Back to School

So, the other day, I was on the bus (which are all retired American school buses) and I realized I felt like I was back in Elementary school. I actually don't mind riding buses because then I can enjoy the scenery and relax or read while someone else is in charge. Also, its terrifying to watch the driving here, and I thank my lucky starts I don't have to drive. The other interesting thing though, is that there are not that many strange things on the bus. Yes, occassionally a chicken or something, some pipes for a house, but no pigs or other strange animals. Its much more "civilized" than I thought or heard it would be.

Other strange things on the bus though, people give up their seats to pregnant women or women with babies, but not elderly people or people with handicaps. Its an intersting change. Also, some other differences are that there is music almost always, which I really like, and they are decorated with stuffed animals as well as odes to Jesus. Not surprising, but a little funny sometimes.

Good news: I have had no problems on the buses so far (keep you fingers crossed and knock on wood). I do try to be rather careful and aware, but its not nearly as scary as we were lead to be. So anyway, all is well in the transportation world.

As for the holidays, I have no plans except for hanging out with my community. I think on Christmas day we will go to the beach, which will be good. In El Salvador, most people celebrate Christmas on teh 24th with a big dinner, so I'll be doing that will some people in the community. That's it though. Also, no plans for the New Year, but that's fine by me because I generally don't enjoy it unless I'm in Rand! Well, I think that's all then news for now!

Happy Holidays and Peace on Earth!
Lilah

Sometimes Parents do Know What They´re Talking About

So, recently I´ve been having some discussions with other volunteers about how El Salvador could develop more and develop more quickly. However, we´ve decided that there are numerous problems, at least where we are outside the cities, that I don´t even know how to begin to address them. It´s part educations, part funding, part changing people´s habits, part infrastructure. So, I was chatting with my dad last night and, as some of you know, he used to live in Haiti. When I was younger I would ask him what I thought to be simple questions such as: Why can´t Haiti improve more rapidly? or What´s the main problem with Haiti? or Can´t the government do something to help? His reply, which at the time made me really frustrated was ¨I don´t know. The more I learn about Haiti, the less I know and the less I understand.¨ However, know I must say, that is exactly what I say here, and I have realized, he was right, as much as I hate to admit that.

Other things going on here: I´m giving art classes to thrid and fourth graders, which has been a great way to get to know kids a little better and see what they think about and what they draw. Also, I´ve been working with a women´s group that is going to sell honey that is delicious! I hope it continues, so I will explain more later and keep you updated. Also, I mostly just chat with another women´s group who makes jewerly, but I love visiting them. They always make me feel better, and I am going to do some work with them, it will just take longer because they are more established and self-sufficient, which is great. Also, no Christmas plans, except staying in site and going to a few houses on the 24th. On the 25th, not much happens, but I think a few families go to the beach, so hopefully I´ll do that as well. Mostly just relaxing and hanging out with people!

Well...more on the bees later!

Poco a Poco

So, I´ve just finished training number 2, which means I learned almost all technical stuff that I will need for about the next 6 months in theory. I learned a lot about teaching English, computers, how to teach about HIV and AIdS and how to write grants and fundraise. It was very helpful and I hope I can implement some of this in my site!

During training, we went to a town in Ahuachapan called Ataco, which is very beautiful. We went to some waterfalls that reminded me of Thunder River in the Grand Canyon. It was wonderful to be in a place that was so beautiful and the mountains reminded me a bit of Colorado. I must say, I do like being near a beach, but I´m definetly a mountain girl at heart. Also, we ate some amazing food! Pasta, my favorite!!! And some delicious pancakes. We also visited another volunteer´s site and part of his service here he has worked with Ojushte (I think that´s the correct spelling) which is a natural seed that grows here and is really healthy. We had horchata made from this seed and it was delicious! I really want to bring some back to the States!

Also, since returning to my site, I have moved into my own house, which is wonderful. I make my own food, which obviously, is delicious. The only problem is that I don´t have an oven, so sometimes that is a bit limiting. However, its really nice to have my own space and to have people come visit me! Its also a nice place to be able to meet sometimes as well!

For Thanksgivng, I will be headed to the capital and the embassy! I´m very excited about this since Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and it will be like I´m in America (sort of)! However, I will be missing my family´s celebrations, but I´m sure we both will have fun!

Tata for now,
Lilah

Starting to get really busy

It’s been five weeks since I’ve been at my site, and I had my asamblea general. This is a meeting with the people from the community to explain what information I have gathered about what projects they want from me. The last update has what I think I will be doing, and that is the information I gathered mostly from the school director and teachers and little bit from a few other people in town. It was really hard gathering this information because I think people in El Salvador are not used to being asked for their opinion straight out. From what I’ve observed, they are given options and then they give their opinion. When I asked them directly for ideas, without any previous direction, it was very hard to get answers. The school had had a meeting with my Peace Corps bosses and the school has worked with Peace Corps Volunteers in the past from other sites nearby, so they had ideas about what they want, which was really good. They were the ones that suggested a small business enterprise and class for the older kids in the mornings when they don’t have school. Also, they requested English classes and computer classes, which is one of our main goals as Youth Development Volunteers in El Salvador.
This past week, I was really busy and was hardly at my house. I’m currently looking for another place to live, but its proving to be a bit difficult because either people don’t want to rent to me, there aren’t places, the houses don’t pass Peace Corps guidelines, or they are too expensive. I hope I can find something soon and get my furniture situation figured out before I get really busy with other stuff. Since I’ve been really busy, I’ve had a lot less time to stress and think about everything that sort of made it really difficult. Also, I have a few friends, or at least people I can hang out with so that’s good as well. It’s also been much easier because the sun has been out, and I’ve been able to do things. On Friday, I was walking to the beach and ran into the Kindergarteners. They all screamed my name, came running up to me, and gave be big hugs. For class, they were on a nature walk to the beach, about a 15 minute, so I walked with them and sat on the beach. It was pretty funny to see them chasing after crabs and what not. It was really fun, and it’s great to have unconditional love sometimes.
Also on Friday, I went to another cooperative that is trying to start a bee business and make honey. The project was started by another volunteer who is leaving in December, so we both hope that I can help these women continue on with their work and make it successful. So, I went and learned how the smoke the bees and change around their hives. We found some dead bees next to one of the boxes, and the two men giving the lesson were debating if it was from ants or pesticides being sprayed on the sugar cane from earlier in the week. It was a lot of fun and very interesting. I don’t really understand how the whole process works, but it was still a lot of fun and I’m really excited to work with them a little bit. Earlier in the week, I went to the other cooperative that makes jewelry and things with tin cans. I sanded pop canes for almost three hours. It was fun though, and I really enjoy hanging out with those women.
In a couple of weeks, I’m headed back for more training on technical information, which is good and makes me a little apprehensive because it will be a lot of information, and I will be overwhelmed with all of it. When I come back from training, I am going to paint a mural on the school wall one week and have art camp another two weeks until Christmas comes. I’m thinking these are going to be really fun and I’m excited about these projects. I’m a little nervous as well because they are my first ones, and I don’t know how they will go, but I think they will be good.
Well, I think that’s “all the news that’s fit to print” for today. I hope all is well on the home front!

Conforming to Change

It’s been a while since I last updated – my internet access has been a bit limited, and I’ve been dealing with a lot of changes. First of all, I’ve been in my site now for almost three weeks trying to get to know the community and figure things out. About half way through my first week, it started raining and practically didn’t stop until about a week later. I had a ton of dirty laundry and was unable to do anything because everywhere was covered in A LOT of water. Some days, I literally couldn’t leave the house because everything was flooded. It rained like it does in Colorado – but in Colorado it might rain really hard for an hour, maybe two. Here it rained really hard for hours and then subsided to a regular rain. It turned out that Peace Corps put us on standfast, which means we couldn’t leave where we were, so I couldn’t leave my site. Later that week, the river was so full that the quick road out of my site closed because the bridge washed out. Then, on the other road out, a tree fell, and so the only way out was by sea. I ended up having to go to the medical office for a couple of reasons, so it was an adventure to get there. At first, I had to walk half an hour to an office where I ended up finding a ride. Drove about 15 minutes to the boat launch, got pushed across a bay, walked to find a pick-up stop (which is a form of public transportation here – you stand in the back of a covered pick-up), I was on the pick-up for about 45 minutes, ran to catch the bus to Sonsonate – the closest big city, and finally in Sonsonate, I got picked up by a Peace Corp driver. This was the first time I had ever left site that way, while I was new in site, and sick – so it was quite an adventure. I was fine, and it ended up being quite easy. Also, the nice thing about El Salvador, generally, if you ask someone directions or if a certain bus is the correct one, they will answer you honestly and be more than willing to help you.
Also, since being in site, it has been very difficult. In training, we had plans almost every day and a set schedule. Here, we are just expected to walk around and meet people, maybe have a couple of meetings with some community leaders, and then relax when we can’t do anything (because of the rain, per say). This is very un-American and very hard for me. I start to feel really anxious that I’m not accomplishing anything, and I have a lot to accomplish. Also, it’s hard being a community where everyone knows everyone and you’re the new person that knows no one and you look, speak, and act completely differently. Also, it has made me really appreciated the little comforts we have in America, for example, a bathroom inside the house that flushes and doesn’t have bugs in it constantly. Currently my bathroom is about 50 feet from the house – so if I have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night – I don’t. Also, I miss showers, especially hot ones and non-wood burning stove to cook on. I also miss the general cleanliness of America as well and, believe it or not, the public education system. There are some good things here – the students are given their school supplies and uniforms to wear to school, but their days are half day and the teaching style is way different. Also, I miss news! Weird because I felt completely inundated with news in the US, and now I really would love to read any news, even if it’s the Enquirer or something silly.
It looks like for now, I will be working with the school a fair amount when the school starts in January. This is good because I like being around the kids, and I think it will be more of a set schedule. I think I will be helping teach or teach some English classes to students and teachers. Also, I think we will try to set-up a computer class and the computers as well as a small business for the older kids. I also would like to work with a cooperative here that makes jewelry and ashtrays and things out of used pop cans. I’m not sure what else I’ll be up to, but this is what I’ve figured out so far. Anyway, I think that’s about all the news for now. I’ll try to be better about updating my blog and keeping you all update! Hope all is well back home!

It’s been a long, long time…

I feel as though I’ve been living here for way more than 6 weeks, but at the same time I can’t believe its already been 6 weeks. The sense of time has changed very much since arriving here and trying to adjust to another culture that isn’t as fast as the American culture. I know for some of you this is hard to believe, but I have had to slow down a lot here, and (the surprising part) it hasn’t been that difficult so far. We’ll see when I have less of a set schedule and am on my own trying to complete projects – but its been a great learning time. But getting back to the title …
Since it’s been a while since the last post, I will try to catch up on everything. I have about a week left in my current community, and it will be very weird and hard to leave this place. I will miss my family a lot because they have helped me so much with learning the language and the culture. I will also miss my fellow trainees, but I will get to see them again soon. I will return to my current community later though, so that does make it a bit easier.
Since we’ve been in our communities, we have had Spanish class everyday or some sort of training something to do everyday but Sunday, which we usually end up playing soccer and doing something fun. We also have had a community service project. We were working with a group of teen from the local school, and we were going to go house to house to give a chat about how to get rid or reduce the risk of Dengue, since it is a growing problem here in El Salvador. However, no one showed up to give the chat, so we didn’t complete anything on that front. However, we were told by one of the bosses that if we fail, we will learn more than if we succeed. I guess that’s good news. We did learn, which is good, so hopefully this won’t happen in our permanent sites.
Also, currently, there is some political unrest in the country. The gangs have sort of started an uprising because of a law that took effect that said a person can be put in jail for associating with a gang member or for looking/seeming like a gang member. The public transportation has been sort of stalled because a micro bus was burned about two days ago and a taxi driver was killed in San Vicente by the gangs. Also, there have been prison riots in San Miguel, and the market has been closed in San Salvador because the gangs were robbing the store owners in broad daylight. We are in a very safe area, and the military is out in strong force to protect the public, which they will do. Also, Peace Corps is very aware of the situation and making sure we are safe.
Some other sad news is that the janitor at the Peace Corps office, his daughter was murdered last week. She was 17 years old and they only daughter of the man, so it was very sad. It is a very sad story, but it was also very difficult for us because it hit much closer to home than I thought. I wasn’t expecting to know anyone who would be murdered or know anyone who’s family member had been murdered, so it made me much more aware of the situation in El Salvador. El Salvador is the fourth dangerous Peace Corps country, so we are told of the dangers frequently and how to handle situations, but this was never mentioned, so it was very sad. We did go to the funeral, which was nice to be able to do, and I was very glad to be able to be there for him.
On a happier note … we have done and seen some very cool things. We went to an ecotourism park, which was fantastic. It is the first one in El Salvador of its kind, it is non-profit, and the people running it are trying to make it an educational park as well. There are trails to different places with amazing views, two of which were closed because it had been raining so much. There is also a huge ruin (I think Aztec, but I’m not sure), but it’s on private property. Apparently you can see the ruin from the park, but you can’t get too close because it’s on someone else’s land. Also, the park is growing native trees to reforest the rest of the country since so much of it was been cut down in the last 30 or so years.
We also had a weekend where we went to the beach with just the other volunteers. This was very fun, and it was so nice to be able to relax. We stayed in a private house with a pool, which was also very nice because we got to cook our own food, and the pool was nice because the current were really strong in the ocean, so it was a little dangerous to go swimming or go out very far in the ocean. We all had a blast and want to return at some point to visit again. I was able to go running on the beach, which was wonderful since there isn’t really a place to run in my current site. The only road in town is a highway, and its dangerous to run on, and I can’t go very far. We, (myself and the other girl trainees in my town), go to a soccer field in the morning to do a bit of exercise, but it’s nothing difficult, which I miss. But, I digress, it was wonderful to be able to go running on a black sand beach and have a change of scenery.
I also made pupusas the other night. Pupusas are the national dish of El Salvador. It is a tortilla (a thick one) with typically bean, cheese, and lorocco (a plant) inside with curtido (sort of like sauerkraut) and a tomato sauce to go with. In reality, you can put whatever you want on the inside. They are very delicious and my mom taught me how to make everything needed for pupusas and how to make them, which is much harder than you might think. It was a ton of fun, since I love cooking and love learning to make ethnic foods – and I love pupusas.
Well, that’s all I have for now. I’ll try to keep this more updated – but it will depend on my internet availability. Anyway, all’s well here – sending my best to everyone else!

The First Few Weeks...

So, its been three weeks and things are going really well!!! I've only been sick once, and it wasn't that major. I have had training in Spanish, culture, heath, and safety, and have been really busy, which is good. Tomorrow we are going to the capital to go to some museums and learn more about El Salvador - really exciting!

I'm also living with four other group members in another town for our two months of training. I live with a family I really like. There is a mom, cousin, and two brothers. We all play soccer together, and they have helped me a lot with my Spanish. My Spanish has gotten so much better really quickly, its amazing. I also help the brothers with their homework sometimes and teach them little bits of English. Also, they abosolutely love art, so I've drawn a few pictures for them shown them how to draw, which is really fun as well.

Hasta luego!
Lilah

In the Beginning...

I finally started my blog! I hope everyone finds it easily, and I'll be posting new updates and hopefully pictures throughout my time in El Salvador!

What I know now:
I am serving in El Salvador and will be training from July 20th to September 2. I am living with a family at this time somewhere near San Salvador. I will officially begin my service on September 3 in an unknown location with another unknown family. I will be working in this community in the schools (unknown specifics) and figuring out other things to do that the community wants and needs. My service ends September 3, 2012 (which seems like a VERY long time from now - but I know it will go by SO quickly!)

At this point, I am very excited and very nervous. So far, I know one other person that I will be going with, which is very nice. I will meet everyone else in LA hours before we leave the country.

That's all the news I have for now - but once I'm in country I will keep everyone updated when I can! I also would love to hear of news from the states, and as most of you know probably, I would love to know what's going on with everyone at home!

Adios for now,
Lilah Wilhelm