This is the life!

So time for a blog. This blogging thing is a lot harder said than done. You have to sit down and reflect over thoughts and events. But here it goes. A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. Us trainees had a “free day” last weekend so we decided to make the best out of it and go to the beach! When I say “free day” I meant it is like the one day in our training schedule where we don’t have an activity/Spanish class/charla (its like an interactive lecture/discussion)/technical session/etc. Essentially, our schedule is just overwhelming and it was really nice to be able to take a “mini” vacation. Being that El Salvador is a TINY country, we got to the beach in an hour. We got up early Saturday to make the most of our day, thus the drinking started early  Let me remind during training alcohol has been outlawed due to past trainees abusing alcohol. Someone always ruins it for the rest of us! Anyways, the beach was awesome. The coast of El Salvador has black sand, presumably from the Volcanoes and the ocean is a deep blue monster, literally. The waves were crazy, good for surfers, not so much us who wanted just to enjoy the waves. Also our beach was covered in rocks so our feet got a beating. Other than that, it was awesome. When night fell, the beach turned into a crazy party with drummers, fire dancers, and lots of dancing! The next day I spent some much needed time in a hammock overlooking the ocean. I can’t complain!

Training is going by fast! We are swearing in like two weeks, and which point I will be an official Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador. So where am I going? Good question. Like most of the application process, and getting to this point, the Peace Corps likes to leave you in suspense. I have received clues about my future home for the next two years, but no word as of yet. This Thursday, March 18th we are getting our site placements, and that day could not come soon enough! I say this because I have seen several volunteer sites now and have my current host family’s situation to consider, but with the location, several factors and amenities vary. What do I mean by this? Glad you asked. For example will my site have running water? Or will I have to trek down to a river, only to haul it back a couple of times? Will I have electricity? Or will the solared powered items I brought really be of great use? Will I be close to other volunteers? Or will I be far away? Will I be close to a bus stop? Or will I have to hike to get there? Will I live up in the mountains or by the beach? Will it be dusty and hot or just hot? Will I have cell phone service or will I have to travel or climb up a tree to receive your phone call? The LIST goes on. A lot of things to be thinking about for somewhere I will live the next two years of my life. Last year I was trying to decide what to do for work and this year I am just trying to have running water! But I am finally starting to get accustomed to life here, and I don’t think I would trade this for a life in the states right now. Here every day is different and sometimes don’t know where it will lead me, can’t say that about life in Dallas. Don’t quote me on that just yet! It’s still early!

So ladies, I have something to say about Latino men, or maybe its just the Salvadoran men. The Machismo is outta control. Seriously. Men here think they are god’s gift to women, and they don’t waste any time time telling you that. You walk down the street and it’s “e baby, how you doin” (by the way, the only English they know), or kissing and or hissing sounds, mamasita, etc….some get more vulgar. And I really don’t mind them, because I get to walk Noaway. What I do mind is the machismo in the culture. Cook my food, clean my clothes, lay on your back so I can impregnate you till there’s nothing left, and you get the idea. Women look and are VERY tired here. They definitely get the short end of the stick. And if this is the case, there is no way I am ever dating one of them! They have another thing coming if they think I am going to cook, let alone wash their clothes! I don’t even like washing my own clothes! And who knows, maybe my soul mate is a Salvadoran, but at this point, it’s very unlikely.

Tomorrow I am going to build houses in a town that was affected by the mudslides last November. So that should be interesting. I just won’t let know I have no idea what I am doing!