Updates

these are the things happening in my community:


Bolo shooting his gun- There's this bolo (drunk) that walks around shooting his gun when he fights with his girlfriend. The first night that this happened I thought I was back in Chicago. I heard the shots and as I was about to hit the ground I realized that my hammock pretty much touches the ground so I decided to stay put. What worried me was the fact that a lot of houses here are made out of palm leaves, but no one got shot that night so everything is cool. I saw the bolo this morning and I told my host sister, Reina, that we should beat him up with his prostetic leg....but we didn't.

Running on the beach- So I have to work out here or else I'm gonna gain 25lbs and that's just not an option. So I've been running on the beach at about 6am. The sun isn't strong at this time (yes im translating as i type) so it's not too bad to work out for an hour and a half. It's actually pretty nice bc the ocean looks beautiful during that time and I get some uninterrupted time with my Creator. Now, the town has been seeing the crazy gringa running on the beach for the past two weeks and they probably think it's the craziest thing in the world. This one guy, Toñito asked my counterpart if he could run with me sometime. I didnt see the harm in it so I told my CP to tell the guy yes. Now, when I told my host family that I would start running with him they gave me the most terrified look. According to them I should stay far away from Toñito because his girlfriend will kill me if she sees him with me. Apparently she's a witch and practices dark magic and has killed someone before. Nuff said! Toñito and I will not be friends.


So, that's about all so far. I have some ideas already about the projects that I think would benefit the neighborhood....but we have to see what THEY want.

I love you all,
Salu


p.s. There's this 14 yr old girl in my community and she's about 5months pregnant. I went with the health promoter to visit here and to talk about pregnancy and childcare. This girl has the mind of a 7 year old so it was an extremely sad hour that we spent with her. So that made me think about a lot of things that are going on in my community. Teenage pregnancy is the norm, statutory rape does not exist here in the campo (the baby's daddy is 42 years old), family planning is frowned upon, sexual education does NOT exist....etc. So, thank you DADDY for talking to me about sex. Although I didn't see the importance of those little chats at age 5...i totally get it now!

Is This Real Life

When my friend Sam has had much more than he can stand or when things just seems unreal we always ask "Is this real life?" I've been asking myself that lately now that i have been in my permanent site all of ten days. I'm in the department of San Miguel and it's HOT here! HOT like 100 degrees everyday!

OK inicial thoughs upon arriving:
1. Ooooh the beach is less than a block away
2. This is far from town....how am i gonna go grocery shoping
3. I cant understand anything these ppl are saying
4. I'm gonna lose so much weight in this heat (which has not happened)
5. Ok now i'm ready to go back to Cañas (my training community near the capital)

The first day that I was in my community I started crying hysterically. Maybe it was the house (the 2nd floor where i sleep has no windows nd i've seen atleast 5 rats to date), or the accent of the ppl (my spanish is going to be sooooooooooo different when i leave here), or maybe the fact that I'm far away from my friends. Anyway....it was a bad first day...and the heat didnt make it any better. I was ready to go home by day 2. I couldn't remember why I had signed up for this and I felt like I was making a big mistake. I've been taking it one day at a time and trying not to think about the two years that i have left here (cough ONE cough). I've had great support from Cholo and all my other PC friends. One day at a time is my new motto.

not much time to continue....
love you all,
salu

Ways in Which PC life differs from US Embassy life

Today a couple of US embassy officials came to give a charla about safety in El Salvador. According to them El Sal is the 10th most dangerous country in the world. Now this might be due to the size of the country and the population...but i DOUBT it. The lady that have the charla was preety bad ass. She had a gun holstered and she reminded me of the detective shows where there's this tough female detective kicking ass. Anyways......I think this blog is important because the PC is a governmental organization which sounds pretty cool and important (and it SO is), but we PCV's (Peace Corps Volunteers) dont live the same life as embassy employees. Here are a few examples:

1. Embassy employees are not allowed to walk/run outside. PCV's MUST walk/run outside.
2. Embassy employees are prohibited from taking public transportation. PCV's have to take public transportation EVERYDAY!
3. PCV's are not allowed to operate vehicles, take pictures next to a runnig vehicle, or sit in the driver's seat of a park, broken down vehicle. BUT WE ARE ALLOWED TO RIDE A HORSE/DONKEY/COW! Embassy employees drive governmental vehicles.
4. Embassy employees must live in the safest areas in the capital. PCV's can NOT live in the capital. As a matter of fact, the closest PCV is atleast an hour from the capital.
5. Some embassy employees can carry guns. PCV's can not! But we can carry knives/machetes...which will more than likely be stolen from us and used against us.
6. Embassy officials can't enter their residences from the attached garage because someone could easily attack them. PCV's might not have electricity necessary to have an automatic door opener so we dont have to worry about that. Is this real life?

These are just a few differences between us. But we all work to uphold the integrity of our beautiful country and we're all diplomats :)

Salu,
Mya

A little dancing can go a looooong way...

So I stole this from my friend Lindsey's blog.

"Mya and I went to a dance this weekend, and had a lot of fun.

Lets describe the scene. There is a man wearing a suit in the shape of a bull running around shooting fireworks at people. (Not just shooting fireworks, but shooting them AT PEOPLE). Ages of individuals there range from 12 to 75. Older women are wearing clothes made for 13-year-old girls, and dancing like 20-year-old girls. There is an old man sleeping against the fence. The only good-looking men there are police officers who carry guns as tall as me. There is a fight happening between some transvestites and some clowns just outside the entrance. (Yes, it is exactly what I said).

Mya spots the only black man she has seen in 2 months and yells out loud, “Look a black man!” Good thing it was in English so not everyone around us could understand. She spent a good portion of the night trying to talk to him without being awkward. She finally did, and was disappointed because he wasn’t cute and he was just from Panama.

Even though Mya (a tall black girl) and I (the only blond person in hundreds of miles) are completely inconspicuous, we somehow (hmmm…somehow!) got dragged up on stage. The singer is shouting at me in Spanish. I have no idea what he wants, but apparently we were entered into a dance competetion, and we had to dance in front of all 300, 400? people.

The singer is screaming “Para abajo,” or “Get down.” Mya is shaking her butt all the way down to the ground and the crowd is going wild!

The next day we found out there is some sort of video of the gringas shaking our behinds on stage. Hopefully, this does not end up on the internet. But we had a lot of fun, got a free CD, danced a lot, and got to stay out later than 9 for the first time in 2 months. Totally worth it if it does.

After the dance, as we are waiting to be picked up in a death-trap pickup truck owned by Mya’s “dad,” Mya is attracting drunks, men dressed as clowns, and weird people who speak English like moths to the flame. I am trying to contain my laughter, as she gets more and more irritated.

We finally get home around 2 am.

You know in this little town they are going to be talking about the silly gringas who came to the country dance and got video-taped for the next 10 years….always loving to cause a stir."


In short...that was the best night here in El Sal :)

Salu

To my family!

I love you guys more than I love myself. I am so blessed that you guys support my decision to be here (even if you tell me to come home every time we talk). I carry you guys with me all the time. As I read my Daily Word I think about you Sister Marie. When I think about people with hearts the size of Texas I think about my big, little sister Ree Ree. When I see a kid terrorizing someone else I think about Xman, Khala, and Kelz. As I listen to my iPod I think about you Kim because you’re the reason that I have so many songs!

I love you guys,
Mya

PC Conversation

My conversations with other volunteers here in El Salvador are pretty interesting. We dont talk about international affairs or the current political situation in country. So... what do we discuss over breakfast? Diarrhea, parasites, the current status of the latrine, cockroaches, rats, and roosters. Here's a typical conversation:

Convo #1
Mya: Hey Cholo what's up?
Cholo: Nothin much just telling Emily about the 1000's of cockroaches that were crawling around my latrine this morning. I've been pissing out of my bedroom window since I got here.
Emily: Well atleast you don't ahve rats chewing through your mosquito net every night!

Convo #2
Cholo: Do u still have parasites.
Mya: hell I don't know but i did spend about 4 hours in my latrine last nite. I thought I was gonna die out there.
Cholo: Have you talked to the nurse yet?
Mya: Well yea, but she keeps asking me how my poop looks. If it's liquidy or not. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE? IT FALLS ABOUT 20 FEET INTO THE GROUND! I HAVEN'T SEEN MY POOP IN WEEKS!
Cholo: *laughs hysterically*

So, if you guys think that I overshare on FB please forgive me, but this is my reality right now!

Luv you all,
Mya

p.s. I move to my permanent site in two weeks. I dont know where it is exactly but I do know that I'll be living on the beach. Not like IN THE SAND. More like.....i'll have a house on the beach!!!!! Hopefully ppl will visit me. YEA RIGHT!

Salu

Pork Pork Pork

I'm allergic to Salvadoran pork...and how did I find this out? I ATE IT AND MY LIPS SWELLED WHILE I WAS SLEEPING. Well actually I didn't sleep that night because I felt like there were a million bugs crawling all over my body. I was scratching from 9pm-6am. Around 3am my bottom lips began to swell and it SCARED THE HECK OUT OF ME!! Do you guys remember the movie Nutty Professor? Well, there's this scene when Buddy transforms into the Professor. Remember how his bottom lip was just kinda hanging there....about the size of a polish sausage. THAT WAS ME! By the time I got out of bed my entire mouth was swollen. I didn't want to leave the house because it looked REALLY bad. My host mother, being such a darling, told me that it didn't look that bad (she was lying to make me feel better...it didnt work). Long story short...I went to the hospital, was told not to eat anymore pork, was given medication. Last nite I slept like a baby and my lips are no longer swollen. :)

luv u all