Quick update...

soo a quick update regarding my site assignment, turns out the grocery stores, banks and internet cafes are a short drive up the road.  Still very close.  I gave my counterpart a call today and it was soo difficult to talk spanish on the phone after a day of english at the training center.  I am going to have my spanish teacher call him tomorrow to smooth things over and make sure I didn't miss any vital information.  Thats it for now. One day until swearing in, 4 days until counterpart day and my new community.  Take care everyone.  I will try to do the same.

Crazy Chucho...

Just one of those crazy street dogs hustling the trash can for some goodies.  One of the daily occurrences that makes me laugh a little then scream "vaya chucho, fuera!"

YAHTZEE!!!



Site Assignment...

The ferria (carnival/fair) has been in my pueblo for the past 2 weeks.  It was supposed to be only one weekend but they showed up early to set up and claim the prime real estate in front of my house.  I was trying to find the word for carnies in spanish but it doesn't translate.  They have a ferris wheel, merry go round, and one of those pendulum boat thingy's that swings back and forth.  The merry go round and boat pendulum are man powered, meaning a guy stands there and pushes the merry go round or swings the boat back and forth until it is vertical.  Tough job. 

The ferris wheel at night...

So I finally received my site on Thursday and it is not what I was expecting when I accepted my invite to the Peace Corps.  This is not a bad thing.  My site is called Municipality La Reina, Chalatenango.  It has 10, 000 inhabitants spread out in 7 cantones and 40 caserios.  My main point of contact is the director of the Casa de Cultura.  Pretty much a house of culture that has the history of the town, a mini library and holds workshops for the town.  My other contact is my new host mom's son, who is an English teacher.  La Reina has a Kindergarten, a school from 3^rd to 9^th and also an Instituto (high school).  I guess there are grocery stores, banks, internet cafes and restaurants.  Not the image I had heading down here, but that's OK! Because it is such a big site I am a bit intimidated, but they would not have placed me there if they didn't think I could handle that.  I feel like I have the attitude for it and all the other trainees tell me that if anyone can take on the bigger site I could. They are so nice.

close up of my site...

 I am the little orang star in the upper middle. San Salvador is the brown spot in the middle of the map.  The other stars are the rest of the trainees in my group...

That is a spark notes of what I have been up to.  I will be meeting my counterparts next Saturday in San Salvador then heading out to my site for 2 months and returning to San Esteban for 2 weeks of more training before going back to my site for the duration of my service. 

My experience so far has been soo positive and enriching.  The local people are extremely welcoming, it's kind of crazy how open they are to foreigners.  I would never be able to knock on a random door in the US, introduce myself and expect to be invited inside for coffee and pastries.  But that is what it is like here.  Every day is new, challenging and filled with something that makes me laugh. I think as long as that trends keeps surfacing in my daily routine I wont have any problem making it through the 2 years.  And plus, the country is just breathtaking.  Every morning when I ride down the hill on a pickup I just look out at the massive volcano and get a big grin on my face.  The person next to me gets a little creeped but I am used to it being a gringo. 

 

All you jokers out there, thanks for reading my post. Salud!

Jesus is watching you...

Moje, Embassy and other updates

Buenas muchachos/as

this second month has flown by so fast. I have been so busy with spanish class and community projects I havn't had much time to type out an update. I will try to squeeze in the important and exciting events that have occurred.

The other trainees in my community have been working with a youth group at the school called Guardianes de Ambiente.  We coordinated a caminata (pretty much a walk to the soccer field) to do a day of activities and competition. We split the group into two teams a week before and tye-dyed t-shirts for each team as uniforms for the caminata.  We started the caminata with a charla (lesson) on the importance of trash management and how it affects your community and personal health.  After that we played all sorts of games for points. We played potatoe sack relay, egg in spoon relay, tug o war, pop balloons with your butt relay, limbo, wheelbarrow race, soccer game and a trash clean-up race.  It went really well and the kids had a blast.

Green Squad aka Team Exterminadores...

 Purple Squad aka Sobreviventes...

 Tug-o-war...

 Limbo!!!!....

 Most of the group at the end of the day....

3 of the training communities took a field trip to Ilobasco, San Vicente whcih is a really cool town with tons of craft art or artisanias. We visited this center called Moje.  It was a massive craft center with culinary courses, wood working, painting, cermaics, metal work and hair styling.  The center offers 8 month courses completely free for youth.  All the materials, transportation, meals are covered for the youth that sign up as long as they commit to the program.  Once they complete their course they can come up witha micro business plan and Moje funds their materials so they can sell their art work for full profit.  It was a truly magical place.  They offer the program to any youth.  They work with mostly kids that cant afford college or maybe troubled youth that want to get a jump start in the right diection.  I took some pictures of what we saw.

This is a small glimpse of the massive amount of ceramic pottery they have there...

 This student was fitting his paitings into hand made frames...

 It is kind fo hard to tell from this picture but there are made from stacking pieces of wood to make the pictures 3D. Really intricate wood working that reflects the architecture of El Salvador...

We recently visited the US Embassy and had a talk with the US ambassador and enjoyed free finger foods compliments of the US government.  The US Embassy in El Salvador is the biggest in the world because they built it all on one plot of land after the civil war.  It was an impressive place and the ambassador's house was fantabulous.  She shared some really wise words with us and made it clear that what we do in this country makes a difference. She makes a point to visit a volunteer site every time she makes it out of the embassy.  Quite impressive and encouraging.  I guess there is a raffle for volunteers to go to the 4^th of July party every year at the embassy.  Show me where I buy those tickets.

I have more pics and other stuff in the next post...

Pics from the free weekend...

Eduardo, my guitar buddy and partner in crime...

 in the pool at playa san diego...

Tyler, Ashley, Elsa, Tricia and me...

Dan the man...

Free Weekend: Playa San Diego

Buenos dias, Just enjoying a lovely morning in Playa San Diego after a fun filled day on the beach with the trainees. We rented out a house for the weekend and took a 1.5 hour van ride to a paradise on the coast.  We played frisbee, messed around in the pool, went bodysurfing, and enjoyed the finest cerveza El Salvador has to offer. It was a perfect escape from the tiring routine of training.  I am about 3.5 weeks to being sworn in as a volunteer. 2.5 weeks from my Spanish interview and finding out my site. 1.5 weeks from having tea at the embassy with the US ambassador.

Its getting down to the wire and I am so excited to find out where I will be going for the next 2 years. But right now I am going to get 7 eggs for $1 and make myself breakfast because I am struggling. I will post pictures later. Adios amigos.

New Address

Quick update on the address, not sure where the previous address is sent but it might be directly to the office. This new address is more reliable. Sorry mom but hopefully the package makes it to me still.

PCT: Cory Lyle
Cuerpo De Paz
Apartado Postal 1947
Correo Nacional
Centro de Gobierno
San Salvador, El Salvador.

Send me letters, padded envelopes filled with goodies, whatever you want. If you write religious books on the envelope it will make it through untouched. Or Something about Dios.

Anyways, on Thursday I am heading out for my immersion day. Dont know where I am going yet but it will be 3 nights out in the campo by myself with another volunteer. Should be pretty exciting and different from my villa in San Esteban.  I will be sure to update once I make it through the next 5 days.

Chus