My first entry from Marazán!

When they say Rural Health, they aren’t playing around



Hey everybody! This is my first update as a real PCV (peace corps volunteer) – and all I can say is wow! I mean I don’t feel any different, it’s like you expect to wake up feeling like a completely different person but you realize you are still the same idiot that thought it was a good idea to study for your last final of college at the bar ( I got an A on it – thank you very much Professor BudLight). Anyway, I guess the only way I can explain it is that training was a very diluted version of what Peace Corps is all about. I would compare it to sex ed class in fifth grade: the birds and bee’s analogy so that we don’t have to teach safe sex (which happens to be the ‘stork method’ in which when mom and dad love eachother very much a stork comes and leaves a baby at their door). I guess what I am trying to say here is that you can try to train someone for two months on how to transition into life in a rural community, but there is no way you can really do it until you dive right in.

A description of my site:

Here are some important notes one should know before reading the following. We were given an opportunity to write our ideal specifications of a site we would like to live in work in. I asked for the following: close bus access, and not to primarily work with women groups (because of the gender roles in El Salvador and the fact that with health one works with some very personal information).

When the time came to learn where we would be working I received the following: a site that has a 30 minute hike up and over a foothill of a mountain to get to the nearest bus stop, and I will primarily be working with women’s groups. And as I have already mentioned, I do not have clean water or electricity. Needless to say, I am the spoiled kid on Christmas that got everything he wanted and more!

In all seriousness though, with a few of the obvious hardships, the walk to the bus, learning to work with groups of mothers and younger women – I am pretty excited for the challenge. For starters, my community is GORGOUES! It is in the middle of literally nowhere and there is nothing but forest and foothills as far as the eye can see. The natural beauty of this place really makes up for the extreme ruralness* (not a real word) of it.

I have a lot to do. The first 2 months I will be performing a census. Interviewing every house with a broad survey of health questions, and then be performing a diagnostic where the community accesses its biggest needs and places them in order of importance (i.e. electricity or water? ) I will also be forming a health committee and start working in the school. At some point I will be starting a class called “Planear mi vida” which is a youth course which helps kids look ahead and plan for their futures.

My community is really small, there are only some 50 houses in it. Most of them are built up on this large hill. There are two rows of houses: Colonia Arriba and Colonia Baja, all of them are painted a different vibrant color – it is quite the site to see these houses built up high in the middle of no where. In three months I will be moving into my own house here, I have met some of my neighbors, they seem very kind. I can’t wait to tear of my house! I will have a bedroom and a living area/kitchen – I plan on building some bookshelves, painting it and put a kick ass hammock on the porch. If you ever wonder what I am doing post 5pm, just know that I will be on my porch with my guitar rocking out to the most beautiful sunset ever.

I am a little nervous I must admit. There is not a real strong community vibe here. To top that off the Spanish here is CRAZY fast so I feel like I am almost back at step one with learning (that obviously isn’t the cause… I am just that competitive, haha). I have another volunteer in my neighboring town. She has been here for a year – knows Spanish and knows her way around. We are already collaborating on some stuff so I am pumped about that. Here school has a basketball court, needless to say, I already talked to the physical education teacher and am going to be their basketball coach one or two times a week. I already gave one practice in which I spoon the ball on my finger for an hour and then put on a dunk contest. I needed to show off because I am sick and tired of getting my butt kicked playing soccer.
All in all, things are slowly but surely going. Good times here are great, slow times are slow, and when I am down, I am truly down. I like that I am testing myself though – even when it sucks… haha I have only been here for 5 days – I am excited to see what two years does to me. Tom Hanks in Castaway?


Other news: At the Swearing In party, I had the courage (open bar) to start dancing salsa for the whole night. I now can truly say that I know three dance moves and will forever hold my own in three types of dancing: robot, Elvis Presley songs, salsa.



More to come at some point, not sure just when – I am hoping to have internet access at least every other week. I would love to here from you all, so write an email – or even better buy a long distance calling card (I will tell you the stories that I’m not allowed to put online.... oww oww, haha).

Jimbo


ps my mailing address is the following:

James Leddy
Voluntario de Cuerpo de Paz
Alcaldía de Perquín
Perquín, Morazán
El Salvador

72842795 this is my celly. Make sure to write this on the package if you are infact sending a package!!!! ALSO, give me a call if you want. I would love to talk to you all and I dont think phone cards are THATTTTTTT expensive??? 011 503 is the country code. then my number.

In conclusion, all is well, I am in way over my head, and haven´t cried yet.

jimbo