What Happened?

For those that are interested in what transpired in my meeting with my counterparts and my program director, things worked out alright I think. As far as I can tell they were a bit concerned that I am not doing as much of the kind of work they were expecting coupled with the fact that the rumor mill has been working over time in my area and somehow they go word that I have been saying less than flattering things about the local government. My response was basically to ignore the complaints about my work and just present some ideas I had already had. With regards to the rumors, I just assured them that I am not supposed to enter into politics and that I think they were just that, rumors. I also assured them that I would be a little more conscious of what I said and who I said it to. My program director thinks I handled the situation well and thinks things will work out just fine. I have my fingers crossed.

The rainy season has officially begun and so has my task of sweeping my house every hour or so. This may sound strange because nobody in the US thinks of it, but I have to sweep water out of my house. Yes, you read that correctly, SWEEPING WATER. Basically my roof leaks during heavy rains making a mini lake by my front door and window. There is just too much water to soak up with a towel and quite frankly if I tried that it would never dry. So I sweep the water out under the space under my doors. You would be surprised how well this actually works.

Yesterday in and of itself was a strange adventure. It all started early in the morning with my friend Erin getting a call from one of her counterparts asking if she could round up a few Peace Corps friends to bring into El Imposible for some sort of event for SalvaNatura, the NGO that runs the park. I agreed to tag along and it turns out it was a hike to some pretty spots in the park for a photo shoot which will eventually be used for an insert about SalvaNatura in one of the newspapers here. It was a nice hike and all but I felt super awkward. They had insisted on Peace Corps volunteers because they wanted white "tourists" for their photos. So I spent the day feeling a little self conscious and posing for really strange photos. Maybe I'll be famous, we'll see. If I can get my hands on some of the inserts and I'm in it I will try to send some copies out to people.

The Great Debate

I'm referring to Coke vs. Pepsi. And while I find I am a Pepsi man in the US, here in El Sal I have converted to a Coke man. I am not leaving my old favorite out in the cold for no reason, I find the formulas here are different and the flavors are screwy primarily from the use of sugar instead of corn syrup. So while in the US Coke is too fizzy and sorta coats your mouth with a corn syrupy cinnamon flavor (which I don't like), it doesn't do that here. On the contrary Pepsi here is too fizzy for me.

More than just the Pepsi/Coke issue though, I have been a little struck lately by the dynamic between the reality of Peace Corps work and what my City Hall and the people there seem to expect of me. They seem to think I have done next to nothing in my time here, which isn't entirely incorrect, I don't do as much with them as I originally thought I would. However somehow I think they have taken this to mean that I am not doing anything at all. Oh if that were only true and I was just relaxing. And so I have had to deal with a series of calls to my supervisor and the nail biting experience of waiting for a big meeting with my boss, my counterpart and my mayor in which I need to reinvent myself so to speak and present old ideas in a fresh way. Plus I need to find a way to ask them to be more open with me without criticizing or offending them. I'm trying to relax about it, but it sorta stays in the back of my mind.

Mean time I checked out a possible project today and I'm ready to present to others and start work on them. So as I get close to my second year things are starting to look busy and I'm feeling the pressure to succeed from my office.

Dress Me Up In Stitches

She's doing fine, but photos seemed in order.



I feel like I should rename my blog so it has more to do with Kaya. That seems to be most of what I talk about.

I am working on getting a 3 day camp together for the beginning of June, which is approaching very quickly. It will cover self esteem, gender, sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS/HIV, reproductive biology and family planning. Those are all big topics that I think get glossed over in schools here. I am specifically working on a condom activity, a few gender activities and an activity where they burn phrases including the words "I can't ...". Plus I am soliciting transport from the alcaldia since I am the Municipal Developement volunteer.

Also I have become a bit of an unofficial go to person to translate visa applications. I mean several people here speak English, but somehow I am the guy. Thats ok, at least I feel like I am contributing to the legal process rather than illegal immigration. If promoting that means being their visa translating bitch, so be it.

Big Things

Ok not really any big things, I lied. Things have been relatively quiet here as usual, but with a little less for me to do recently in terms of work so I've been enjoying a little bit of exploration and whatnot.

Two weeks ago a new group of volunteers swore in so on a Thursday I headed to the capital to meet some of them and join them to party in their honor. That was fun as the swearing in party usually is, but this time it was a bit smaller, which is fine by me because I am not one for huge dance clubs and so much noise I can't think. I prefer a pub or dive bar any day. The following night I stayed in the capital because on Saturday there was a Peace Corps soccer game. Friday I think wound up being more fun than Thursday because we stopped at Happy Hour at the Intercontinental for 2 for 1 margaritas and a free Nacho Bar. The occasion was to say goodbye to the 2005 Rural Health volunteers who are leaving as of now. We also went to a second bar where the Peace Corps crowd was a decent size and I had a good time hanging out with volunteers I don't usually get to see.

The soccer game was a bit more eventful than usual, owing in part to the strange start it had due to the previous evening's debauchery on the part of several volunteers and the difficulty in getting an early start. One or two volunteers never got over the previous evening's alcohol and decided a little hair o' the dog was in order, but that just led to further drunkenness on the field. On top of all of our other minor issues, it was stiflingly hot and humid. I thought I would honestly pass out the first half. The second half we decided to play skins and for some reason this had a huge effect on our game and we actually scored a few goals. I still thoroughly enjoyed myself even with all the set backs in the game and the blisters on my feet.'

This last weekend the Alcaldia was closed Monday and Tuesday, so at the suggestion of a few volunteers in the area we set up a hike for Sunday that would take us into El Imposible, over the peak in the park and out into Tacuba, the pueblo to our north. I have no idea the distance we hiked, but it took us a little over 6 hours and at least 4 of them were spent hiking uphill. The hike was absolutely gorgeous and I wish we had spent a tad bit more time just relaxing and looking, but we wanted to get into Tacuba at a reasonable hour and relax some. On the way we saw the bridge that is actually named El Imposible and gives the park its name. The view from there is pretty spectacular and on either side there is a pretty severe drop. It was a little overcast so we couldn't see as well as I had hoped, but people say you can see the ocean, Guatemala and the city of Ahuachapan from the bridge. We continued on to the peak where there is a community called Naranjitos in which a new volunteer got assigned. We stopped for a few to meet him and relax. After as steep descent we came upon Tacuba where we lunched upon ice cream and soda and then had some time for showers and hammocks at our hostel. We spent the night in Tacuba playing some cards and having a few well earned beers before heading back by bus on Monday which took us about 4 hours in total. I am glad we did the hike and I am surprised that I'm not actually sore after all that. I plan to try this hike again at some point, hopefully when the ground isn't as muddy.

Tomorrow I am taking my dog to the Capital to have her spayed since she is already 6 months old and I don't want any male dogs coming a suiting. I am taking her so far because of a horror story with another volunteer in my area and her dog which almost died as a result of a less than professional job if you ask me. So its nothing but the best and most difficult for Kaya. I'll let you all know how it goes.