Rainy season

We've officially hit rainy season here in El Salvador. May was a smattering of storms and clouds, but June is sure to bring daily downpours and of course, mold.

But I'm ok with it. I'm known around PCES as The Girl Who Rain Dances. Throughout the dry season I experienced what true thirst is and how this dusty mountainside lives without access to water. I'm honestly dreading December when the skies start to dry up again. If I take away anything from my PC service, it will be a profound appreciation for clean drinking water.

I've celebrated the onset of rainy season by relaxing. I've maxed out several data plans FaceTiming with my family and listening to the greatest team in hockey advance in post-season (Gimme a win tonight, Hawks!). I also spent the majority of yesterday hanging out with my host family. I colored with Aysel, watched the now ex-president's farewell rant on public access TV with my host dad, and ate tamales with Ive. I also earned the nick name Tamale Ale because I gorged myself on 8 tamales. So much for that post-USA-visit diet...

I justify the lazy time to myself because I had a heck of a week. After the sneak attack ADESCO meeting on Tuesday, I took it upon myself to invite all of the women of my casario to participate in electing a taller. Talleres (pronounced thai-airs) are essentially workshops. Cuidad Mujer, the NGO we're soliciting to lead the taller, gave us three options: bread making, food preparation, cosmetology, and sewing. I think they're all great opportunities for the women in my community and wanted to make sure everyone got a say.

Well the thing is, I live on a densely populated mountainside. To invite one vecina, you need to invite the other, and the other. You'd think the neighbor could just share the info next door, but it's really important in Salvadoran culture to be personally invited. It's a sign of respect and most people can't read, so you can't just leave an invite. Up the mountain, down the mountain. Side step the cows and hurdle the poop. It took me 6 exhausting hours and I still missed some women.

But wow, was I surprised. The women showed up! Like, 23 women! That's a pretty decent turn out.

I'm especially proud of my new friend Lorena who was the first to arrive. She's a young woman who lives with her husband and daughter in a bamboo and mud shack built on to the side of the mountain. She has the most gorgeous view of the valley, hands down. She's also never been invited to anything before in her life. It makes sense now that she was terrified of this clumsy gringa climbing her way up the boulders to her house. People just don't make the effort. Her coming to the meeting is a direct consequence of me visiting her, and that makes me feel like it all paid off.

The meeting itself went well, even though my counterpart backed out and left me to lead the whole thing by myself. Just me with 23 women + all their wiggly, whiney small children. I'm proud that I pulled it off and we had a nice, clean voting process (sewing won). But I did have a moment with my counterpart afterwards. Words were exchanged, and let's just say that was the last time I lead a meeting for the ADESCO. I work with the ADESCO, not for them. Explaining my role in the community is an on-going process.

And now we wait to see if our request is granted and we're sponsored for a taller. I'm lead to believe the microfinance insitution pulls some weight with the NGO, so our chances are good. Either way, I foresee more days of invitations in the future.