A place to hang my hammock...

Lots going on lately. I found my house, I think I already mentioned that a few hundred times. :) So the last week has been spent trying to make it habitable. I got the keys officially Thursday night. Generally in Central America, if a house is not furnished, it means that it is really NOT furnished. No stove, no fridge, nothing. So I have been scouring the papers looking for appliances. I am going to have a roommate and he has put himself in charge of providing living furniture and a TV and Playstation. The last two I can really do without... mainly because I will probably become addicted. So I move in for real tonight.

Last week I also attended a retreat for VMM. It is the organization that is sponsoring my volunteership. I gotta say I was a little nervous going into it, truth be told because it is a Christian based organization and it has been a REALLY long time since I have been associated with non-sinners. ;) Granted it is a VERY liberal organization, if it weren't I wouldn't have applied for the position. But there was a moment when I was a little worried that I had misrepresented myself. During the retreat, I met the other volunteers in the area, there are a couple in El Salvador and also in Nicaragua and Guatamala. It turned out that I really enjoyed getting to know them. I also appreciate the diversity that was in the group. I realized also that no matter the language we use what inspires us to do this work comes from the same place.

There are only 12 of us (well 17 if you count the bichos) so the group is much smaller but life story-wise very diverse. There are two families in the group. One has two kids (The Morans) and the other (The Fosters) have three. I have to say, I think that is absolutely gutsy and amazing. I guess the idea of having kids period seems, to me, akin to having my arms ripped off, having kids and trying to navigate Central American buses would then be like being beaten by the freshly removed appendages. There is also a couple serving in Guatamala who are in their 80's. It is amazing how much the age diversity changes the dynamic of the group. In the Peace Corps, most of the volunteers were 22 and fresh out of college. Alicia, is my age and a nurse. We really hit it off which is great and also a bummer because she is serving in Guatamala which is a neighbor, but still a ways away by bus. But, we are already planning to take our visa trips together. (Another BIG change from Peace Corps.... most likely my residency plan will be leaving the country every three months to renew my visa.) I had to chuckle, Alicia said that she became a nurse because her father suggested that she learn a practical skill that she could apply wherever she wanted to go. Good advise. I then thought about it and realized that maybe sociology doesn't fit in that category. I don't know if sitting in a hammock devising abstract social theories can technically be considered a "practical skill." I'll keep working on that.

Anyway, I left the retreat feeling good and appreciative for having a community again. I think I had been mourning the loss of my PC community and didn't realize it til I found another one. So... all is good. All will be great when I get settled in the new house. I will try to send some pics, but my camera has been slowly dying so I will do my best. I have added links on the side to VMM and also to Alicia's website and blog. She is really a much better person than I am so I thought I would include her link in the spirit of diversity. :)



Salvadoran Vocab:

Bicho: insect, pest or child

So... funny thing happened to me on my way home from work the other day.

The neighborhood I am in is really pretty tranquilo. It's kinda got a distinct feel to it cuz it's close to the University and has all these chill restaurants and bars.. kind of a Che Guevara meets Jack Kerouak ambiance. Anyway, so I was starting to get pretty comfortable and thinking that it's really not all that rough here, at least not where I'm at.

It was about 4p, broad daylight, I turned the corner onto one of the main streets and there were all these cops in front of this barber shop. They had the sidewalk taped off with the yellow crime scene tape. One guy was taking a picture of a shell casing next to one of those little triangular tented number things. They had another little number thing a few yards away near a browning blood stain. I walked past it and followed a blood trail down the street for about 20 feet. I thought someone must have just gotten hurt because I really didn't think that the stain looked big enough for a death, but when I told my friends about it later they said that they don't bother with pictures and crime scene tape if someone just gets injured. But, it wasn't news enough to make the papers. I guess that rates it somewhere between yellow tape and newsprint.

So.... I'm gonna go ahead and keep my guard up a bit.... and go somewhere else if I need a haircut. :)

Con hogar

YEA! I have a home!

I found a house to rent this afternoon. I was getting a little worried because everything that could be a slight possibility in the paper was already rented and I was afraid of getting a little desperate. But, all my days of hitting the streets and asking everyone I saw have finally paid off. I actually ran across this place on accident, I was wandering around, asking all the guards if there were places for rent and this one told me a couple of weeks ago that there was a girl moving out of a house this month and to stop back by. I did on Tuesday and he said that she had left and gave me the name of the owner. So I called her, went by to see it today and now I have a place to hang my hat. Good thing too because she told me that she has already had about four other calls and she hasn't advertised it at all.

It is really, really cute. It's a little bit out of my price-range, so I am going to have to have a roommate. Looks like I will be living with Maria's boyfriend. jajajaja! Now all I have to get is... everything. Houses here are rented with the bare minimum... there is no fridge or stove so I will need to get that. As well as a bed. It does have closets so that is a big plus. That is not standard. Location is great though, it is right next to a supermarket and only a block away from the coffee-shop. And I can walk to work, so that will save me bus fare. AND it comes with hammock hooks.

What more could I really ask?

oh yea... I mentioned earlier that I was looking for a house with a cistern so that I could have water 24/7.. well, everything that I mentioned above won out over having water in the afternoons and evenings.

Gringa Perdida

My explorations got me a bit turned around twice this week. But, not a problem, that's how I get to know new places. The first time, I took a "shortcut" from work and hung an "izzy" when I should have gone right and ended up somewhere that wasn't where I was trying to get to. Although it turned out well because the next day I went to look at an apartment that was in the same area so by then I already knew it. The other funny part about that street, is that when I was looking for the apartment, I had a hard time finding it. But generally the security guards are helpful with directions. There are shotgun armed security guards on nearly every corner, at least in this part of town. Anyway, I was walking down this seemingly normal street and I asked this security guard for directions, he was in front of a plain looking white building, and as I talked to him I realized that there were a lot of really nice cars parked in front. A car pulled up with two business suited guys in it and the security guard called on his walkie-talkie and said "Send two more girls." Just then, I happened to notice that above the door in gold letters was the name www.kissyface.com. Week three and I stumble upon my first high-end brothel. I giggled as I walked away.

So then yesterday, I decided to expand my world and see where the bus would take me. I was trying to get to a mall that has a bookstore. There are various commercial centers and two mega-malls here that are monstrous alters to high-end consumerism. (I think they build malls here so that you can more easily avoid eye-contact with the destitute masses.) Anyway, I couldn't remember the name of the mall with the bookstore but I could picture it in my head, from the little crappy map I had I thought it was called "Metropolis" because they showed a Metroplis commercial center and the thing is so big, it could have it's own zipcode. So I hop on the bus and figure, I'll just get off when I see it.

Fine plan. I am on the bus for a while, one minute I am watching two cops with M-16's shake down some teen-age boys and the next I am pulling into the busbarn at the end of the line. OOoops.... I asked the busdriver about the centro comercial and he tells me that we passed it a while back. So I asked him how to get back there and he was nice enough to walk me down to the busses headed back, explained to the other driver that I was a foolish, lost gringa. The next bus driver didn't even charge me to ride, which was lucky because I was scraping pennies to come up with the 25 cent bus fair and didn't want to be the idiot that tried to pay with a $20 bill. So I made it to the centro and realized that it was not at all mall I was looking for. So... (got some change) hopped another bus and went to the MetroCentro which is Mall 1 that is near where I live and that I know how to get back and forth from. I never made it to the bookstore, but I'm sure another day will come along with time to kill learning new bus routes.

Another funny addition to the story: I was walking down the main road that the MetroCenter is on (I stopped at a convenience store to buy a better map) and while I was waiting for the light to change I heard a honk. I look up and the first bus driver was waving at me. I laughed, he probably thinks I was completely lost. jajajaja!

Anyway, I wandered, I saw some stuff, I didn't stumble into gang lands. All is good.

Una Gota de Agua

I've got week two under my belt already. I sound like a broken record, but time is really flying. It seems like I was just in Costa Rica!

Overall, I have to say that it has been a pretty smooth transition. So smooth in fact, that it seems a little strange, but I am trying not to question a good thing. I'm sure I've mentioned that I am staying with a co-worker and her family. Actually, it is her in-laws that we live with, so we have Erin and her husband, his parents and his grandfather. The husband and parents are in an Andean band (lots of pan flutes) and spend most of the day rehearsing while we are at work. The grandfather is a miserable, crotchety little old man whose wife fled him and went into hiding in Guatamala. He doesn't really speak to anyone except for his grandson. He spends most of his time sitting under a tree across the street, unless it is raining, and then he stands in the carport with a little radio cursing the rain and mumbling about wishing his ex-wife were dead. I kinda feel bad for him, and then I think, "Well, Kharma's a bitch." Anyway, in the two weeks I've been living here, we have worked up exchanging a "buenos dias" (initiated by me) and then he ignores me the same as he does everyone else for the rest of the day.

I guess the really big news this week is that I have found a coffee shop I could die in. So, needless to say, it has become the focus point of my housing search. Which is going very slowly so far. Partly because I don't know the names of the colonias (Salvadoran word for barrio) so that slows things down. Also because it seems that everything so far is either tiny or huge. Tiny I don't mind so much, but another problem is that even here in the capital there is only running water in the mornings. The current administration in El Salvador seems to concern itself primarily with finding new and inventive ways of funneling funds directly to the aristocracy and barely bother to feign concern for citizens in general or the overwhelming masses of the poor in particular. The current strategy seems to be to grossly mismanage water safety and distribution to justify privatization. Water privatization in the third world means that prices will skyrocket and people will simply not be able to afford water. Have you ever stopped to think about how often you use water? To drink? To clean? To cook? To flush? There are an amazing amount of health issues that center around access to clean water.

Anyway, back to me. As I was saying, one challenge I have in finding a place to live is that I would really like to find a place that has a cistern, which means that I would get to have water all day long instead of just in the mornings. Otherwise, I have to find a place that has extra space to store a big barrel, which is in itself would be livable, but so far the places I have seen, simply don't allow for the space. Well, truthfully, I am willing to pay more have water at my whim and I am not yet desperate to find a place; two things that put me in the top 5% of the world's population.

oh... and yesterday I bought a thermos. :)

Tattoos and Tacos

I have officially been here a week and have also gotten in my first week of work. (Technically the first full week of real work in ... oh... over two years.) The job is good. I am still learning the ropes and figuring out what I am doing, and what I will be doing. As well as have already been given two pretty big projects to work on. The first being a youth delegation consisting of 100 kids/young people. AHHHHHHHhhhhhh! No.. it's fine. It'll work out. The second one being getting a Theology Consortium off the ground. I am pretty excited about this project, there is a lot of potential there and I see it being "my baby" for the next two years.

I am also getting used to being back in the non-profit or in this case NGO world. Meaning that today my computer crashed on my about 6 times and I could cure kimchi in the time it takes for it to up or download anything. But I figure I will wait for Week 2 before I start complaining about being the low man on the totem pole. The office is next door to a tattoo parlor, which offers tattoos (obvio) as well as musical accompaniment and a contact high. Today however, they took a back-seat to the mexican restaurant across the street that was offering a Friday special. Not a bad deal, except that their primary advertising medium was blaring cumbia music and placing a guy in a Whinny the Pooh suit on the sidewalk to wave people in. The music was so loud that we had to shout over it in our office.

I have actually been pretty busy this week. Besides putting in a staggering 40 hours of work, I have also had a pretty active social life which is a big change from my Peace Corps life. I don't think I have stayed in one night this week. Carlos and Gloria have been keeping a close eye on me and are spoiling me to death making sure that I don't want for anything. I met up with other friends, Alejandro and Marielos, last night who have also sworn to be at my beck and call while I am here in El Salvador. All in all things are going pretty well. I am looking forward to having some free time in the daylight hours to wonder around the neighborhood and see what there is to see. I really like the neighborhood I am in now. It is safe (relatively for El Salvador) and close to lots of services, including (are you ready?) coffee shops, bars and even a vegetarian restaurant! I am hoping to stay in the general area when I find my own place.

Anyhoo, I am hoping to stay in tonight for a change, and also because I have to work early tomorrow. But if the call comes in... someone will have to answer it. :)

Anti-Terrorism Law in El Salvador

Here is an interesting story that NPR did about El Salvador and their Anti-Terrorism law that was modeled after the U.S. law. It also gives a good description of what the political climate is here. Click on the entry title or cut and paste the following into your browser....
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15185094

Enjoy!

Warm nuts and la Sele

I am officially in El Salvador! I have actually been here three full days already but this is my first crack at the internet. Not to be the last though because I am actually blogging from my new, although transitionary, home. Anyway, to say the least, this next adventure in Central America is going to have much, much more internet access. Yahoo!

Anyway, I arrived in El Salvador Thursday evening. I have to say that as much as I have enjoyed the regal quality of King Quality bus service, flying first class in an hour beats 20 hours and three sweaty borders any day. Two highlights of the flight were that they served warm nuts and that I traveled with La Sele, the Costa Rican national soccer team. I, of course, did not recognize any of them, but thankfully they were all wearing t-shirts with the Sele logo on them so I didn't have to work too hard to figure out what all the fuss was about. Carlos and Gloria picked me up at the airport, we stopped for supplies and made pupusas at Carlos' house. They are quite yummy.

Friday, we chilled through the morning and then hooked up with the Mission staff (Four Peace Corps volunteers that are returning to the U.S. via bus). We took them to the sights, which includes the tomb of Monseñor Romero, and the museum at the UCA (Jesuit University where in 1989, 7 Jesuit priests, their cook and her daughter were massacred by government forces) Rob said it was definitely more of a downer than Chucky Cheese. We then found a restaurant in town where Rob and Billy would be able to quench their baseball addiction. It was kind of touch and go there for a bit, but we finally found some place. We then drank a lot, A LOT of beers and then went to another bar to drink a few more. I was accused of keeping the Mission staff up past their bedtime. Anyhoo... Saturday was "el día del goma" for Kelley and was spent moving very slowly. The Mission took off Sunday morning and I re-located from El Espino to San Salvador.

While I look for a permanent place to live, I am staying with Erin, a Share co-worker and her husband, and her husband's extended family. The husband and in-laws are all in a band so the house promises to be lively. Also, they have two dogs, a cat, and multiple fish so it is much like living with Dara. I am working on getting a cell phone, which is cake for everyone in the country except for me, it seems, the lines were down today so I will try again tomorrow. It should happen soon though. Things here are much cheaper than they were in Costa Rica so that is nice. For example, I payed nearly $90 to get my cell phone service in Costa Rica, here it is going to cost me about $18. Yea!

Bittersweet

I'm blogging at the airport. I feel so bourgeios. :) I've said my final goodbyes. The best I can anyway. I realized sitting here that I am in the quintessential transition phase. My American passport reports my Canadian birth; my residency card is Costa Rican and expired 11 days ago and I'm on my way to my new home in El Salvador. But right now I'm at the airport. I am sitting in front of the duty free shop where they are offering whiskey samplers. I keep going into the bathroom, changing shirts and coming back for more. :) Just kidding.

Brandon stayed with me Sunday night. We decided that I have the restaurant preferences of a mid-afternoon gay man. Maybe that's what's kept me single all this time. :) I hung out with Irene and Inti on Monday night. We had meatless sushi. It was pretty good. I wish I had taken advantage of hanging out more with Irene while I was here. Where does the time go? Tuesday Zoey came to town and we ate real sushi. Even better! Wednesday I COS'd and went out with Travis and Laura to Feliz, Feliz for tico chino food. Today Scott got his goodbye's and I am off.
The next time I write, I'll be in El Salvador!

It's official....

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 3:08p.m.

With the stroke of a pen, I am no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Que Disilusion

CAFTA passed.

I will never doubt again. From now on it is pure, unadulterated cynicism.

Adios Puerto

Friday morning I said goodbye to my neighbors and walked out of my site to the bus stop for the last time. It's been a bittersweet process.... on Wednesday my viejitas held a despidida after dance class. They are very sweet, there were tears, me towering among wrinkled huggers, tugging lightly at my clothes, not so patiently waiting their turn to tell me to "go with God" and to never forget them.... Jamas.

Marina, the director of Share-El Salvador is in Costa Rica right now for the Referendum election (more on this in a minute). She was able to come to Puntarenas for the day to meet and visit with me. We had a very pleasant day. I was able to introduce her to some of the families that I have lived and worked and shared with over the last two years. I think (I hope anyway) that I was able to put her mind to rest that I was worth the pressure I threw at them to hire me. It was really good too, to talk to her, it actually made the goodbyes a little, not easier, but maybe put them in perspective. I am going to something really exciting. I am confident that in two years, I will have made friends and found cariño and fulfilment.

Friday, I spent the night in San Ramon with the Barrantes clan. They are, of course, intensely involved in the referendum process. Putting aside for a moment, my cynical nature, I have to say that my hopes are rising that the "No" camp may actually pull it off this weekend. For those very few of you that know that the TLC (or CAFTA), is not a done deal, that Costa Rica still has not signed-on, may also know that today, Sunday, Ticos will head to the polls to vote "Yes" that they will sign the TLC or "No" they will pass. It is a really big deal. The world is watching. One, because Costa Rica is the only country that has put the option to a vote, to ask the citizens what they want. You know... democracy. As opposed to other countries, El Salvador for instance, that signed the accord in the middle of the night in a classic clandestine process. On Thursday, the national paper reported a poll putting No at 55% and Yes at 43%. I am generally one to put my money on the minority with the fiscal resources, but events in the past few days have got my hopes up. While the Yes camp, plays flashy adds and elegant banners, the No's have been busy utilizing manpower, there have been parades and caravans of cars driving around the city honking horns and waving banners, there are hundreds of volunteers canvassing public areas and talking to people. Anyway, it is an exciting time to be in Costa Rica.

I'm in San Jose now. I have some things to close up in the office. Paperwork to get done. I hung out with Scottie, Max and Mateo. We reflected on the in's and out's of living in a foreign land as we watched college football on 8 different screens in a casino full of gringos. They're good guys, they're amazing volunteers, they're about as real as it gets.

Packing up and Moving on

I am slowly but surely getting things packed up and me ready to move on. It is amazing how much stuff you accumulate in two years and how little of it fits into two suitcases. Anyway, I am getting there. My neighbors are very excited for winning the "Rifa de Kelley," as are a couple of volunteers. Marianne got the bed and the stove today, tomorrow Max gets the fridge. Sarah gets a whole pile of stuff for work and/or whatever she chooses to do with it. Necio left with Marianne. He bolted the minute they got to her house. Not too surprising considering that the last (and only time) he rode in a car he came back without his testicles. I'm sure he'll find his way back around dinner time.

Wednesday my Little Old Ladies are throwing me a Goodbye/Dance party. I am pretty excited. It is crazy to think that soon I won't be seeing all of this anymore. There is a lot I am going to miss. I guess that's all part of it though.

Tico 13 said their final goodbyes this weekend. They are really an amazing group of people. We had a cafecito with the office and then began going our different ways. It is kind of a surreal thing. This goodbye isn't really unlike the ones we always say after a get-together, except that somewhere in the backs of our minds is this nagging thought that "next time" isn't as sure as it was before. As exotic as this life was in the beginning, now it's hard to imagine past it. I think that even with those of us who have "plans" we all leave feeling just a little lost and disoriented.

Tico 13 Tea/Cafecito

Tico 13 said their goodbye's to the office staff. Tomorrow is our official COS date. WE MADE IT!!!!! We gave the following picture to our latest (and greatest) APCD. We super-imposed
his face over the old guy! :) The caption said... "Feels like you were here all along!" he, he!

Two Years Three Months... A Retrospective in Photos

It's official.....

I just bought my plane ticket AND changed my magazine subscription. There's no turning back now! :)

Also... for those of you concerned for Necio.... he will be going to stay with fellow PCV Max in Herradura. I think it will all work out of the best as Necio has been talking recently about picking up surfing.

Los Caminos de la Vida

I was working on having things set up to move to San Jose.. okay I was procrsatinating but the intention was there when all of a sudden I got a big wopping "Díos no quiere." Actually , the position I applied to in El Salvador came open again and I GOT IT!!!!! YEAH!!!!

The position working is located in the capital, San Salvador ,with an organization called Share ( www.share-elsalvador.org ). I will be the Grassroots Education Coordinator. Basically I will be organizing exchanges between the US and El Salvador in that I will be organizing large delegations of Americans to visit El Salvador and learn about the history and present situation. I will also be collecting testimonies from Salvadorans, documenting them and possibly even seeking publication opportunities. I am really excited!

I will leave Costa Rica somewhere around October 10 and start with Share on Monday the 15th. I still have a lot of logistics to work out, like if I am going to go in bus or plane. Packing everything up to make another international move. And generally getting ready to REALLY say goodbye to this place. AHHHHHHhhhhhhh! It'll all work out. The real bummer is that my camera has decided to take a digger. My good buddy Sarah has been available for being my personal photographer lately, but I am bummed that I won't be able to fully document my final moments in Costa Rica or my arrival in El Salvador. We'll be looking into getting that remedied. Si Díos quiere, of course.

Down to the Wire...

It seems as though this thing may actually come to an end here sooner than I think. Sarah, the new volunteer that is going to pick up where I left off (she hasn't quite got her hammock yet but it's on the list) arrived in site last night. It is kind of funny to talk to her in the very, very beginning stages and remembering when I was in her shoes. It seems like forever ago but at the same time, I wonder where the two years that once seemed like an eternity have gone. I am really psyched she is here. She has really great energy and I think will do an incredible job. I tried my very best to set her up as best I could so that the challenges were inherent in the work rather than due to neglectful site development. I think things will turn out well. I told her that in many, many ways the prep I have done for her is the most sustainable thing that I have done here. I hope she doesn't mind me taking credit for her work. he, he! :)

I find myself indulging strange waves of nostalgia. I only just resisted running up to a Puntarenas beggar woman, hugging her and saying "I'm gonna miss you Crazy Lady That Hits!" But, as you may have guessed from her name, I thought that might not be a great idea.

Independence Day

I am back in San Jose for a VAC dinner. We are all getting together tonight for general mayhem and shenanigans. Today is also Costa Rica's Independence Day celebrated with parades and "typical" dances. Lots of little girls in long skirts and little boys with coffee-ground beards. There is also a lot of political activity. Although now it is old news in the US, if it were ever news at all, Costa Rica has not signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). There will be an election at the beginning of next month to decide if Costa Rica will sign or not. So, there is a lot of talk and debate flying around. The Sí camp, or those in favor, have blanketed the country and airwaves with flashy banners and television commercials. The opposition, lacking the funds privy to those in favor, has still managed a very impressive grassroots resistance. Mainly consisting of squads of volunteers passing out flyers and educating people about what the agreement says and then what will most likely result from it. As a Peace Corps volunteer I am prohibited from expressing a political opinion so I am not officially allowed to tell people that "les va a joder."

Most likely it will pass. Most likely the people with the money and the power will do what they want and what they generally want is to protect their own interests. But maybe, just maybe, this year the people of Costa Rica will stand up and celebrate their independence by maintaining it.

Soaking up the life

Well, I am in the last few weeks of my uber-tranquila lifestyle. The end of the month is rapidly approaching which means that at some point I am going to have to start working in the traditional sense of the word. "Que pereza!" as they say.

I am in San Jose again. Kicking it at the Boulevard. I must say that the new addition of plastic sheets at the Boule does not inspire confidence. Neither does the fact that the hotel staff knows me by name. I keep telling everyone that I am just checking out my new site. :)

Anyhoo... I am headed to a Flamenco show at the infamous Jazz Cafe tonight. It is actually my first venture to the cafe, long overdue I would say. I am excited, should be a good time. Tomorrow I am back to my site. It is probably about time that I started getting serious about preparing myself for my next move. At this point where exactly I am going to move to is still up in the air, but I think I at least have a lead on a roommate... besides Necio that is.