HERE I AM!!!

Hello World!!!! I know, I have been a little MIA these past few weeks. You have probably been wondering to yourself Where is my favorite blogger Amy? Well my friends, for a number of reasons, I needed to take a break from blogging. I maybe was over doing it a little. Maybe. I dunno. It is mi pasatiempo favorito in the Peace Corps. But it's good to take a break from time to time.... let you all miss me a little :) lol... well I hope you did.


So what's been going on in the Salvador del mundo?

The rodeo came and went... wasn't too crazy. The second day, when my friends Jamie and Alayna came I found myself dancing on the stage for a little while with the rodeo host and the singer of the Ranchera band. I might think I am a better dancer than I really am. But it got a lot of the people in my community talking about how the gringa was dancing with bolos. But I was just having fun... it was very PG. And I love being on a stage :) The power went out for a little over an hour at the rodeo. I think they were running the sound from an extension chord from Chepito's house.... My friends gave me a talk about how I need some kind of internet intervention because they know how much time I spend with my computer here. It's a lot less time than I spent in front of the computer back at home, but I kind of agreed with them. Hence, my absence on the blog. I was focusing on spending more time out in my community and visiting people and being productive. It worked a little. But you know, having the internet and being able to stay in touch with home and everyone keeps me sane here. Just trying to find a balance. Still miss my Macbook terribly.

What else? I had the best time for New Year's at Playa Tunco in La Libertad. I love that place. Just relaxed on the beach with my best girl friends, ate a lot, drank a lot, danced a lot, saw a lot of fireworks... at midnight they were going off like crazy. We were at this beach front club and we were getting hit by the fireworks that people were setting off on the beach. Drunk people and fireworks... that sounds more dangerous than the little kids with the fireworks. But luckily, we all walked away with minimal damage. Well except Jamie lost her shoes... When Esther and I went to leave at the end of the night she was like "Someone took my shoes!" because we had been dancing barefoot in the sand... So she ended up taking someone else's shoes. Then in the morning Jamie looks at the foot of her bed and says, "these are not my shoes!" They were Esther's and Jamie had left her's. Ok not the most exciting story, but it was really funny to us. Esther also got her phone jacked by some teenagers when she was out on the beach.... The guy she was with lost $10. I have yet to have anything stolen from me. Knock on wood.

Tunco is great. I want to go surfing there sometime... Jamie scored free surf lessons from a Salvo that looks like Tarzan. I would have tried but my strapless bathing suit no sirve for surfing. One of my favorite things about Tunco is the coffee shop/cafe there that has BAGELS AND LOX with cream cheese and CAPERS and the whole real deal. WOW! It's owned by some gringos of course.

So I eventually made it back to my site... a little bit tanner and a lot more tired than when I left. The day I got back I went and played soccer with my girls that I'm trying to start a soccer team. I was even worse than the first time, but probably just because I was so tired. Then the next morning I woke up and went for a run. I'm back on the exercise boat. Trying to do some kind of exercise everyday and abs every morning. All the eating and drinking from the holidays is showing. But I know that one day I will eat or drink something bad and it will all come off in a flash. The other night I was in the park watching some strange religious theatrical performance, was SO thirsty and without my water bottle. So I went to a nearby house and drank their nasty water... churria ever since. I think you know what that is. It's lovely. not.

Anyway, then yesterday my body was seriously hurting from exercising, so what did I do? I went salsa dancing! With my friend Matt who needed a partner. I mostly went just because I needed to talk to the instructors about finding someone who could come to my site to teach my kids hip hop dancing. And I found a hip hop instructor! Que chivo, no!? I am going to go take one of his classes on Monday to make sure he actually knows what he's doing before we pay him a lot to come out to our community. I'll bring some of the kids with me... So they can see if it's what they really want to do. They say they want to dance hip hop. But I'm not sure they even know what hip hop really is.

In other news, I have also gotten a group of younger kids together for my Art Club! I'm excited about that. We're going to meet every Wednesday and I will teach them various arts and crafts. Yesterday we were just coloring from the Sesame Street coloring book my grandma sent me. There were different animals in there, and I asked them "how do you say this animal?" wanting to know what the word is for squirrel. Well they said chucho which is the word for dog... They have never seen a squirrel I guess. I saw one in San Salvador about a week ago. So I know salvo squirrels exist... but maybe not in the campo. Maybe they get eaten by the coyotes and chuchos. There are also a number of 7 and 8 year olds in my club that do not even know how to write their names. I am practicing this with them... and I plan to start a reading/literacy program in my school this year. It's pretty sad they make it to 1st and 2nd grade without being able to read, let alone write their names.

Lastly, I have been strongly considering moving out of my casa aparte I have with Chepito and Marinita. For several reasons. I love my house... it is very spacious and comfortable with my two hammocks and big field of cows out front. But it's kind of far from the centro where all my people are and the school. It sometimes feels like too much of a hassle to walk the 25 minutes to the centro, sweating from the hike up the hill in the afternoon heat. I just think I would be happier if getting to the school and seeing everyone were more convenient. The casa aparte that I'd move into is right up against the house of this sweet little old lady who lives there by herself. She could use the company. She has a store where I can conveniently buy things. And she has a washing machine that I can wash my clothes in! WOW right!? It may not be as safe as where I am now, right next to the police station with two host parents that come out and walk around my house whenever they hear noises at night. But you know, I'll be fine. Marinita cares for me a little too much. It's smothering sometimes.

And yesterday, I was in my house after a long afternoon of entertaining about 20 children... I was exhausted. It was time to relax. Shut the door, put on some music, took my pants off because it was hot, and was swaying in my hammock when I heard someone opening my door with a key. In walks Chepito telling me he needs to rest in my house because there is too much noise in his house. Excuse me! No knock, no asking me if he could enter. No nothing. I feel like I deserve a little more respect than that. I understand that he wasn't feeling well and wanted to rest, but please ask me. Please let me know you are at the door instead of barging in. It makes me wonder if they come and hang out in my house when I'm not here. Go through my stuff maybe? I called him out on it and told him he needs to knock on the door. He said he thought I wasn't here. Ok but I was here. And only half clothed. I know it was only the first time it happened but it's just a culmination of things that make me want to leave.

I want a house that is MY house... Marinita and Chepito store stuff in my house and come in and out of it all the time for their plastic chairs and their beans. I don't want to live around anyone else's stuff. I want to be the only one with a key and for no one to come in my house unless I invite them. So yes, I need to move. But I think I will wait until after I get back from Texas in mid March.

One more thing about Chepito. This man is in bad shape from an entire life of bad nutrition and not caring for himself. He's diabetic and he has no idea how to properly care for his disease... continuing to eat the same way he has been for his entire life. No meds, no nothing. So no wonder his condition has only been getting worse and worse since the day I got here. Drinking lots of beer at the rodeo was also a bad idea... isn't drinking a lot of beer lethal to a diabetic? So for days he had been complaining to me about not feeling well, his chest or heart hurting, difficulty breathing, his vision... I would say "go to the doctor, Chepito. go to the doctor." He asks me questions about what he should do, I don't know, you think I know medicine?

Days later, he is still complaining. I said "Chepito, do you want to die? No? Then go to the Doctor?" So he goes to the doctor- and I'm sure the doctors in San Vicente are not the best but hey it's something. He comes back with a huge bag of pills, he has no idea what they are for, and with doctors orders that he should not drive anymore because of his vision. Don't diabetics go blind if they don't care for themselves? I think I remember something like that. He also got knifed in the eye during the war and can see mostly just out of one eye. I surely won't be getting a ride from him anymore. Peligroso.

He had to go back to the clinic today for more tests and samples. So what did he do? He got himself in his car and drove himself there! Ay Ay Ay Oy Vey. Seriously? We have buses. He can ride the bus just like the rest of us. But what can ya do? He's a grown man, and if he wants to put himself in danger, ok. It's more about the other people on the rode that might be in danger. Shoot, I wish I knew how to drive a stick... I would love to drive his car around. Of course... I'm not permitted by Peace Corps to drive. I would give anything for the freedom of a car.

So ok....Think I've caught y'all up on just about everything now. Its time bucket bath before heading to meet up with Jamie to go to Alayna's site for her birthday dinner.

My wish: Emails from home! You know it's been too long since I have heard from you! So please write me, let me know what's going on in your life! I don't get enough letters.... with the exception of my rents, Katie and Sarah... Love you guys!

Paz y Amor!