Pinata class!
Computer classes are in full spring and my busy schedule from April has seemed to run over into May. I am super happy about it, because it makes the time go by like a fast, swerving public bus. I feel the next few months will just speed by, but poco a poco, little by little. We just finished our last computer class on Sunday and are planning an excursion to the beach to celebrate. In the grant I wrote for the project, I included prices and cost for a little celebration trip with all the jovenes (youth). They are pretty excited, which means I am PUMPED BEYOND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS. Setbacks have been the involvement of this particular excursion. There has been some drama and chambre (gossip) in my community not necessarily among the kids (they are all around high school age, so you would think gossip was their number one activity besides face book), but among the parents. I feel people in the campo here stay in the same place their whole lives, like a very small town in the US. Everyone knows everyone, everyone knows who doesn’t like who, who dated who and everything that happened…EVER. Therefore, no matter what, I am always the new kid on the block.
It’s sort of like how it is here, which has led me running around trying to make people happy and change plans/times/etc in order for everyone to get along and slap a smile on their face. By far, it’s the worst part of my job. I kinda feel like I work at a Jewish Synagogue or perhaps somewhere in which everyone knows everyone’s business. You are under a microscope…all the time. Oh man. The excursion is next week; I am crossing my fingers and holding my breath until then. Last week, we celebrated Mother’s Day in the school involving an all day event of a little dance performance by the kids, games, food, snacks, etc. I ended up somehow playing softball with a bunch of mothers (I was sore afterwards, shows how much I need to work out) and ate some yummy chicken (yea meat!). Needless to say, it was a long, exhausting, but fun day. I have tried to start a Club de Lectura, or a reading type club which no one wants to attend, so that failed. This week I finally had a sit down talk to my school director and counterpart that the cocina (stove) project will never happen (tried to start it over a year ago) and most of the materials have been destroyed by children playing during recess (all day), thus we still need to pay for the materials from the hardware store. So, I offered to split the price with her 50/50, just close the file on the project and call it good, it’s just not worth it anymore. Fail Project #2.
Regarding some good news, I am starting some classes in the local Instituto/High School in my pueblo (nearby small town) to teach kids various crafts and activities, just for fun and because the directora wanted me too. We shall see how it turns out, it’s only once a week for a month, but it will keep me busy. In April, I had a site visit from one of the Peace Corps staff about preparing and helping with the 2nd part of training for the new volunteers in late-June. I will be teaching most of the artsy-crafty type activities for them to do start-ups businesses in their sites. It should be fun to meet all the newbie’s…finally. Though it is strange to think there are more new volunteers in country than oldies…like me! J
(walking to the school)
Rainy season has basically officially started. Thus, I have ZERO GANAS to bucket bath, as the water is always cold and it’s never super, DUPER hot outside for it to feel refreshing anymore. I miss hot water. Never take it for granted. But, the rain is smoothing in a way that I cannot describe, kind of like snow is during the beginning of winter…but then comes the mud….and THEN comes the bugs. There are so many frickin’ beetles in my room recently, they have left oh-so-attractive stains of what, I don’t know, but they are on my mosquito net. It’s white, so you can see them really well; I think it adds to the décor. Would you call it bug-classy, maybe Campo-mountain rustic? Ew, gross.
Yes, I now use hand wipes to clean my feet before getting into bed, because no matter how many times I splash them with water, they are still dirty. Just a pet peeve, but I hate going to bed with dirty feet. I did that the first six months and now, no more! Moving away from dirty feet, I have started to edit my resume and job search a bit for returning home. Looking at some of the jobs is both exciting and REALLY intimidating. I know I have a lot of rejection and waiting time to look forward to, but it’s worth starting.Oh one more update, I am not the new Editor-In-Chief of the all-volunteer Peace Corps El Salvador magazine, called “El Camino”, which means mas o menos, “The Journey” in English. I have been collecting and harassing PCV’s to turn in articles, photos, poems, and other artistic works for the May edition. I have had to learn publish which almost involved banging my computer hard enough onto the ceramic floor surface so it turns into an ipad. It was frustrating, but I think I am just not starting to get a hold of all the details. Whew. I do not think I can upload it to my blog, but if you’re interested in reading it I can e-mail to you, free of charge!
Those are my updates so far, I want to wish all of you with mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and mothers-to-be well wishes for this upcoming Mother’s Day. In El Salvador, they celebrate the 10th of May, so this Friday my host family is helping me make homemade hamburgers (not easy in the campo), for my host mom, abuelita (her mother), and her sister who will be visiting. I am really looking forward to it…or just eating meat again. J
Happy (early) Mother’s Day and Feliz (late) Cinco de Mayo! Ole!
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