Two down, one to go

Yesterday I celebrated my second birthday in El Salvador. It hit me like a lightning bolt that this means I've surely been in-country one whole year. This next year, leading up to my third and final birthday in El Salvador, is sure to go fast. And because the birthday party I threw myself went so well, I already have a group of eager children excited to celebrate 26 with me! How many 20somethings can say that?

David can shimmy himself up anything. Here he's getting the piñata ready. 

Angelito with the creepy Mickey piñata. 

The cool kids table.

This kid sang to me and I had to dance awkwardly in front of the crowd. 

Birthday girl gets first attack. 

Shortly after this they took the bat away. 

Aysel always talks about hitting the Mikey piñata. I made her dream come true by choosing Mikey over the knock off Little Mermaid. 

Everyone freaking out! I put bubbles, glow sticks and hair clips in with your typical dulces. 

Translates to: Congratulations Alex on your 25 years. 

They want me to take a picture like I'm about to bite the cake.....

Which always results with your face pushed in the cake. 

No one was allowed to each until they sang to me. There were like 20 kids here, no joke. 

Traditional cutting of the cake pic. 

Aysel eating cake. The other girls were SO jealous of Aysel's photo shoot. I can't help it if she's my favorite! 

Some of the other kids with the bubbles. 

For my birthday I got a flower (from Aysel my favorite), an anona from my host mom, soup from Otinia, and sexy underwear from a young boy. 

I was not joking. 

Apparently, this is also a typical gift.

I accepted them with grace. 

And because every salvadoran is camera crazy and takes 10982309842 of the same picture, I always ask jokingly for cinco mas. 

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. It was a great day! I think it's hilarious that some of my friends don't believe that yes indeed, I spent my last birthday in El Salvador too. Remember my karaoke and pizza filled night?

It's funny how some cake and a piñata are plenty fun for me now. I have so many new and interesting friends, and that's what made my quarter life birthday memorable.

Got leche?

I've been trying to make an effort to better understand gender roles in El Salvador. When we get the funds for the art grant (fingers crossed), I'll start leading gender equality workshops with the kids. I know I can't insist on anything crazy- like that women should be allowed a casual Friday night drink with her gal pals or, worse, a male suitor- but I can pose some general questions regarding gender roles in this country and beyond.

I spend most of my day, whether consciously or not, evading the gender constrictions I'm expected to follow because though I am gringa, I am female, too. I wear pants despite my host mom's disappointment, and I actively avoid mopping the floor. I've stopped half-heartedly offering my help to bake bread at 5am and I really don't care if people describe me as "bien brava." 

I decided to start by spending more time with salvadoran women I admire and get a sense of what gender means to them. Now, approaching gender issues with a clipboard just ain't my style. I've honestly always wanted to learn how to make comida tipica, and what better way to get to know salvadoran woman than by cooking? (I really think Americans would love salvadoran food if they were exposed to it. Maybe someday I'll help get a real, honest pupusaria in Chicago.) Ciomara, the amazing woman who took on the responsibility of hosting two trainees for Immersion Days, is a great lady to chit chat with and an even better cook. She's the youngest of nine, traditional, spends most of her time in the home and always has a hot meal ready when her husband comes home. She also works hard to keep her daughter focused on college. I love Ciomara for her wit and I was so happy she agreed to show me how to make arroz con leche.

The process is pretty straightforward- put the rice and the milk together. But spending time with Cio was an education in itself. She prides herself on only cooking with all natural herbs and spices. You might think that our campo culture naturally cooks like this, but that's just not true. Most people go for the quick soup mix, soda, and a bag of chips for dinner. Cio credits her husband, the community's health promoter, for teaching her about clean eating. Her husband, I might add, is also pretty amazing. He's kind and fatherly towards everyone, and he's a big supporter of gender equality. He has no qualms sweeping up the house or boiling the beans at night. They're a great team.

I made a lot of interesting observations. Cio asked her husband about five times to taste the arroz con leche to see if it was sweet enough (it was) or if the rice was cooked enough (it was). He always pondered the latest spoonful carefully and gave his advice as if he was an old White House aide deliberating new legislation or war strategy. I think deep down Cio knows she makes delicious arroz con leche, but asking her husband's opinion is more important than her ego.

Cio, looking mildly disgusted as she skims some of the fat off the top.

Looks kinda weird, but it tastes really good!

So much orange. 

Ahhhhhhhh!

My new friend Susana, who turned 79 next month, ties some too.

As stubborn as I can be about gender expectations here, I did concede some femininity last week when Belky did my nails. It only took TWO HOURS hunched over on an uncomfortable wood bench. Next time, I think I'll pick the design. And by design I mean no design. My back still hurts!

But they do look good!

PC "touches"

My internet addiction is back in full swing. Last night I tried going to sleep but I had haunting visions of the NPR producer canceling our interview or someone posting an unflattering picture of me on Facebook without my knowledge. These are just the kind of things that are insignificant but run through my mind when I'm bored and/or on spazz mode.

It's been a week of spazz mode for me. I've found myself staying up late (like, 10pm) on the internet putting together my next 5-year plan. I've been following the unfolding events in Furguson. I've revised my IRB protocol (6 months running). Obviously, I've also hounded Pinterest for ab workouts and campo proof recipes.

It was such a relief when my project manager made the drive from SanSal out to my site for our mid-service check-in. Peace Corps El Salvador is great in that we get so many "touches" from staff throughout our service. I think the goal is somewhere around six. Normally, you'd be lucky if your PM visits you once.

We ended up talking for about 5 hours and covered a range of topics. Yes, I cried tears of frustration at one point. Silvia, my PM, shared some candy with me and it helped. Overall I came away with a sense of resolve and greater motivation for my next big project: building houses and starting a homeowners association. Just cross your fingers with me on that one.

I'm just so grateful to serve in a PC country that has such an attentive staff.

....Also grateful that El Salvador has beautiful beaches that I get to escape to 3 days a month. Tomorrow I celebrate my birthday weekend with my dear friend Marcia, another August birthday. Later days!

Welcome to campo life

You know you're getting old in "Peace Corps years" when another cohort from your program area arrives and you have to show them the ropes of PC life. I've never felt more integrated or just plain settled than I did this past week for Immersion Days with two trainees, Ofira and Julie.

I looked back on what I had to say on my Immersion Days last year, and I smiled to see "I can't wait to get my own PCT in July!" Immersion Days are supposed to be a laid back, ask me questions, welcome to the life experience and I think we accomplished just that. Luckily, no pants were pooped in the making of these Immersion Days.

I went to Gotera on Thursday to pick up my charges. We grabbed lunch and gabbed with some other PCV/Ts. My trainees were great with asking poignant questions. I really had to think on some like "What are your indicators for success?" and "What's the most surprising positive and negatives?"

We missed art class on Thursday, but not for lack of trying! As soon as we made it up the road a group of my kids came rushing towards us with new bracelets on. I was so proud. I've realized how much the kids love me here and truly look forward to our time together. (In case you were wondering- THAT'S my indicator for success.) We spent the rest of the day with my host family waiting out a terrible wind storm that knocked over a huge tree, thus cutting the power in my house for a few days. All the cheese went bad :(

We spent Friday morning with more Q&A and coffee time, wrapped up by going to the lookout on my host family's property. It was a hazy hot day, but the valley was just as beautiful as ever. Friday afternoon was pizza time with Niña Orbelina and Co. Last time we made pizza, I was heavily influencing the process. We used my dad's own masa recipe and they kept checking in with me to see if they were making it right. This time I let the process go as it would if I wasn't there, in an effort to let Orbe find her rhythm. It worked. She was rolling out dough and firing up the oven in a flash of concentrated effort that only comes with being a very experienced chef and entrepreneur.

Julie and Ofira helping with the masa.

Learning with Orbe and Ciomara, their host mom for Immersion Days.

Gringa pizza with crust on the left, before going in. 

Proud of our work. 

Yum!

The family posing REAL QUICK before digging in.

In true PC fashion, we had coffee by candle light at my house after pizza. Erik came over and I helped him with his English homework. He walked the trainees home and we noticed how amazing the stars were. I guess that's one plus to having the community's power knocked out.

Saturday morning we climbed to a new waterfall in La Montaña. The whole family came! Even Otinia make it up to the top with Vaquito leading the way. I tried explaining to the PCTs that climbing waterfalls is a rare experience typically reserved for special ocassions, but the truth is I go pretty.  darn. frequently.  This waterfall is smaller than the other, but still worth the climb!

On the move.

Ta da!

Ofira and Julie enjoying the posa. Cati hanging on to the irrigation tubes (which we ended up breaking shortly after). 

Climbing higher.

Welcome to PCV life! I think they like it.

Vaquito thinks he's a human, but refuses to bathe. 

Salvadorans are fearless!

Otinia, queen of the waterfall. She's the coolest 65-year-old best friend ever!

Trying to keep the irrigation tubes together. 

 We made our way back down and Ciomara, being the AMAZING host mom she is, made a delicious lunch for us still in her wet waterfall clothes. We had a quick ADESCO meeting then went to check out the sugar cane mill.

Manuel picking at the cobwebs. It hadn't been used in a while, clearly. 

At work!

Eating fresh cane. It's delicious! 

We came back and made pupusas. After dinner we spent some time talking about Salvadoran food, which I've come to love. I kept saying, "Mmmm me gusta atol chuco! Mmm me gusta arroz con leche." They tried a Salvadoran cookie called salporas, a dry and crumbly cookie that desperately needs a side of coffee. Apparently, if you want to buy salporas at the Sunday market in the pueblo you gotta take the first bus. The first bus passes by my site at 5am. So, I dragged my butt outta bed at 4:30am and rallied the PCTs! It was actually great for me because I needed to do my weekly shopping and restock the queso duro in my fridge.

We came back around 7am and enjoyed another wonderful meal by Ciomara. More coffee and chitchat, then the micro came by to whisk Ofira and Julie back to the other side of the country.

Julie making pupusas with Orbe.

One last pic with the host fam. They were great!

 It's funny. Immersion Days was supposed to be an eye-opening experience for the trainees, but I ended up learning a lot about myself and my community. I've been here a year but there's still surprises. I went to parts of my community I didn't even know existed and noticed, comparatively, just how much I've integrated into Salvadoran culture. Really simple things that make a big impact like saluding all the kids, tuning out roosters, and dealing with loud culto radio have made me into a successful, well adjusted PCV.

Not everything's perfect in campo life, but there are perfect moments. Otinia perched on the waterfall, fresh pan dulce from the oven, a bigillion stars in the sky, a gaggle of kids yelling "SALUD ALE" from the streets. That's what PCV life is about.

Good luck, future PCVs!

Festivus

No matter how much time I spend in this country there are still things I forget. Like the other day I was visiting with a woman in my community and I forgot to ask her to put bien poquito sugar in my lukewarm coffee. I ended up with a cup of joe that could make a horse diabetic. I also always seem to forget that my host dad wraps a huge chain around our front gate every night, so if I try to catch the early bus out of town I have to climb over our 4 ft high barbed wire fence. It's usually a close call if I make the bus on time and with the bottom of my capris intact.

And last week I forgot that the country would effectively shut down to celebrate Fiestas Agostinas, the fiestas patronales de San Salvador. The saint day for a guy named Salvador is kinda a big deal when you live in a country called El Salvador, capital city San Salvador. It's a national, religious, and popular celebration.

I actually went to the overcrowded, soggy national fair last year when I was in training. Me and my San Antonio PCVs went with a host family. I remember feeling like I was going to puke in the crowd, it was way too overwhelming! Maria and Kai rode on a death trap carnie ride then we were treated to pupusas. It started raining on the ride home so we pulled a giant black tarp over our heads in the back of the pick up truck. Intoxicated by the rain and danger of speeding on an open highway in the bed of a rusty truck, we started singing at the top of our lungs. It was one of those simple and wonderfully fun moments I've shared here.

This year I celebrated the fiestas up in Perquin at their take on the holiday, the festival de invierno. I traveled up with a few friends from my community. We ate carnie food and pupusas (duh), enjoyed Andean music which reminded me of Peru, and even stopped by the war museum. I had been putting off going to the museum because, honestly, there's nothing I could learn there that I haven't already heard about from a community member. But my friends insisted it'd be cooler at the museum, so we went. I paid a literal gringo tax (double the price of entry for nationals) and I actually enjoyed seeing some of the propaganda that came from the US.

Eric, in his best skinnies, sitting in a pilot's chair. 

They insisted that I sit there too, and then we got in trouble.... 

At the radio booth. This part was actually pretty cool because I love radio! 

Exit through the gift shop. 

It was a great day! This time next year I'll be saying my goodbyes and eating as much elote loco as I can!