corps. I still think PC does amazing things and allows people to make connections that will forever remain a part of their hearts. It just wasn't for me anymore.
Leaving wasn't easy. My host mom and sisters had tears in their eyes (as, of course, did I) as Matt and I walked to catch the bus. My boss ended up taking our luggage to the capital for us, which saved us $100 we would have had to pay a driver, so we went in bus first. When the dog arrived, she was disgusting. Thanks to "the crazy roads" and Bri's (my boss) driving, she puked all over her cage. Then she rolled around in it. So the bath that my neighbors gave her before her departure didn't do much good, and I had to take her to the shower immediately to get the stink off. Needless to say, she didn't get food before today's flight. Hopefully she's ok when I see her in like 10 hours.
So Matt, the dog, and I spent three days in the capital so I could get cleared up of all my PC stuff. This included about 7 medical appointments, checking everything from teeth to .... well everything. And I'm clear. No parasites! This was a true Christmas miracle...I really thought I'd have at least something...but no, I'm good to go. (thus have no stories to gross you out with).
In other news, I'm getting married soon....so that's exciting too.
For now, off to San Diego to spend some time with my mom (and to finally introduce her to Matt), and then back in Iowa for a few months at least, on Nov 27.
Cuidense mucho, y nos vemos pronto!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
a few pics
I was trying to put up more photos...but they aren´t loading at the moment. So here are the only ones I could get to. Quick update, I recently visited Mexico City (DF) to see Matt. That basically involved a soccer game, and lots of good food and walking around. And cheap dvds! (hello, fourth season of nip-tuck, only 10 bucks!) Then he got some random extra vacation and came back to El Sal to see me! Fun times. Sorry this update sucks. I´ll try to put up more photos and stories soon!
A bit of a walk to one of the highest parts of my immediate area..it´s pretty. And I, as usual, am pink-cheeked!
My lovely dog.
Sittin on a rock with Matt and me...contemplating life, I´m sure.
A bit of a walk to one of the highest parts of my immediate area..it´s pretty. And I, as usual, am pink-cheeked!
My lovely dog.
Sittin on a rock with Matt and me...contemplating life, I´m sure.Monday, July 23, 2007
4am: Let´s go to the Market!
So after drifting in and out of restless, half sick sleep all night, I was dismayed to finally look at my watch and realize it was 3:40am. I turned my alarm off, and stalled until 4, when I finally decided I wasn’t really sick and that I should get up. Wandering out my door, I ran into Rina, engripada (she has a cold) and wearing an oversized fleece jacket. In San Vicente, it’s actually cold in the morning.
I went to SanVi last week to help out with the fresh group of trainees because I’m a part of GAD, the Gender & Development committee. It’s fun stuff. So I stayed a couple of nights with my host fam from my training days (weird that it’s already been three months since I left there, time really does go pretty quick). I spent Friday at the training center, and then had a bet going with myself and the disbelieving Rina that I would actually get up at 4 in the morning. Why? To go to the market of course!
Rina and Tive do seasonal work. While I was living with them, it was sugar cane season, and they were constantly working in the molienda making molasses-like stuff. Now they’re harvesting the tomatoes, cucumbers and chiles they planted just as I was leaving. By about 4:20, I was already glad I was up. We were driving down the highway with a truck full of produce and people, and the sun had yet to rise. It was cool, calm, and almost pretty.
Then we got to the market area, about 45 minutes away.
Oranges. Chiles. Tomatoes. Live chickens. Socks. Potatoes. Yucca. Onions. Garlic. Jocotes. Zapote. Large slimy fish. Live turkeys. Coconuts. Corn. And people. Swarms of people, climbing over each other and the piles of produce, arguing over prices while men carrying 2 or 3 large sacks of produce over their backs squeezed through shouting “voy, voy voy!” (comin through, move or be trampled). It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, if only for how people packed in around each other. I literally couldn’t move my feet for a while, there were so many sacks of produce and different vendors around me. And it seemed like every time someone would sell a sack of something and make a little room, a new vendor would swoop in with an even bigger sack or basket.
Vendors. I shouldn’t call them that. Most of them are farmers. Rina wanted to get $12 for her sacks of 300 chiles. She got 9 at most, and sold them at $2.50 for 100 instead of the $5 she was aiming for. One lady who bought chiles from us turned around and sat about 5 feet behind me, selling them in baggies for 4 for a quarter. So I guess the farmers never make out that great. After spending about 5 hours in the market, Rina came home with 40 some dollars from selling the week’s produce. Not much to feed her three kids and the nephew that now basically lives there as well.
It was a dizzying experience that I would never like to go through again, but I was glad to see that aspect of work. It never fails to give me a new appreciaion of how different people spend money, and the difference between people who really work for a living, and those who receive Remesas (cash) from family in the states (which is 1 in 3 families, according to a recent news article).
So, back in my site, I came home to a misbehaving dog. She likes to wander around in the street now, chewed through her leash to escape confinement while I was gone, and also got sick. My roommate, (sounds weird saying that, they don’t really use the term here) Aracely was very concerned that something would happen to my dog while I was gone and I would be really upset, so she kept sending me text message updates. I think she takes better care of that dog than I do, actually. She’s about 6 months old now. Anyone have tips on dog training??
So now I’m back in my site…and back to work. And it’s been thunder and lightening all night, but no rain. Wacky. Hope everyone is taking care…
I went to SanVi last week to help out with the fresh group of trainees because I’m a part of GAD, the Gender & Development committee. It’s fun stuff. So I stayed a couple of nights with my host fam from my training days (weird that it’s already been three months since I left there, time really does go pretty quick). I spent Friday at the training center, and then had a bet going with myself and the disbelieving Rina that I would actually get up at 4 in the morning. Why? To go to the market of course!
Rina and Tive do seasonal work. While I was living with them, it was sugar cane season, and they were constantly working in the molienda making molasses-like stuff. Now they’re harvesting the tomatoes, cucumbers and chiles they planted just as I was leaving. By about 4:20, I was already glad I was up. We were driving down the highway with a truck full of produce and people, and the sun had yet to rise. It was cool, calm, and almost pretty.
Then we got to the market area, about 45 minutes away.
Oranges. Chiles. Tomatoes. Live chickens. Socks. Potatoes. Yucca. Onions. Garlic. Jocotes. Zapote. Large slimy fish. Live turkeys. Coconuts. Corn. And people. Swarms of people, climbing over each other and the piles of produce, arguing over prices while men carrying 2 or 3 large sacks of produce over their backs squeezed through shouting “voy, voy voy!” (comin through, move or be trampled). It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, if only for how people packed in around each other. I literally couldn’t move my feet for a while, there were so many sacks of produce and different vendors around me. And it seemed like every time someone would sell a sack of something and make a little room, a new vendor would swoop in with an even bigger sack or basket.
Vendors. I shouldn’t call them that. Most of them are farmers. Rina wanted to get $12 for her sacks of 300 chiles. She got 9 at most, and sold them at $2.50 for 100 instead of the $5 she was aiming for. One lady who bought chiles from us turned around and sat about 5 feet behind me, selling them in baggies for 4 for a quarter. So I guess the farmers never make out that great. After spending about 5 hours in the market, Rina came home with 40 some dollars from selling the week’s produce. Not much to feed her three kids and the nephew that now basically lives there as well.
It was a dizzying experience that I would never like to go through again, but I was glad to see that aspect of work. It never fails to give me a new appreciaion of how different people spend money, and the difference between people who really work for a living, and those who receive Remesas (cash) from family in the states (which is 1 in 3 families, according to a recent news article).
So, back in my site, I came home to a misbehaving dog. She likes to wander around in the street now, chewed through her leash to escape confinement while I was gone, and also got sick. My roommate, (sounds weird saying that, they don’t really use the term here) Aracely was very concerned that something would happen to my dog while I was gone and I would be really upset, so she kept sending me text message updates. I think she takes better care of that dog than I do, actually. She’s about 6 months old now. Anyone have tips on dog training??
So now I’m back in my site…and back to work. And it’s been thunder and lightening all night, but no rain. Wacky. Hope everyone is taking care…
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
address update, take 2
Super quick update, as I need to go catch a bus to go to Gotera (nearby city) for a “Morazan Meeting” with all the volunteers in the department of Morazan. I bailed on the last two meetings, so I feel it’s about time I made it to one.
So, update: I moved to a new house! Not one of my own, but I moved in with my friend Aracely, and her mom and little sister, Julissa. We just took her mom to the airport yesterday to go visit her 3 other kids in New York for 2 months though, so it’s just us in the house for now. I actually moved slightly outside of my working area, but it was just the right situation, and I am not really wanting to live totally alone right now. So I moved in with what are basically the sisters I never had. We spend way too much time teasing each other, laughing, and eating, but I’m really happy here.
My address: Since I know the post man, the mail will always get to me at the old address, but if you want a more permanent one, use this:
Melanie Patterson
Lista de Correos
Sociedad, Morazan
El Salvador, C.A.
Not much else is new. Just workin…I’ll get pics up of the new family soon. Take care everyone, and keep writing me, your letters definitely help keep me sane and make me feel a little connected even though you are all so very far away.
So, update: I moved to a new house! Not one of my own, but I moved in with my friend Aracely, and her mom and little sister, Julissa. We just took her mom to the airport yesterday to go visit her 3 other kids in New York for 2 months though, so it’s just us in the house for now. I actually moved slightly outside of my working area, but it was just the right situation, and I am not really wanting to live totally alone right now. So I moved in with what are basically the sisters I never had. We spend way too much time teasing each other, laughing, and eating, but I’m really happy here.
My address: Since I know the post man, the mail will always get to me at the old address, but if you want a more permanent one, use this:
Melanie Patterson
Lista de Correos
Sociedad, Morazan
El Salvador, C.A.
Not much else is new. Just workin…I’ll get pics up of the new family soon. Take care everyone, and keep writing me, your letters definitely help keep me sane and make me feel a little connected even though you are all so very far away.
Friday, June 22, 2007
tough girl!
Nasty, I know....Read the blog below to find out what it´s from...
Host bro Yovany asleep in his mosquito net....
When it rains here, it pours, in every single way you can imagine.
My dog is frickin adorable
My pup!
Yup she´s a doll
Diabolical host bro? He´s a goof
Being couple-y out on a random hike somewhere trying to fit ourselves in a photo.
Matt takes the camera...we hiked out to a little waterfall.
Hammocks are the only way to go
Seriously. Hammocks rock.
My dog, being beat up by the other dog....who recently died...21.June.2007.
Here’s a little ditty to accompany the photos…
Matthew finally wrapped up everything in Iowa and hopped a plane down to Central America. I gave him the best welcome and crash course review I could: we spent the first day at the beach with a family I recently met, a night with my old host family (who are amazing, and my next vacation plans are just to visit them!), and some time in Animas. The people had quite the time meeting him, and no one wanted to believe he spoke Spanish (it’s ok, they didn’t speak to me directly at first either), but told me repeatedly (and continue to tell me) what a handsome guy he is, and what a good looking couple we make. Thanks for your approval, El Sal.
The weirdest part of him being here was doing “normal” “American” things, like having a beer and going to a movie (Pirates 3 is not as bad as the reviews say).
I’ve been working a lot since Matt left (he’s in…Mexico right now? Wherever he is, his job is cool and my friends and I are jealous), and overall things are going well.
Right now I’m helping the clinic re-inspect all the water containers in the houses, looking for mosquito larvae, because it’s a bad year for Dengue. So yesterday I visited houses all morning. I got to the 22nd and entered the yard with apprehension, knowing there was a mean dog there…waited for the owner to shoo it off to the side, and stepped in to talk to her. After..oh…30 seconds, the dog crept up behind me stealthily, and in one swift move, chomped my leg and took off. No barking (no warning). I was so startled, I didn’t even realize I’d been bit until the owner asked me. Upon unzipping my pants at the shorts-line, I saw the blood running down my leg. Pretty nasty. The lady gave me some lemon to put on it, and a stick to defend myself in the future. Gotta be careful of mean dogs, she told me. Still sorta in shock, I smiled and finished inspecting her water, had her sign a paper, and asked if her dog was vaccinated against rabies. Still smiling (I have no idea why or how), I went home for lunch.
Good thing they have huge campaigns here and all the dogs are vaccinated against rabies. So I’m going to post a photo of that….It’s pretty nasty, but…I dunno. It’s my first dog bite. (This blog is not for the weak of stomach anyway) It looks worse in the photo than it is, and it’s not really so bad at all. Although…the dog has bitten quite a few people….and I think after the obligatory 10-day observation period (to make sure he really doesn’t have rabies), he might end up dead…you can’t just go around biting the gringa like that.
That’s really the most exciting thing going on at the moment, other than me still looking for a house to move to, which is more frustrating than exciting.
Thanks to those who have been sending me mail…I’ll write back soon! Make sure to email me if your addresses change though (I know some people are moving around this summer, aka Nate and Nicole…so let me know where you are).
All for now, enjoy the photos!
Here’s a little ditty to accompany the photos…
Matthew finally wrapped up everything in Iowa and hopped a plane down to Central America. I gave him the best welcome and crash course review I could: we spent the first day at the beach with a family I recently met, a night with my old host family (who are amazing, and my next vacation plans are just to visit them!), and some time in Animas. The people had quite the time meeting him, and no one wanted to believe he spoke Spanish (it’s ok, they didn’t speak to me directly at first either), but told me repeatedly (and continue to tell me) what a handsome guy he is, and what a good looking couple we make. Thanks for your approval, El Sal.
The weirdest part of him being here was doing “normal” “American” things, like having a beer and going to a movie (Pirates 3 is not as bad as the reviews say).
I’ve been working a lot since Matt left (he’s in…Mexico right now? Wherever he is, his job is cool and my friends and I are jealous), and overall things are going well.
Right now I’m helping the clinic re-inspect all the water containers in the houses, looking for mosquito larvae, because it’s a bad year for Dengue. So yesterday I visited houses all morning. I got to the 22nd and entered the yard with apprehension, knowing there was a mean dog there…waited for the owner to shoo it off to the side, and stepped in to talk to her. After..oh…30 seconds, the dog crept up behind me stealthily, and in one swift move, chomped my leg and took off. No barking (no warning). I was so startled, I didn’t even realize I’d been bit until the owner asked me. Upon unzipping my pants at the shorts-line, I saw the blood running down my leg. Pretty nasty. The lady gave me some lemon to put on it, and a stick to defend myself in the future. Gotta be careful of mean dogs, she told me. Still sorta in shock, I smiled and finished inspecting her water, had her sign a paper, and asked if her dog was vaccinated against rabies. Still smiling (I have no idea why or how), I went home for lunch.
Good thing they have huge campaigns here and all the dogs are vaccinated against rabies. So I’m going to post a photo of that….It’s pretty nasty, but…I dunno. It’s my first dog bite. (This blog is not for the weak of stomach anyway) It looks worse in the photo than it is, and it’s not really so bad at all. Although…the dog has bitten quite a few people….and I think after the obligatory 10-day observation period (to make sure he really doesn’t have rabies), he might end up dead…you can’t just go around biting the gringa like that.
That’s really the most exciting thing going on at the moment, other than me still looking for a house to move to, which is more frustrating than exciting.
Thanks to those who have been sending me mail…I’ll write back soon! Make sure to email me if your addresses change though (I know some people are moving around this summer, aka Nate and Nicole…so let me know where you are).
All for now, enjoy the photos!
Monday, May 28, 2007
Doin the census, gettin´ by...
22.May.07
A new ciber café opened up in Sociedad, so I now have internet access about 15 minutes from where I live (45 minutes on foot through the countryside). I suppose this means you can email me if you want, cause I’ll check it like once a week, but you should still write, too! And, let me know if anyone wants to talk to me, since phone calls out of here are only 10 cents a minute.
In my life: I finally began to branch away from Don Misael (Health Promoter extraordinaire) and to start doing the census PC requires me to do of 80 houses in the community. You know how bureaucracies are with stats. Since Animas consists of about 450 houses, 80 were chosen from the poorer, but also motivated, areas.
The day I began my census (May15), I ventured out at about 8:30am (late by Salvadoran standards, but I’m still not a morning person) to make the half-hour trek across oxen grazing grounds and open fields. It’s actually a really pretty walk with great views of the surrounding mountains (which tend to depress me, since I know there are cooler places so close to me, yet I am stuck in the oven down below, cursing at the water I drink as it immediately sweats back out my suffering pores).
However, every time I tell someone which path I took, I get an immediate “y no le da miedo andar solita allí?” (and it doesn’t scare you to walk there alone?)…to which I reply “uh…no…? Why?” Then people are like “oh, no, don’t worry about it, there aren’t drunks around here, it’s totally safe.” And I mean, I feel safe…there usually aren’t other people on the path, and if there are, they just say hi to me and ask who I am. Not very threatening if you ask me, but once in a while I tell people I’m going to start carrying my corbo (small machete). This gains a laugh. Girls don’t carry corbos. Silly gringa.
I ran into one guy, and he was like “Buenos dias. choteando?”
To which I replied, “Buenos dias, no, solo paseando.”
There’s an example of caliche Salvadoran slang. Choteando and paseando are the same thing…both meaning like, passing through, visiting, something like that. And word actually got around that I hadn’t known what choteando meant, and I’ve been teased about it. Heh, I’m learning though!
Ok, so back to this first day of doing the census. I made it to four houses. I entered, introduced myself again (most people have met me before and pretend to know why I’m here although it makes no sense to them why in the world someone from the states would want to come here, when people here are dying to get stateside), and made it through the painstaking census. Some questions are simple: who lives in the house, how many times have you been to the doctor lately. Others are a little less comfortable: Tell me what you know about HIV/AIDS. Are you using any form of birth control? They’re not so bad if there are just 2 or 3 people home. But when there are like 7 people home of all ages…things can get awkward. Sometimes questions get skipped over…
Four houses= 1 cup coffee, sweet bread, quesadilla (another type of bread, not tortillas and cheese), hot milk, 2 cups of salva cola (again, sort of like a flat nasty RC cola, but even sweeter)
**digression**
Here they sell “Coca Light” instead of Diet Coke. Why? Because here the word “diet” implies that a doctor has put you on a restrictive diet…so the product didn’t work. Coca light though…they’ll buy. It’s the same thing, except in a silver, narrower, sexier can. The other day, I saw both a Coca Light and a Diet Coke sitting on the shelf together. Strange,
**end digression**
back to the food, I also received multiple tortillas (several people have said to me, “is it true that in the states people don’t eat tortillas??” – here they are the staple of every meal), and some cuajada, which is this cheese made from milk, cut into cubes. It’s actually pretty good, fresh tasting, and not usually too salty. I think that’s all the food I ate along with a LARGE glass of orange liquid (a “fresco”. Now…I’ve talked to these people. I know for a fact that they do not treat their water. It is not potable. But when someone hands you a drink…Let’s just say, I was handed a plate of food, freshly cooked, and I was pretty content. When the bright orange drink landed itself on the table…well…I looked at the fresco. The fresco looked at me. And then I drank the entire glass, somehow actually thinking that if I managed to gulp down every last drop, I would have conquered the cup, and would be out of harms way.
(can you tell where this is leading?)
Fast forward to being back in the house where I’m staying, later that night. I eat MORE cuajada with another tortilla, then a cheese-filled pupusa with curtido (grated up cabbage, carrots, onions, with vinegar…a lot of Salvadorans don’t even eat it because cabbage is really hard to wash, and well…it’s not washed anyway).
**Insert Stomach Ache here.
**Also insert phone conversation with Matthew, and me stating something like “If I make it to the weekend without being sick, it will be a miracle.
Uh-huh. So I’ll spare you the details so as not to make this blog totally gross, but let’s just say I was pretty damn sick, and didn’t eat for about 3 days afterward (though for all the concerned mothers out there, I’ll have you know I was drinking massive amounts of water, and kept taking vitamins!). Anyway. Parasites again…although still not as bad as the food poisoning Matt gave me (haha) in Argentina.
It’s been a week since then, and for some reason, even though I know I like cuajada, the very thought of that cheese makes my stomach churn…even though any number of foods could have given me the amoebas, for some reason that’s the one engrained in my mind. I keep trying to convince myself I like it…maybe in time.
What else. Ah! My mail delivery system, this is amusing. So, a few people were still sending mail for me to the San Salvador office (which is like 5 hours from where I am), so whenever nearby volunteers have to go to the office, they’d be bringing me back mail…then I would go wait at the nearest bus stop, where they’d toss me my mail out the window. So this consists of me receiving a text message, and me grabbing my dog’s leash (pretty sure I’m one of 5 people who own a leash in El Sal), and dog, and half jogging the block to the bus stop. Yesterday, a package was sent to the village near me (I swear, the whole town knew it was there before I did), so another friend who was going by at 6:30 this morning (I had to peel myself out of bed for that one) passed it through the bus window. Pretty amusing. So if you’re going to send mail (aka, when you send mail, because you better be! I have to prove I have friends back home- send pictures!), make sure to send it to Animas (see address in previous blog), and then anxiously await my brilliant reply.
In other exciting news, I was roped into playing softball yesterday with a group of teenagers. I was just going to watch…but of course they all haggled me until I went up to bat…I haven’t hit a ball since like middle school T-ball or something, so my attempts were pretty pathetically girly. However, thanks to the fact that I can run, and the team on the field was just lazy, I got 3 hits….3 runs…whatever. However, since I have not done my summer ritual of playing catch with Dan, I can no longer throw (I always forget how…it’s not like riding a bike, I swear), so my throwing was, well, embarrassing. The bases were plastic bags and rocks, and most people were playing in flip-flops (called ginas here). Fun times though. By the time we were done though, it was almost dark, and I had a half-hour walk home, so I was accompanied by 4 girls and a guy, all the way home.
These kids are the first group of people I’d consider to be my “friends.” It’s about time I got some, right? It’s strange moving somewhere where you just don’t know anyone…I was trying so hard to introduce myself and get some “work” done that I hardly realized I didn’t have any friends to hang out with. But finally, I’m meeting some people. Although, my community is so huge that the different groups of kids I know don’t even know each other.
Oh, and I got my hair cut yesterday. The first time, I cut it myself, just the tips, and I was going to pay someone to cut it, but my host mom was like oh ask Keyri (pronounced Katie), she’s a cosmotologist! So yeah…20 year old Keyri made me a little nervous, but it turned out pretty good. It’s kind of shorter in the front, tapers down in the back….not bad, not bad.
All for now.
More notes from The Savior soon to come, and as always, feel free to email questions or comments, or post them on here….it’s a little weird not having any idea how many people are reading this. Sometimes I feel like I’m keeping in better touch with people now that I did in the states. I guess I have time to write though.
A new ciber café opened up in Sociedad, so I now have internet access about 15 minutes from where I live (45 minutes on foot through the countryside). I suppose this means you can email me if you want, cause I’ll check it like once a week, but you should still write, too! And, let me know if anyone wants to talk to me, since phone calls out of here are only 10 cents a minute.
In my life: I finally began to branch away from Don Misael (Health Promoter extraordinaire) and to start doing the census PC requires me to do of 80 houses in the community. You know how bureaucracies are with stats. Since Animas consists of about 450 houses, 80 were chosen from the poorer, but also motivated, areas.
The day I began my census (May15), I ventured out at about 8:30am (late by Salvadoran standards, but I’m still not a morning person) to make the half-hour trek across oxen grazing grounds and open fields. It’s actually a really pretty walk with great views of the surrounding mountains (which tend to depress me, since I know there are cooler places so close to me, yet I am stuck in the oven down below, cursing at the water I drink as it immediately sweats back out my suffering pores).
However, every time I tell someone which path I took, I get an immediate “y no le da miedo andar solita allí?” (and it doesn’t scare you to walk there alone?)…to which I reply “uh…no…? Why?” Then people are like “oh, no, don’t worry about it, there aren’t drunks around here, it’s totally safe.” And I mean, I feel safe…there usually aren’t other people on the path, and if there are, they just say hi to me and ask who I am. Not very threatening if you ask me, but once in a while I tell people I’m going to start carrying my corbo (small machete). This gains a laugh. Girls don’t carry corbos. Silly gringa.
I ran into one guy, and he was like “Buenos dias. choteando?”
To which I replied, “Buenos dias, no, solo paseando.”
There’s an example of caliche Salvadoran slang. Choteando and paseando are the same thing…both meaning like, passing through, visiting, something like that. And word actually got around that I hadn’t known what choteando meant, and I’ve been teased about it. Heh, I’m learning though!
Ok, so back to this first day of doing the census. I made it to four houses. I entered, introduced myself again (most people have met me before and pretend to know why I’m here although it makes no sense to them why in the world someone from the states would want to come here, when people here are dying to get stateside), and made it through the painstaking census. Some questions are simple: who lives in the house, how many times have you been to the doctor lately. Others are a little less comfortable: Tell me what you know about HIV/AIDS. Are you using any form of birth control? They’re not so bad if there are just 2 or 3 people home. But when there are like 7 people home of all ages…things can get awkward. Sometimes questions get skipped over…
Four houses= 1 cup coffee, sweet bread, quesadilla (another type of bread, not tortillas and cheese), hot milk, 2 cups of salva cola (again, sort of like a flat nasty RC cola, but even sweeter)
**digression**
Here they sell “Coca Light” instead of Diet Coke. Why? Because here the word “diet” implies that a doctor has put you on a restrictive diet…so the product didn’t work. Coca light though…they’ll buy. It’s the same thing, except in a silver, narrower, sexier can. The other day, I saw both a Coca Light and a Diet Coke sitting on the shelf together. Strange,
**end digression**
back to the food, I also received multiple tortillas (several people have said to me, “is it true that in the states people don’t eat tortillas??” – here they are the staple of every meal), and some cuajada, which is this cheese made from milk, cut into cubes. It’s actually pretty good, fresh tasting, and not usually too salty. I think that’s all the food I ate along with a LARGE glass of orange liquid (a “fresco”. Now…I’ve talked to these people. I know for a fact that they do not treat their water. It is not potable. But when someone hands you a drink…Let’s just say, I was handed a plate of food, freshly cooked, and I was pretty content. When the bright orange drink landed itself on the table…well…I looked at the fresco. The fresco looked at me. And then I drank the entire glass, somehow actually thinking that if I managed to gulp down every last drop, I would have conquered the cup, and would be out of harms way.
(can you tell where this is leading?)
Fast forward to being back in the house where I’m staying, later that night. I eat MORE cuajada with another tortilla, then a cheese-filled pupusa with curtido (grated up cabbage, carrots, onions, with vinegar…a lot of Salvadorans don’t even eat it because cabbage is really hard to wash, and well…it’s not washed anyway).
**Insert Stomach Ache here.
**Also insert phone conversation with Matthew, and me stating something like “If I make it to the weekend without being sick, it will be a miracle.
Uh-huh. So I’ll spare you the details so as not to make this blog totally gross, but let’s just say I was pretty damn sick, and didn’t eat for about 3 days afterward (though for all the concerned mothers out there, I’ll have you know I was drinking massive amounts of water, and kept taking vitamins!). Anyway. Parasites again…although still not as bad as the food poisoning Matt gave me (haha) in Argentina.
It’s been a week since then, and for some reason, even though I know I like cuajada, the very thought of that cheese makes my stomach churn…even though any number of foods could have given me the amoebas, for some reason that’s the one engrained in my mind. I keep trying to convince myself I like it…maybe in time.
What else. Ah! My mail delivery system, this is amusing. So, a few people were still sending mail for me to the San Salvador office (which is like 5 hours from where I am), so whenever nearby volunteers have to go to the office, they’d be bringing me back mail…then I would go wait at the nearest bus stop, where they’d toss me my mail out the window. So this consists of me receiving a text message, and me grabbing my dog’s leash (pretty sure I’m one of 5 people who own a leash in El Sal), and dog, and half jogging the block to the bus stop. Yesterday, a package was sent to the village near me (I swear, the whole town knew it was there before I did), so another friend who was going by at 6:30 this morning (I had to peel myself out of bed for that one) passed it through the bus window. Pretty amusing. So if you’re going to send mail (aka, when you send mail, because you better be! I have to prove I have friends back home- send pictures!), make sure to send it to Animas (see address in previous blog), and then anxiously await my brilliant reply.
In other exciting news, I was roped into playing softball yesterday with a group of teenagers. I was just going to watch…but of course they all haggled me until I went up to bat…I haven’t hit a ball since like middle school T-ball or something, so my attempts were pretty pathetically girly. However, thanks to the fact that I can run, and the team on the field was just lazy, I got 3 hits….3 runs…whatever. However, since I have not done my summer ritual of playing catch with Dan, I can no longer throw (I always forget how…it’s not like riding a bike, I swear), so my throwing was, well, embarrassing. The bases were plastic bags and rocks, and most people were playing in flip-flops (called ginas here). Fun times though. By the time we were done though, it was almost dark, and I had a half-hour walk home, so I was accompanied by 4 girls and a guy, all the way home.
These kids are the first group of people I’d consider to be my “friends.” It’s about time I got some, right? It’s strange moving somewhere where you just don’t know anyone…I was trying so hard to introduce myself and get some “work” done that I hardly realized I didn’t have any friends to hang out with. But finally, I’m meeting some people. Although, my community is so huge that the different groups of kids I know don’t even know each other.
Oh, and I got my hair cut yesterday. The first time, I cut it myself, just the tips, and I was going to pay someone to cut it, but my host mom was like oh ask Keyri (pronounced Katie), she’s a cosmotologist! So yeah…20 year old Keyri made me a little nervous, but it turned out pretty good. It’s kind of shorter in the front, tapers down in the back….not bad, not bad.
All for now.
More notes from The Savior soon to come, and as always, feel free to email questions or comments, or post them on here….it’s a little weird not having any idea how many people are reading this. Sometimes I feel like I’m keeping in better touch with people now that I did in the states. I guess I have time to write though.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Photos!
I was going to put more pictures up, but it´s not working for some reason. Here are the important ones at least-
My birthday cake!
The new fam, on my birthday...from left to right- random aunt, host mom´s mom, me, neighbor Anita and son Roger, host mom Lilian on right, and in front, random chile, host bro Yovany, and Oscar.
>The night before I left my host family in San Vicente...with the kids. They called me the other day just to say hi..I´m going to go visit them in a few weeks, so I´m pretty excitedBirthday, etc
7.May.2007
Yesterday was my birthday. After a few not-so-subtle hints, (I dreaded the impending lonely feeling of a birthday passing without anyone knowing it), I ended up with a large, rather delicious cake, decorated with “Felicidades Melany.” 22nd birthdays aren’t too important, I figure. It got me away from the infamous 21 (what a long year that was), and only a little further away from still feeling like a teenager.
Life in my new home is going pretty swimmingly. I haven’t really done anything on my own yet…I sort of just shadow Misael (health promoter) around while he introduces me to people and I check their water supplies for mosquito nesting grounds.
I did manage to find a favorite hammock spot, though. This fabulous little old lady, Niña Alejandra (I think that’s her name at least…I’m so bad with names), lives on the top of a hill in an area that I’m going to focus on (Los Venturas). She always invites me in to cool off and relax in her hammock for a while (the 20 minute trek up the rocky path to her place never fails to leave me chapuda (pink-cheeked). She tells me about the nine children she had (all at home), and chats with me for a while. I can actually understand her (she doesn’t totally slur her words together), plus she gives me coffee (real stuff, not instant) and homemade sweet bread. (The humorous part was when I told her my mom wanted to come visit, and that she’s a nurse. Her reply was “Oh! How nice! Is she from El Salvador?” Um, no…my mom’s a gringa too...)
There was a case of dengue (breakbone fever) last week in Sociedad (nearby pueblo). I accompanied the head doctor of the health clinic to the house where the sick girl lived, and we fumigated and killed mosquito larvae in water supplies within a 200meter radius around the house. I’m sort of vaguely convinced that within my 2 years here, I will eventually get dengue. It makes your whole body ache and your eyes feel like they’re going to pop out of your head, but then a week later you’re basically ok (as long as you stay hydrated)
I’m starting to find a sense of home here. I fixed up my room yesterday, hung up my mosquito net quite perfectly, patched up a few holes it had (thus thoroughly impressing myself with my ability to sew). I also (am a huge dork) put up some glow-in-the-dark stars and galaxies stickers inside my mosquito net and on the walls. I’ll probably still be putting those up when I’m 32 (sorry, Matt).
Mentioning Matt, I think I need to brag for a bit, here. Matt graduates this week from U of Iowa (most of you already know this). In less than a month, he has to pack up his life, take a wilderness first aid course, and move down here. He landed a fantastic job with GAP Adventures, a Canadian eco-friendly, local-business supporting tourism company. He’s going to be working in all of Central America (insert my tinge of jealousy here), which means a few things. He’ll become an expert on Central Am, and get to visit me once in a while. In short, I’m so excited! It’s awesome. So maybe with all that travel experience, he’ll come across a pretty beach where we can get married in a couple years…Costa Rica is the general aim at the moment (who wouldn’t want to vacation there??).
In general, things are good here. Despite the large numbers of flying beetle things in my room each night, swarms of flies and flying ant things, flesh-eating mosquitoes (not really), loud music and boys in the house every night (because my host mom sells food), and current lack of water (it only “falls” every three days, and I guess a pipe is broken somewhere, so we can’t do much here), I’m settling in, and starting to like it here. Why? Good food, friendly people, an adorable dog (who for some reason doesn’t like a lot of old ladies), a house without rats or bats (or cats, hah), and thinner tortillas! (as we are closer to Honduras, the tortillas here are bigger than San Vicente, and wonderfully thinner, so they don’t sit like a rock in your stomach, but rather like a pita.) Also, there are usually 3 or 4 fireflies in my room each night. Along with my glow-in-the-dark stars…it almost starts to feel quaint.
There you have it. I hope everyone is safe and well and taking advantage of the resources you have. And also that you are sending me mail. I went to the post office the other day to mail some things, and the guy was like….so… no one’s sent you anything yet, right? Because I haven’t seen anything for you. Punks.
Yesterday was my birthday. After a few not-so-subtle hints, (I dreaded the impending lonely feeling of a birthday passing without anyone knowing it), I ended up with a large, rather delicious cake, decorated with “Felicidades Melany.” 22nd birthdays aren’t too important, I figure. It got me away from the infamous 21 (what a long year that was), and only a little further away from still feeling like a teenager.
Life in my new home is going pretty swimmingly. I haven’t really done anything on my own yet…I sort of just shadow Misael (health promoter) around while he introduces me to people and I check their water supplies for mosquito nesting grounds.
I did manage to find a favorite hammock spot, though. This fabulous little old lady, Niña Alejandra (I think that’s her name at least…I’m so bad with names), lives on the top of a hill in an area that I’m going to focus on (Los Venturas). She always invites me in to cool off and relax in her hammock for a while (the 20 minute trek up the rocky path to her place never fails to leave me chapuda (pink-cheeked). She tells me about the nine children she had (all at home), and chats with me for a while. I can actually understand her (she doesn’t totally slur her words together), plus she gives me coffee (real stuff, not instant) and homemade sweet bread. (The humorous part was when I told her my mom wanted to come visit, and that she’s a nurse. Her reply was “Oh! How nice! Is she from El Salvador?” Um, no…my mom’s a gringa too...)
There was a case of dengue (breakbone fever) last week in Sociedad (nearby pueblo). I accompanied the head doctor of the health clinic to the house where the sick girl lived, and we fumigated and killed mosquito larvae in water supplies within a 200meter radius around the house. I’m sort of vaguely convinced that within my 2 years here, I will eventually get dengue. It makes your whole body ache and your eyes feel like they’re going to pop out of your head, but then a week later you’re basically ok (as long as you stay hydrated)
I’m starting to find a sense of home here. I fixed up my room yesterday, hung up my mosquito net quite perfectly, patched up a few holes it had (thus thoroughly impressing myself with my ability to sew). I also (am a huge dork) put up some glow-in-the-dark stars and galaxies stickers inside my mosquito net and on the walls. I’ll probably still be putting those up when I’m 32 (sorry, Matt).
Mentioning Matt, I think I need to brag for a bit, here. Matt graduates this week from U of Iowa (most of you already know this). In less than a month, he has to pack up his life, take a wilderness first aid course, and move down here. He landed a fantastic job with GAP Adventures, a Canadian eco-friendly, local-business supporting tourism company. He’s going to be working in all of Central America (insert my tinge of jealousy here), which means a few things. He’ll become an expert on Central Am, and get to visit me once in a while. In short, I’m so excited! It’s awesome. So maybe with all that travel experience, he’ll come across a pretty beach where we can get married in a couple years…Costa Rica is the general aim at the moment (who wouldn’t want to vacation there??).
In general, things are good here. Despite the large numbers of flying beetle things in my room each night, swarms of flies and flying ant things, flesh-eating mosquitoes (not really), loud music and boys in the house every night (because my host mom sells food), and current lack of water (it only “falls” every three days, and I guess a pipe is broken somewhere, so we can’t do much here), I’m settling in, and starting to like it here. Why? Good food, friendly people, an adorable dog (who for some reason doesn’t like a lot of old ladies), a house without rats or bats (or cats, hah), and thinner tortillas! (as we are closer to Honduras, the tortillas here are bigger than San Vicente, and wonderfully thinner, so they don’t sit like a rock in your stomach, but rather like a pita.) Also, there are usually 3 or 4 fireflies in my room each night. Along with my glow-in-the-dark stars…it almost starts to feel quaint.
There you have it. I hope everyone is safe and well and taking advantage of the resources you have. And also that you are sending me mail. I went to the post office the other day to mail some things, and the guy was like….so… no one’s sent you anything yet, right? Because I haven’t seen anything for you. Punks.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Fotos!
Sorry about the weird format here. I really haven´t figured this thing out yet...But here are some photos to catch you all up at least, with the old host family. Hopefully next time I´ll have new pics of the new site!
This photo cracked up the whole family....Sara is helping pluck feathers from the recently killed chicken...
This photo is absolutely disgusting, and I love it. Host mom Rina says the feet at the most delicious part.
The kids are coloring pictures to send to someone they´re dying to meet...
This is a horse spider. Large and scary as hell. I got pretty close to take this pic with a 28mm...you should be proud...
Chilling for a moment on the way back from the river. Host-cousin Chico.
Boys in the back of the pickup truck on a ride home.
Host sister Alba asleep on the floor, with another bed behind her.
Yup, that chicken´s dead. And boy was it delicious.
This little frog caused 2 women to do a lot of screaming. Apparently it was inside someone´s shirt...
Jeremy and I being the PC rockstars that we are...at the river with the fam. Not bad for an auto timer photo!
here´s my old house...cement front yard, pretty sweet!
this is the pila i can never seem to explain to people. dishes and laundry are done on the left, the water is stored in that middle part, and showers happen on the right.
pobre cabrito...he´s dead now... this is in the back yard of my old place
this is my old room and old mosquito net. i shared the room with a couple rats. matt will appreciate the fact that i put the patagonia sticker to good use. also note, peanut butter on bed. that little thing cost like 3 bucks!
hiking into river jiboa...so pretty!
This photo cracked up the whole family....Sara is helping pluck feathers from the recently killed chicken...
This photo is absolutely disgusting, and I love it. Host mom Rina says the feet at the most delicious part.
The kids are coloring pictures to send to someone they´re dying to meet...
This is a horse spider. Large and scary as hell. I got pretty close to take this pic with a 28mm...you should be proud...
Chilling for a moment on the way back from the river. Host-cousin Chico.
Boys in the back of the pickup truck on a ride home.
Host sister Alba asleep on the floor, with another bed behind her.
Yup, that chicken´s dead. And boy was it delicious.
This little frog caused 2 women to do a lot of screaming. Apparently it was inside someone´s shirt...
Jeremy and I being the PC rockstars that we are...at the river with the fam. Not bad for an auto timer photo!
Host mom and dad chilling at the river. It´s the only pic I have of them together.
here´s my old house...cement front yard, pretty sweet!
this is the pila i can never seem to explain to people. dishes and laundry are done on the left, the water is stored in that middle part, and showers happen on the right.
pobre cabrito...he´s dead now... this is in the back yard of my old place
this is my old room and old mosquito net. i shared the room with a couple rats. matt will appreciate the fact that i put the patagonia sticker to good use. also note, peanut butter on bed. that little thing cost like 3 bucks!
hiking into river jiboa...so pretty!
My PC friend Jeremy, trying to be godlike at the river
This wicked large beetle thing we found at the river. It was my desktop background for a while, but then I changed it when my host mom commented that it resembled a cockroach.
updates from a new home
April 7.
An account of today’s adventures must begin with the fact that we were supposed to leave, walking, to go to the river at 8am. This of course meant that we didn’t leave until 9, and that we actually ended up driving in a pickup (aka riding in the back. Amusing that although I was never allowed to travel in the back of a pickup as a child (unless I was laying down in the back of the kelly’s truck and we were driving slow), it is now a common form of transportation).
As it is Semana Santa (the last week of the 40 days of lent or something), everyone is on vacation, so we went to the River Jiboa with my family, Jeremy, and some of my host mom’s friends. It was pretty exciting…Driving there was gorgeous. There was a breeze (as we were driving at least), and beautiful rolling hills. This country is honestly striking sometimes, and its beauty always seems to catch me off guard, just when I think I’ve become accustomed to the heat and the dust.
The rest of the tale relates more to insects and creatures than anything else. I’ll post photos….but we found some pretty fascinating bugs today down by the river. We had to hike down a rocky, steep path to get there, but it was well worth the trek. We found a poza (pool) and chilled out all day. My host mom brought sandwiches of lettuce, chicken, and this pink mayonnaise/miracle whip stuff, cookies, salva cola (sort of like RC cola, it’s the drink of choice here). She also brought instant coffee and a pot, so she actually built a fire and made coffee. However, she forgot to bring sugar, so I’m pretty sure Jeremy and I were the only ones who actually drank any.
At the beach, which was pretty dirty, but actually not as nasty as I’d expected, we hung out in little cabins covered with grass roofs. I think they had rentable hammocks there, because everyone had hammocks hanging in their little areas. (The hammock is the staple of every dwelling here. I can no longer imagine living without one). Jeremy and I spent hours swimming out in the ocean where few Salvadorans dared to go. Very few people here know how to swim, and the undertow is nothing to joke about, so people don’t generally venture beyond where the waves brake on the shore. Somehow I finally figured out how to float (thanks to the help of the saltwater), and floating around amongst the rise and fall of the water was one of the most relaxing things I’ve done since I’ve been here. Of course, we were both sunburned by the time the day was over, but it was worth it.> (end inserted update)
April 25.
It’s been a really long time since I tried to finish writing this…and an even longer time since I’ve been to an Internet café to post anything. Sorry about that. The last couple weeks of training were pretty hectic, and intense with emotions, as all these new friends we’ve made as trainees were suddenly scattered across the country. April 19th, we “swore in” as real volunteers. We took an oath…the same one the army kids take, in the American Embassy in El Salvador in the presence of the new American Ambassador (who can’t speak Spanish but is good friends with GW). It was a pretty weird experience, actually, but triumphant as well, because our training group still remains intact- no ones gone home. We have sort of a uniquely mellow and supportive group, which is nice. Also, among the 140 something countries that have a Peace Corps presence, El Sal has the highest rate of volunteers who extend their service for a third year, or more. That says a lot about how great Salvadorans are!
Back to swearing in, it was kind of weird, but I think most of us try to ignore the fact that we sort of signed away our lives and medical privacy (hipaa doesn’t really apply here anymore) to the US government, and focus on what we’re really here for- relationship building with some wonderful Salvadorans. After the official business was over, we partied it up till the wee hours of the night in a club in downtown El Sal amongst 100 other gringos.
That said, here I am, a real volunteer, finally in the little town where I’ll be for the next two years. It’s hot as hell (like 94 degrees in my room at night), but the quality of the people definitely makes up for that. I’ve only been here since Friday, so I don’t know a whole lot of people in this HUGE place yet, but so far so good. I’ve been doing house visits with one of my counterparts- a health promoter here. He was giving vaccinations to kids under 5, and I was checking water supplies for mosquito nesting grounds…and in general just talking to people and seeing what’s up. Everyone has been incredibly friendly, which helps with the sort of displaced feeling I’m left with every night.
My new “host mom” (I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to convince them that I’m capable of living on my own) is crazy-active. She’s a teacher in the nearby school, has a little tienda in her home (store that sells small items and candy and junkfood), as well as sells pupusas each night. So, I actually live in a really nice house, and it doesn’t feel so rural. I have an indoor toilet (that you have to poor water in). I still shower with a little bucket, but the cool water is necessary for the constant heat. We have electricity (fans are a definite plus). I have one host brother- 11 yrs old. Host mom’s husband has been in the states for 9 years (hence why she has such a nice home). I brought the dog. She’s in a biting phase right now…especially when all the high school boys come over at night to eat pupusas, she goes nuts and tries to chew on everyone. We’re still working on that.
Other than that, I can’t think of much to say. I’m going to post some older photos from the old place. I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to update this, but I’d imagine every two weeks or so. I have to take a bus for an hour to Corinto to use the internet (and visit Sam and Chris, who live there), so we’ll see. You should definitely write me though, and I’ll write back. Because I’ve got a lot of time on my hands now. Feel free to send magazines or books, too. When I visited the post office in the nearby pueblo with my friend Reagan (she’s a youth development volunteer working in the urban area), we walked into a room to meet a guy sitting at a desk. This room + this guy= the local postal system. So…he took our names and numbers and said he’d call if we had mail, and probably just deliver it to us, since “that other peace corps volunteer in the other town gets so many letters, people are always writing you guys.” Don’t let him down:
Melanie Patterson
Cantón Las Animas
Sociedad, Morazán
El Salvador, Centro América
Other than that…related to the past blog: The goat, who was injured, is now dead….it wasn’t pretty.
And, this is funny. Whenever I meet new people (especially cute old people), they are like, wow, you’re so young, what are you, 16? No…I’m 21… Oh, they say, so are you married? Do you have kids? No…(and before I can even say I’m engaged, --) Oh, so you’re here for two years? You’re totally going to marry a Salvadoran! You’re going to have beautiful children! Then when I try to explain that I’m already engaged to someone from “over there” (as they refer to the states), they’re like oh….so you don’t like Salvadoran guys then? … So that’s always a fun conversation. Lucky me, Matt’s coming to visit in about 7 weeks. That’s sort of added motivation for me to get a grip on my surroundings (for those of you who know how easily I get lost…even in Iowa City after I’d lived there for over 4 years…) and get to know a new community.
I’m going to wrap this up so I can go catch the bus and head up to Corinto (where, I’m told, it’s much cooler). Listen to some reggaeton and think of me (Rahul and Nicole are the only people who might do that), and write me letters! Seriously. Much love to all!
An account of today’s adventures must begin with the fact that we were supposed to leave, walking, to go to the river at 8am. This of course meant that we didn’t leave until 9, and that we actually ended up driving in a pickup (aka riding in the back. Amusing that although I was never allowed to travel in the back of a pickup as a child (unless I was laying down in the back of the kelly’s truck and we were driving slow), it is now a common form of transportation).
As it is Semana Santa (the last week of the 40 days of lent or something), everyone is on vacation, so we went to the River Jiboa with my family, Jeremy, and some of my host mom’s friends. It was pretty exciting…Driving there was gorgeous. There was a breeze (as we were driving at least), and beautiful rolling hills. This country is honestly striking sometimes, and its beauty always seems to catch me off guard, just when I think I’ve become accustomed to the heat and the dust.
The rest of the tale relates more to insects and creatures than anything else. I’ll post photos….but we found some pretty fascinating bugs today down by the river. We had to hike down a rocky, steep path to get there, but it was well worth the trek. We found a poza (pool) and chilled out all day. My host mom brought sandwiches of lettuce, chicken, and this pink mayonnaise/miracle whip stuff, cookies, salva cola (sort of like RC cola, it’s the drink of choice here). She also brought instant coffee and a pot, so she actually built a fire and made coffee. However, she forgot to bring sugar, so I’m pretty sure Jeremy and I were the only ones who actually drank any.
At the beach, which was pretty dirty, but actually not as nasty as I’d expected, we hung out in little cabins covered with grass roofs. I think they had rentable hammocks there, because everyone had hammocks hanging in their little areas. (The hammock is the staple of every dwelling here. I can no longer imagine living without one). Jeremy and I spent hours swimming out in the ocean where few Salvadorans dared to go. Very few people here know how to swim, and the undertow is nothing to joke about, so people don’t generally venture beyond where the waves brake on the shore. Somehow I finally figured out how to float (thanks to the help of the saltwater), and floating around amongst the rise and fall of the water was one of the most relaxing things I’ve done since I’ve been here. Of course, we were both sunburned by the time the day was over, but it was worth it.> (end inserted update)
April 25.
It’s been a really long time since I tried to finish writing this…and an even longer time since I’ve been to an Internet café to post anything. Sorry about that. The last couple weeks of training were pretty hectic, and intense with emotions, as all these new friends we’ve made as trainees were suddenly scattered across the country. April 19th, we “swore in” as real volunteers. We took an oath…the same one the army kids take, in the American Embassy in El Salvador in the presence of the new American Ambassador (who can’t speak Spanish but is good friends with GW). It was a pretty weird experience, actually, but triumphant as well, because our training group still remains intact- no ones gone home. We have sort of a uniquely mellow and supportive group, which is nice. Also, among the 140 something countries that have a Peace Corps presence, El Sal has the highest rate of volunteers who extend their service for a third year, or more. That says a lot about how great Salvadorans are!
Back to swearing in, it was kind of weird, but I think most of us try to ignore the fact that we sort of signed away our lives and medical privacy (hipaa doesn’t really apply here anymore) to the US government, and focus on what we’re really here for- relationship building with some wonderful Salvadorans. After the official business was over, we partied it up till the wee hours of the night in a club in downtown El Sal amongst 100 other gringos.
That said, here I am, a real volunteer, finally in the little town where I’ll be for the next two years. It’s hot as hell (like 94 degrees in my room at night), but the quality of the people definitely makes up for that. I’ve only been here since Friday, so I don’t know a whole lot of people in this HUGE place yet, but so far so good. I’ve been doing house visits with one of my counterparts- a health promoter here. He was giving vaccinations to kids under 5, and I was checking water supplies for mosquito nesting grounds…and in general just talking to people and seeing what’s up. Everyone has been incredibly friendly, which helps with the sort of displaced feeling I’m left with every night.
My new “host mom” (I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to convince them that I’m capable of living on my own) is crazy-active. She’s a teacher in the nearby school, has a little tienda in her home (store that sells small items and candy and junkfood), as well as sells pupusas each night. So, I actually live in a really nice house, and it doesn’t feel so rural. I have an indoor toilet (that you have to poor water in). I still shower with a little bucket, but the cool water is necessary for the constant heat. We have electricity (fans are a definite plus). I have one host brother- 11 yrs old. Host mom’s husband has been in the states for 9 years (hence why she has such a nice home). I brought the dog. She’s in a biting phase right now…especially when all the high school boys come over at night to eat pupusas, she goes nuts and tries to chew on everyone. We’re still working on that.
Other than that, I can’t think of much to say. I’m going to post some older photos from the old place. I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to update this, but I’d imagine every two weeks or so. I have to take a bus for an hour to Corinto to use the internet (and visit Sam and Chris, who live there), so we’ll see. You should definitely write me though, and I’ll write back. Because I’ve got a lot of time on my hands now. Feel free to send magazines or books, too. When I visited the post office in the nearby pueblo with my friend Reagan (she’s a youth development volunteer working in the urban area), we walked into a room to meet a guy sitting at a desk. This room + this guy= the local postal system. So…he took our names and numbers and said he’d call if we had mail, and probably just deliver it to us, since “that other peace corps volunteer in the other town gets so many letters, people are always writing you guys.” Don’t let him down:
Melanie Patterson
Cantón Las Animas
Sociedad, Morazán
El Salvador, Centro América
Other than that…related to the past blog: The goat, who was injured, is now dead….it wasn’t pretty.
And, this is funny. Whenever I meet new people (especially cute old people), they are like, wow, you’re so young, what are you, 16? No…I’m 21… Oh, they say, so are you married? Do you have kids? No…(and before I can even say I’m engaged, --) Oh, so you’re here for two years? You’re totally going to marry a Salvadoran! You’re going to have beautiful children! Then when I try to explain that I’m already engaged to someone from “over there” (as they refer to the states), they’re like oh….so you don’t like Salvadoran guys then? … So that’s always a fun conversation. Lucky me, Matt’s coming to visit in about 7 weeks. That’s sort of added motivation for me to get a grip on my surroundings (for those of you who know how easily I get lost…even in Iowa City after I’d lived there for over 4 years…) and get to know a new community.
I’m going to wrap this up so I can go catch the bus and head up to Corinto (where, I’m told, it’s much cooler). Listen to some reggaeton and think of me (Rahul and Nicole are the only people who might do that), and write me letters! Seriously. Much love to all!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
big news!
<3>
Dear Blog Audience:
I’m so excited right now, I’m not even sure I can compile my emotions into a decent blog, but I’m going to try. Today was the long-awaited site-announcement. What does that mean? Today, we (18 Rural Health & Sanitation + 6 Youth Development) trainees found out where we are going to spend the next two years of our lives. Pretty much a huge deal.
The site selection process is pretty huge, and involves multiple visits, safety checks, and meetings with townspeople before we are ever placed there. From about 50 possible sites, 24 were chosen, of which 18 were actually used (for health volunteers). So they are pretty much the best of the best. Some sites have had volunteers in the past, and many are new. Some are on the beach (one is on an island), some are in the mountains (one volunteer which have to rent a horse to reach his town, and will have to build his own house)….but they’re all awesome in their own ways, and hand selected for each of us.
SO.
First, we all received slips of paper with a clue. Mine read: “One of the municipalities is famous thanks to the black clay artesanias.” With these clues, we were supposed to group ourselves by departments (check out a map, El Sal has 14 departments, sort of like counties I guess)…I had no clue where these black clay artsy folk were…so I asked a staff member, and found out I’m in Morazan! I went there for my Immersion days. It’s really poor, but is known for its fantastically welcoming and generous people. Along with me in Morazan is “the married couple” (Samantha and Chris, totally awesome), and a handful of other great volunteers.
But my site specifically is as follows: (according to the brief description I received today)
(Every volunteer has two counterparts, whom s/he works with). One of mine is a doctor, who is the head of the health clinic, and the other is the health promoter who works directly below her.
Oh, the actual name of my canton (which is smaller than a town, bigger than a neighborhood) is Las Animas, near the pueblo of Sociedad.
What I’ll be doing (potentially): working with youth in HIV/AIDS prevention, maternal & child health (teen pregnancies are 30% of all pregnancies there….), working with health/water/trash committees, and in schools.
All in all, the health clinic there sounds crazy organized, and it looks like I’ll be in their monthly meetings to figure out how to help them in all the surrounding communities. This is amazing…because usually things aren’t so scheduled and you sort of have to figure out what you want to do (but I really like schedules!)..
For my first few months at least, I’ll be living with a woman who is a teacher in a school, whose husband lives in the states. The description I have reads: “A few upgrades need to be made to your house, but I think you’ll be quite comfortable there.” Thanks, boss…upgrades….I really have no idea what this means. I suppose I’ll find out Monday when I go visit my site. It actually sounds pretty big, because most sites are like 20-60 houses, so we’ll see.
All in all, I am super excited, even if I will be pretty far from Guatemala (respectively, it’s not like El Sal is that big), where Matt’ll be moving this summer (I’m also pretty fabulously excited for him about that)
In other news: The goat had a hurt foot for a while, because a rope got wrapped around it for an extended period of time before someone untied him….and after about a week of being unable to walk on it, I came home today and my host mom said “Tengo malas noticias. Se le cayó la pata del cabro.” (Bad news: The goats foot fell off.) I was like…uh….what? So, I haven’t seen him yet, but apparently our goat is now footless. Or hooveless. Whatever.
Pecas is now officially my dog. My family kept teasing me, saying I was going to take her with me when I leave, but the other day, I bought her real dog food, and I’ve become rather protective of her, so it’s become accepted that she’s mine. My host mom says if I don’t take her with me when I leave, I can bring her back here in 2 years so they have something to remember me by. Apparently she is going to be spoiled though, because I hear my mom has just sent a care package specifically for my flea-ridden cutie. (thank god that refers to the dog and not myself….ew)
Thus, Monday, I’ll be visiting my new home for 4 days. Then just a little more training, and we are done with the crazy schedules and group projects and off to life as real volunteers. And, what’s even better is, we haven’t lost anyone from our training group (this is unusual). So, we’re pretty much awesome, and you should all know it! J
More updates/photos soon.
Dear Blog Audience:
I’m so excited right now, I’m not even sure I can compile my emotions into a decent blog, but I’m going to try. Today was the long-awaited site-announcement. What does that mean? Today, we (18 Rural Health & Sanitation + 6 Youth Development) trainees found out where we are going to spend the next two years of our lives. Pretty much a huge deal.
The site selection process is pretty huge, and involves multiple visits, safety checks, and meetings with townspeople before we are ever placed there. From about 50 possible sites, 24 were chosen, of which 18 were actually used (for health volunteers). So they are pretty much the best of the best. Some sites have had volunteers in the past, and many are new. Some are on the beach (one is on an island), some are in the mountains (one volunteer which have to rent a horse to reach his town, and will have to build his own house)….but they’re all awesome in their own ways, and hand selected for each of us.
SO.
First, we all received slips of paper with a clue. Mine read: “One of the municipalities is famous thanks to the black clay artesanias.” With these clues, we were supposed to group ourselves by departments (check out a map, El Sal has 14 departments, sort of like counties I guess)…I had no clue where these black clay artsy folk were…so I asked a staff member, and found out I’m in Morazan! I went there for my Immersion days. It’s really poor, but is known for its fantastically welcoming and generous people. Along with me in Morazan is “the married couple” (Samantha and Chris, totally awesome), and a handful of other great volunteers.
But my site specifically is as follows: (according to the brief description I received today)
(Every volunteer has two counterparts, whom s/he works with). One of mine is a doctor, who is the head of the health clinic, and the other is the health promoter who works directly below her.
Oh, the actual name of my canton (which is smaller than a town, bigger than a neighborhood) is Las Animas, near the pueblo of Sociedad.
What I’ll be doing (potentially): working with youth in HIV/AIDS prevention, maternal & child health (teen pregnancies are 30% of all pregnancies there….), working with health/water/trash committees, and in schools.
All in all, the health clinic there sounds crazy organized, and it looks like I’ll be in their monthly meetings to figure out how to help them in all the surrounding communities. This is amazing…because usually things aren’t so scheduled and you sort of have to figure out what you want to do (but I really like schedules!)..
For my first few months at least, I’ll be living with a woman who is a teacher in a school, whose husband lives in the states. The description I have reads: “A few upgrades need to be made to your house, but I think you’ll be quite comfortable there.” Thanks, boss…upgrades….I really have no idea what this means. I suppose I’ll find out Monday when I go visit my site. It actually sounds pretty big, because most sites are like 20-60 houses, so we’ll see.
All in all, I am super excited, even if I will be pretty far from Guatemala (respectively, it’s not like El Sal is that big), where Matt’ll be moving this summer (I’m also pretty fabulously excited for him about that)
In other news: The goat had a hurt foot for a while, because a rope got wrapped around it for an extended period of time before someone untied him….and after about a week of being unable to walk on it, I came home today and my host mom said “Tengo malas noticias. Se le cayó la pata del cabro.” (Bad news: The goats foot fell off.) I was like…uh….what? So, I haven’t seen him yet, but apparently our goat is now footless. Or hooveless. Whatever.
Pecas is now officially my dog. My family kept teasing me, saying I was going to take her with me when I leave, but the other day, I bought her real dog food, and I’ve become rather protective of her, so it’s become accepted that she’s mine. My host mom says if I don’t take her with me when I leave, I can bring her back here in 2 years so they have something to remember me by. Apparently she is going to be spoiled though, because I hear my mom has just sent a care package specifically for my flea-ridden cutie. (thank god that refers to the dog and not myself….ew)
Thus, Monday, I’ll be visiting my new home for 4 days. Then just a little more training, and we are done with the crazy schedules and group projects and off to life as real volunteers. And, what’s even better is, we haven’t lost anyone from our training group (this is unusual). So, we’re pretty much awesome, and you should all know it! J
More updates/photos soon.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Fotos 3
The infamous Pecas. I bet I will end up adopting that flea-bitten cutie before I head out to my site.
The freaking ducks here are the ugliest things Ive ever seen. And they have toenails!
Cutest host siblings ever? Angelito, Albita, Sarita...showing off their tin foil teeth.
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