Back to Guineo Land

I know I am long overdue for a blog update--I think my hiatus was a combination of being busy and also maybe having less new things to write about. In any case, I hope to write more often or at least share things that might be of interest to people back home about life in El Salvador. I actually just got back here from a visit to the DR, a sort of whirlwind trip that was both very intense and very relaxed at the same time. I was so busy with work beforehand that I didn't make many (or any) plans for my time there, the only thing I really had worked out when I got there was how I was getting from the airport to my community. I got to my adopted family's house after dark to find that they were all there, along with some neighbors and the librarians, and they had been waiting for hours. They had made my favorite food, guandules con coco, and Nicole had composed a song whose words included "bienvenida Eva Mee-yer." It was nice. Everyone had to go home pretty much right after though since it was nighttime.

The rest of the time was sort of a blur, in a mostly good way. After about 2 days I felt like I was back in the swing of things, and although I never lived at that house, I had spent so much time there before that it felt like home. Three of the sisters live at the house, and on Friday the fourth one arrived from the capital with her new baby. I spent most of my time there with them talking, eating a lot of food, going to the river, and playing with babies. It was strange to realize that the only things that noticeably change there are the babies, as well as the number of babies, because otherwise everything is exactly the same. My visit did happen to coincide though with the arrival of water for the first time via 10 miles of PCV pipes, which was pretty momentous considering they have been working on it on and off for like 10 years. There are still some problems that need troubleshooting it seems though since it only worked for one day. I also found that three of the groups I started, Escojo, the Mariposas, and the librarians are still at least partially functional. The youth from Escojo threw me an inpromptu bienvenida and there were about 30 of them there, some of them the church kids who never participated before. Concerning the library, I had heard varying accounts of its success, and it was clear that some of the volunteer librarians stopped participating as soon as I left. There was also an issue with the funds being "borrowed" and with lending the key out to random people, which I had to diplomatically arbitrate without calling anyone out. For a moment I had a panicky feeling that my project and specifically the money I had left had only succeeded in creating problems and making people hate each other, but then I reasoned that if it weren't for the library they would have just found another reason to fight. I think we got it worked out though, or at least for the time being.

There were some other things that didn't go quite as planned, namely trying to be friends with certain someone who pulled a stunt that made me feel as if I were living my own telenovela for a few days until I finally realized what was going on. The good thing that came out of that mess is that I sought support from close friends in my community and feel even closer to them now. I even had some friends confide in me in ways I don't think they had before. A bad thing turned into a warm glowey, lovey feeling in the end.

Some other highlights included almost unceasing rain... making preparations for the supposed arrival of hurricane Emily at 3:00pm one day who then never showed up... receiving my first remesa ever via Western Union when my mom wired me money after I lost my debit card...a trip to the vet because Paloma was losing the hair on his neck...some stomach problems that seem to have been successfully cured with squash seed and oregano tea...a beautiful, pristine, mountain river with 4 discotecas and un monton of people...falling in love with a curious, happy and thoughtful 1-year old whose parents don't hit him or yell at him...being surrounded at all hours by 4 sisters in a teeny house and having long and lively debates about whether or not men are necessary evils.

Although as I said almost everything was the same in the community 9 months later, there were some new constructions including the new high school which is perched on the edge of the often-flooded river that you cross to get to my community. Another notable exception is my friend Belkis, who is apparently very smart with money because she saved the $5 per week I used to pay her to wash my clothes, bought pigs to raise, sold the pigs, and with her profits paid half of the cost of an inversor (so that her house always has electricity). She also bought a radio, and still has pigs. To go from light once in a while to always having it is a huge improvement in quality of life. I am impressed.

Now I am back to the "real world"--I guess meaning work since El Salvador is surreal in its own way. I hope that I will be able to appreciate more the unique things this country has to offer, having been recently refreshed as to the things I like and don't like about the DR. One dislike that became crystal clear for me last week was the Dominican tendency to value saving face (as in not making yourself or someone else look bad) over honesty. I guess I understand it, but I don't agree with it. Sometimes it almost seems that although the DR doesn't really have a lot of social violence or cold-blooded killers like El Salvador, almost everyone is just a teeny bit of a crook. This crookiness manifests itself in cobradors trying to charge whatever they feel like, people throwing poop into their neighbor's yards (yes this happened while I was there), blatant and sin verguenza lying, and the colmado owner who overcharges his own neighbors and gives bad change. But who knows, I suppose every place has their share of crooks, probably ES as well, but I would venture to say that the level of social acceptability of this sort of behavior may vary.

I have a million likes of the DR as well though, and wish I had had a couple more leisurely months to spend there.

I'd better despedirme...7 am will be here soon...