I am sitting here on the porch listening to the unseasonable pouring rain falling around me. Can this place be any more beautiful? I love the smell of rain and the rolling thunder that is accompanying it this afternoon. Both yesterday and today thunder rumbled from early afternoon on into the evening yet yesterday was just a tease. The rain actually fell today. We are currently in the dry, summer season which lasts through April and when I say the rain is unseasonable it seems as though rain is unheard of until May and then it RAINS! The dry season is full of polvo or dust that the locals seem to think is unbearable now that it is March. While the dust is everywhere and I constantly have dirty brown ankles and calves, I really don’t mind it because I don’t know what it’s like without dust. As the drizzle continues I feel like this is the perfect time to reflect on my time here.
I was thinking throughout the week that I always have so many new stories to tell, so much so that I got way behind! And now this week, things have begun to calm down. The excitement is still here as I am so happy to have the opportunity to embrace this experience, but I also feel more settled into the routine that will be mine for the next 6 weeks. I guess this is the reality check, though I am not currently satisfied with the work I am doing. I want more and I want it now. This may seem normal, but DC has definitely gotten to me. I like to be busy and while I have plenty of papers to write for the department, I want more with the community. I have spent the past few weeks meeting people, tweaking what is feasible within the community, and walking around with the promoters. All of these are necessary and helpful tasks, but now I am ready to figure out how this will all fit into my time and translate into work here. I want to feel like I am doing something, which will come with time but I am pushing my patience! I like the pressure of having a lot piled on top all at once and completing each task with a feeling of satisfaction. Here I have opportunities for different activities, but the culture is slower and things take time to get going which is a great and unfamiliar thing. Now comes the test of my perseverance and patience!
When you are in rural El Salvador for 3 weeks your brain starts thinking A LOT and about pretty much everything. Surprisingly I am embracing this solitude and am okay just thinking. Wow is this out of character. See I usually just think myself crazy… into a hypochondriac and a worrier, which may come and have shown themselves at times but seem to flee as quickly as they come. Something about sitting in a hammock with the view of volcanoes all around you is peaceful. Time…what is time? Haha for anyone who sat in my 12th grade physics class you are rolling your eyes (Yang, Nisha). Time moves so slowly here yet when I look at my watch it’s almost mid-March! I feel as though this experience has come at a great time in my life. I was in a really good place in DC before leaving and have so much to look forward to in the next few months when I return; yet I am really living in the moment. Speaking of living in the moment (and away from all the sap) the other night I was sitting in the chair where I am sitting now working on my computer just like this and a bat flew in the door to my right, swooped in front of my computer, and around my net to the rafters. I calmly sat here and then carefully walked out the door to my left and told Kayla (at least 3 times and may have mention how proud of myself I was haha). A mild stressor…shocking! I even went to sleep that night (tho the 2am wakeup bed check is inevitable)!
Last week on our way to the charla at the school, we stopped by one of our neighbors’ houses to check in on him. This gentleman (prob in his 60s) had been charged the day before by a bull. His entire chin was swollen to the point where he could only speak out of the side of his mouth and his left eye had been injured as well. You could see the pain in his face. It was so bad. Doris provided the medical care to him. I must say that Kayla and I both noticed that she cleaned his wounds with gauze and beta dine, bandaged him, and gave him an antibiotic injection all without gloves. Some things are just different. It seems though that if it needs to be done, the promoters do it as they were trained regardless of PPE. From our questions, he seems to be doing better with the pain and healing well. Cow tipping??? Maybe think twice or run really fast!
Lent has begun and it is in full swing here in the land of Catholicism. Kayla and I went with Doris and her Mama to an Ash Wednesday service in Santa Elena. Santa Elena is the town beside San Rafael Oriente that we go through to get to Usulutan. It is one of the prettiest towns in the area. We took a “cab” there with this guy name Don Mario and Pelón (he is both people?). This cab was a busted white van which had windows that open on the driver’s door and the passenger door. The rest of the driver side was covered with aluminum/steel…whatever cars are made of (this may be a dumb statement but I’m playing the “I’m a girl card”J) and no windows. The passenger side was without a door entirely and a tire was on the floor in the middle seat. It made for a fun ride on a bumpy dirt and stone road! If he was not well known and trusted in the community his ride would have freaked me out. We arrived late, but thankfully that is normal and acceptable here, to find a church packed with at least 200 people. It was a medium sized church but people were crowded into the back of the church, standing room only. Well Doris and her mama decide that we are sitting so we make our way through the church and ask people to move over so that we each sat alone in a pew with other people. The service was nice. I knew what was happening because Catholicism doesn’t change just because the language does! Twice we had to stand up for ashes and communion. Well let me tell you I have never seen people RUSH to get in line like here. They booked it to the lines which seems smart because you are done first and do not have to wait the 20 minutes standing for everyone to finish moving through. As I stood in line for ashes I realized that Kayla and I were the tallest people in the room. A few men were probably close, but we definitely were the tallest at 5’8; yet for the first time I did not feel that people were staring. I think I mentioned before that the people here are not used to Gringas so they stare which is fine. But at church on Wednesday we just seemed to fit in. I saw a few people I knew from the community and said hello and they did the same. It was a great feeling. So church twice in a week and a half…more than I’ve done in a long time. I’m interested to see where this is going…
All I know is this Friday night is a movie or book night. Prayers to all the people in Japan and Hawaii. I hope the storms leave us alone. A great weekend is coming!
Nicoley
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