A lot to say!

Hey gang – Jimbo here and oh’boy is there a lot to write about. I talked to my Dad a few days ago (Mom, I called your phone but you didn’t pick up) and told him to put an update on the site to let you guys know what is up… but I will reiterate and expand.

Going from DC to Salvador was completely rushed. We left for the airport at 3:30am, which meant that I got no sleep before flying. (Thank Jeff for the Thai food in DC/the Imodium, haha) Which wouldn’t have been a problem if I wasn’t leaving the airport to begin Peace Corps training. From the moment I got off the plane until right now, I am experiencing a very local level of “Beatlemania”. Everyone blatantly stares at me – even when I look at them they continue to stare… this has taken some getting use to, but whatever, I can’t change it. I just think of it as, ‘this is what it must be like to be really popular in high school’.

The Peace Corps training office is located in San Vicente (I know this is repeat info, but it is also neat). San Vicente is a ciudad (city). But trust me they are not like cities in the states. There are around 12 cantons and pueblos that surround San Vicente. I live in Montileros, a canton of about 212 casas (homes). A pueblo is smaller than a city; a canton is a rural living area. No running water, but we have electricity. I am actually very lucky because my house has an actual shower/toilet. However, when water runs low (and it does) I am forced to take a bucket bath in front of my entire family (how do you say awkward in Spanish?}

Here is the starting line-up for my casa:

Abuelita (little grandma) – Mama Cruz
Mi hermana (sister) – Nuria, 6 years old, cutest thing ever
Mi hermanos (brothers) – Danielle, 9 years old, loves getting beat in soccer
Nuria and Danielle’s mother – I don’t know her name, which is really funny and awkward
Oceal – 18 year old brother. Cool guy, we don’t talk much. He likes raggaetone and Daddy Yankee. I like Top 40 and John Mayer. Quite the dichotomy.
Senor Danielle – as a yet we have a real awkward relationship. I think he likes me sometimes, but I cannot understand anything he says and he only calls me “gringo”. Gringo is the term used for “whitey”, but it isn’t necessarily negative. However, I am really sick of it and am starting to give him the ‘stink eye’*
*I don’t know what that means

Animals:

Gatos (cats) – We have 3 cats. Two are adults; the other is a little gatito (kitten). I only see it when I eat and it begs.
Perros (dogs) – We have 4 dogs, I am not real found of them. I don’t touch them because of the fear of rabies. One has rabies for sure; it looks at me as if it were Mike Tyson.
Cows – 3… enough said.
Bulls – 3…. I get scared walking next to them. My 6 year old little brow hits them and I get scared and run away.
Chickens – 14.64326 million… enough said
Roosters – enough to wake me up every night 15 times.

On a serious note, the animal situation in this country is really sad. At first I thought it was abuse, but it is not. Just about every animal I have seen is extremely malnourished; however, after only being here for about a week I know it is just because the food situation is completely different here. Where in the State people enjoy eating, for the experience, the conversation, the environment – people in the rural areas of Salvador eat for energy. Meals are very quick, little talking, and repetitive. Frijoles with every meal (beans). Chicken, eggs or this flower that we eat (which is actually really good). Every meal comes with a tortilla. My house-mom does go to the store but most of what we eat is from the farm. Milk, eggs, tortilla…. I really like it though and my mom hooks it up with a ton of food – I need to slow down, I don’t want to get really fat in the next two years, haha.

Salvadorans are beautiful people. Everyone has been very kind to me. Life is hard, but much slower, which means that people have more time to help with speaking and whatnot. The past few days have been very intense and hard for a few different reasons. I have never been so frustrated in my life. Back home, all I do is talk – here it is a struggle to ask for more beans with dinner. I have slowly started to comprehend people but am still only having very basic conversations. This is a critique of both the Spanish programs in the States and the amount of work I put into them. I love having two kids around because I have no problem testing out new stuff with them. I am starting to think a little bit in Spanish and I can through out the past tense of verbs without really trying… but it is going to be a long road ahead. There have been two days thus far where by nighttime I just shutdown and could not think or speak in Spanish anymore. I just grabbed a book and read some English words for a few hours – much needed. However, this frustration is nothing compared to the other issue I am dealing with.

I have never been sure if I am completely capable of handling all that the Peace Corps entails. And after one week I am very nervous. These beautiful people have absolutely nothing, but act like they have everything. They enjoy life and are so family orientated. Cantons are full of farming families and life is hard. Old men in there 60s-70s wake up every morning at 430 or 5 am and head into the campo (fields) to cut down sugarcane to support their families. I was walking through the canton the other day and I almost broke down because there is so much that needs to be done and I am not sure that a 23 year old kid has the power to do it all. I can’t wait to start helping but I just don’t think I can handle the possibility of failing. I laugh now remembering the LARGE talk that some of my fellow classmates had while discussing globalization and grassroots development. As if reading 5 books about it makes us an expert. Being here, those theories are just words on a page, here development is very real. After three days here I can honestly say that I am changed for life. I don’t mean that I will eventually head home and not want the finer things in life, but I will probably never take them for granted anymore.

Today, (Sunday) my family went to church. Most families here are Catholic and today starts ‘la Semana de Santa’ which is the weeklong celebration of Easter. I had to jump into the back of a truck to get a ride because 95 percent of the families here do not have a car so those that do taxi others around for a quarter a shot. It is amazing here, if a driver see’s someone walking down the road they stop and ask if they want a lift – it is just one example of how Salvadorans help each other out. The mass was nice, I didn’t understand a lot, but it sounded really pretty (I am absolutely in love with learning Spanish).

Hmmm I am leaving out a ton, and I know that I am zoned out and just letting my fingers type. Sorry if all this has been a bit unorganized and what not, it just reflects how my mind feels right now as I am in my bed, underneath my mosquito net working on this.

Horrible things that have happened:

1) I lost my nail clippers (and I need them)
2) I lost my flash drives (and I need them)
3) My guitar is broke. The next is so warped that the strings hit every fret and make a buzzing sound rather than beautiful music… this sucks so bad.

In summary, I am safe, taller than everyone here, still awkward, and am very homesick. I am not afraid to admit that whatsoever. The whole family, all my friends, a certain girl (wink) ha-ha just everyone!

Thanks again to everyone who came to my going away party! Aunt Mary, as always – you are amazing. Also, K-Fri – thank you so much for making that drive, I will NEVER forget that!

Sam – I would not be here with both socks and boxers if it weren’t for you… thanks for knowing how to pack for such a journey.


I miss home, but I live next to a volcano – so I rule

Que tengan una buena semana!

Jimbo