30 December 2010

update

We have a water committee! Some important government people came and organized elections for the committee, to separate the water from the local government and its problems. I'm glad I was coordinating - it was chaos! It's over now, though. Cross your fingers that everything goes well and we can move things along with the government too!
Christmas was awesome, but busy. I spent it in site, at a few soccer tournaments, mass, and a party. Now I'm in San Vicente for New Years with my host family.
Most of the next few weeks I'll be working with Engineers without Borders at a different site where they're building a bridge. I'm helping translate.
Happy New Year!

23 November 2010

addressing concerns

Given the political tensions in my community, several friends here and at home have suggested that I request a site change. Honestly, I really don´t consider that an option. Certainly some volunteers have moved and found success at their new site, but others are shocked to discover that their new community also has problems, as though PC is hiding the good sites from us or something. No, I would only move if they made me, and that would only be for security or health reasons. Given everything I´ve been through in the last year, I can´t imagine starting over again, figuring out a new community and its problems, and actually having time left in my service to do anything. Plus I´m 100% sure I would not find another counterpart as awesome as Roxana in any other community anywhere else in the world. Besides, the people in my community are still really good to me; they just have a lot of issues amongst themselves. That´s really why I joined PC in the first place. Yes, I´d love to be able to do big projects, but if that´s all I wanted to do, I could have found a job with a different organization instead of waiting forever on PC. I wanted to live in a community and form relationships, understand the culture better. Yes I´ve had to lower my expectations as far as work goes, but that´s okay.
I´m sure most of you have heard by now that I´ll be home again this Friday. I look forward to seeing any of you can make the trip to Atlanta. Thank you for supporting my family and me.

10 November 2010

Life continues to get crazier...

I think it´s time I explain better what´s happening in my community. It´s a very long and complicated story, but I´ll do my best.
First of all, I need to explain what I mean by ¨local government.¨It´s more local than the mayor - he´s doing just fine in my municipality. It´s my community´s government. It´s called an ADESCO, an acronym for Association for Community Development. It´s not a given that all communities have one; they have to want one, and it often takes years to get enough community members involved and to apply for legal standing. Mine is actually one of the oldest ones around and for years was respected for being well-organized.
As it happens, my ADESCO is in charge of the water project, which was completed only a year or two ago. Before that, all the women had to go to the river to wash and bring back water. Now they have clorinated water piped into their homes. Like my places in El Salvador where water comes to the houses, it´s not available all day. Instead, it comes for a little while and people fill their barrels or pilas during that time. Clearly it´s a wonderful thing to have the water project, but the management of it has created a lot of tensions in San Juan, in addition to the normal political squabbles. Upon receiving the water, everyone in the community agreed to a set of rules, but of course that doesn´t always hold up. That´s why the rebel government was formed. Well, actually there are a number of reasons, but water is the big thing. Both sides have points in their favor. Understandably people need water for everything, but if they don´t pay for 3 months, their water gets cut off, which is also reasonable. Then they say they´re paying too much or not getting enough. It´s hard because it´s such a basic necessity.
I tell you all of this because things got even crazier last week when the rebel government broke into the water system and put their own locks on it, placing themselves in charge of the water project. The mayor tried to send one of his men, the social promotor, to the community, but they put up road blocks. Supposedly the major himself is coming for a meeting later this week and bringing the police and church leaders with him. We´ll see.
This whole situation breaks my heart on a lot of levels, but what most gets to me is the break down of families here. Everyone in my community is related somehow, and this mess is dividing them. It´s even infiltrated the Seventh Day Adventist Church in my village, and probably would the Catholic if there were a priest here regularly.
All that being said, the people here are still really good to me. Right now I feel frustrated but content.
Mom asked if other volunteers have these same problems here. Certainly all ADESCOs have issues, but mine is unique. I can´t really point to one reason why my community is the way it is, and in what ways the people are different from other Salvadorans, but it is what it is.
I hope I explained this somewhat. Like I said, it´s a crazy, complicated mess. I know y´all are inclined to worry, but don´t! I don´t tell you this to scare you but because you said you wanted to know.

25 October 2010

me again

Hey everyone back home,
I hope you are well. I am content, but could be better. My counterpart and community president definitely exaggerated the degree to which tempers had cooled in San Juan. Cross your fingers that everybody can put their politics and pride aside to get this clinic project running! If it goes down the drain, there is a good chance also that the next project will be a goner as well. The next one involves latrines, chicken houses, and new ovens that divert the smoke (they cook often over fires, especially when they´re making tortillas).
I´ve resigned myself at this point to the fact that I will probably work almost entirely in the school if the turmoil persists. I don´t mind, there´s a lot to do there, but the school year ends in two weeks and doesn´t pick up again until February. In the mean time, I´ll be traveling a little bit for different events. Other than that, you´ll find me playing with the kids and making tamales until February!

11 October 2010

Back in the big San Juan

I flew back to El Salvador last Monday, spent two nights in the capital visiting everybody there, and got back to site on Wednesday! It was hard to leave home, but I´m glad to be back in my community. My house was a crazy mess, but it´s under control now, and I picked up my puppy on Saturday, so everything is returning to normal.
Tempers have cooled somewhat since I left, so the whole political mess is also coming under control. So now my community president is anxious to get working again, and so am I!
So yeah, things on my end are good. I miss everybody at home, now more than ever. Love yall!

17 September 2010

messing around in GA

I'm still in the US for a little while longer. I was messing around on the internet today and found a photo I want to share with y'all. I haven't been able to get a good photo of a torogoz, the national bird of El Salvador, but I found a great one. It's such a pretty bird! Follow the link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrivasphotography/873390883/
While we're at it, here's the izote, the national flower. I'm told you can eat them, but I've never tried one.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Izote_Flor_Nacional.jpg
And Happy (belated) Independence Day to El Salvador and its neighbors! They celebrate Independence on September 15 (ES, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras declared independence as one united country).

30 August 2010

photos

I'm still at home, so I took advantage of having internet to post some more photos.
http://elmundoesunpanuelophotos.shutterfly.com/
The new ones include my host family during my first two months at site, a big 15th birthday party, my new house, Dulce (my puppy), patron saint festival activities, and the medical clinic project.

14 August 2010

home

I am back in the US. I came back really suddenly on emergency leave to be with the family. Dad's taken a turn for the worse. I have no idea how long I'll be back. I hope to talk to yall soon. The house phone is 770-985-2422 and my mom's cell is 770-823-1829. I might get a pre-paid cell for while I'm here, but I'll let you know.

30 June 2010

Alex?

So this new storm is called Alex, right? All I know is that it finally stopped raining. PC had us on standfast in our sites, meaning we weren´t allowed to leave. There´s really no risk of flooding where I am, but I´ve heard they evacuated people in other parts of ES. I just got another good soaking, and lots of time to go through my pile of books. My poor puppy´s so bored she´s about to destroy everything in my house.
I´m putting up photos on facebook as we speak. I´m also uploading some full quality ones to shutterfly.com so that everyone can see them, but obviously that takes longer. I´ll try to get some more up soon.
http://elmundoesunpanuelophotos.shutterfly.com/
Hope that link works.

25 June 2010

Yes, I´m in my house!

Ok, so life is crazy. I was thinking this whole government mess would be over by now, but the meeting with the mayor this week didn´t solve anything. It turned into such a shouting match that my counterpart and I just left, and we learned later that they hadn´t reached an agreement anyway. We´re still hanging, but we´ve got to keep going as best we can given the circumstances and the information we have (and by we, I mean my counterpart and I).
Good news, though! I´m in my new house with my new puppy! She´s a gift from one of the women in the community, and her name is Dulce (pronounced Dool-say - it means "sweet"). While her owner gave her tortillas occasionally, she was pretty much a street dog, but now that I have her, feed her, and spoil her, she doesn´t want to leave my side! She´s like Winston, if you remember when we got him, Mom; at first she was shy, but now that her belly´s full, her personality is shining through! Such a cutie, too. She´s a mutt, but she looks Border collie-ish, except brown and white instead of black. She´s about three months old. My house is great too, and I´m surrounded by little boys who come to visit me all the time.
Cross your fingers I get photos up next week. It´s going to be another crazy one, but then next weekend my friends and I are going to the 4th of July party at the embassy in San Sal!

17 June 2010

home!

Hey everybody, I´m back home in San Juan! I get to move into my new house today! Cross your fingers that I get a dog tomorrow.
I came back to a community in an uproar over some local government issues, so I´m on hold as far as projects go. To make a long story short, some community members formed a rebel government, but it´s not violent or anything. The whole thing will be sorted out next week, for better or for worse. Then I can get to work (when I know who I´ll be working with!) I´m trying to imagine how this sounds to yall back home. Maybe scary? It´s not really, but it does sort of feel like I´m in a movie at the moment, like I should have a soundtrack to capture the emotions of the moment.
Hope things are well at home and you´re enjoying the summer! Happy Father´s Day!

04 June 2010

safe!

Just a quick post to say we're all clear! I'm back with the host family, but going to San Salvador this weekend.
My response to the question about the dryer is, "What dryer?" I guess I forget that yall don't really know what life looks like here. Microwaves, while not in every house like back home, are not uncommon here, though. I may start microwaving my clothes to dry them faster during rainy season. It can't hurt to try, right?

30 May 2010

wow

I got my house! At least temporarily, anyway. I think once we fix it up, though, they'll give me permission to live there permanently. I just need to fix a few shingles, fill a crack in the walls (the house is made of cement), and put some screens up between the walls and the ceiling. I should be able to move within a week of getting back from training!
Right now I'm in San Vicente for more training, but I doubt if we'll start tomorrow as planned. We are drowning in rains from Tropical Storm Agatha! I'm safe and sound in a hotel with some volunteer friends because they didn't want us to stay with our host families (a lot of the buses are not running in the area right now). I'm sad that I can't be with my training host family, but it's good to see other volunteers again and hear funny stories from everybody's site.
It's so been hot that I've anticipated rainy season (winter) for a while, and boy did I get my wish! In some parts of the country it's been raining for a week straight, and they're evacuating people in areas with risks of mudslides. Plus, there's a lot of flooding. My site is okay, but not everybody's so lucky. My biggest issue is when I'm going to have clean, dry clothes again! I told Mom last night that I was cold, and she didn't believe me. Just so you know, I think you were right, Mom. I have adjusted so well to the climate here that the change has turned me into a wimp. It's 73 outside and I'm in long sleeves! In my defense, I think it did get down into the 60s last night, and San Vicente's colder than my site. Plus my clothes are wet (the ones in my suitcase too)!
Happy Memorial Day back home!

13 May 2010

Almost there!

I just finished typing up my health census, which I´m presenting to the community next Monday. Then I get free time, which I plan to use fixing up my house! I think we found the perfect one yesterday. I´ll post a photo when I get a chance. It´s super cute, pretty big (especially for only one person), and already has a lot of furniture, which is a big plus. I´ll also have good neighbors. I´m still waiting on the official ok from the Peace Corps, but I´m confident it´ll pass the test (PC has a ton of safety rules about the houses we live in). I´m super excited about being on my own, having friends over to visit, getting a puppy, and planting a garden!
We celebrated Mother´s Day this past Monday. Happy late Mother´s Day to all of you!
Thanks for all the love, support, packages, letters, etc. I love and miss you all!

12 April 2010

First post from site!

Hey everyone,
Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog!
I started my health census in the community today. Before I start any projects I need to know what´s really going on in San Juan! The school principal also asked if I could give the teachers English lessons once a week, so I´m going to be doing a little of that too.
I had a request to write about the other volunteers. At first it seemed weird to me that I´m here in ES and you would want to know about the gringos, but I guess we seem strange or crazy to you back home. Basically we´re your run of the mill North Americans. Most of us are in our 20s, but there are a few random volunteers who hit a mid-life crisis or retire and decide to sign up. We´re not especially hippy or religious. We´re from all over the states, by the mid-west and western coast are most represented.
I was also asked about weird food. The weirdest I´ve had so far is chicken guts, rabbit, and dove (which I helped de-feather). There´s a guy in my community, though, who´s infamous for having given the last volunteer iguana, snake, and armadillo.
Right now I´m living with a new host family. I have a host mom, two sisters (26 and 18), and their children (2 years and 1.5 months). Every day is an adventure with them!
I also have a new address. You can reach me at
Rebecca Jean Maner
San Juan Abajo
Lista de Correos
San Miguel, El Salvador
Centroamerica
7676 9950

I love and miss you all!

19 March 2010

10 Reasons Why I Love Where I Am

I hope you all love where you are as much as I love ES! I want to share with you some of my favorite things about this country:)
1. SALVADORANS! The best part of the country. While the culture is pretty conservative, I find the people to be open and ready to chat with everybody and about almost anything!
2. My host mom, Nina Ana, the woman who looks after my every need and answers all my silly questions. She provides my home-away-from home anytime I need a break from work.
3. Lisette. Hands down the best host sister ever! She cracks me up, gives me pedicures, and takes me everywhere with her. She is also completely insane.
4. Salvadoran children! You can't find cuter ones anywhere. Usually they're embarassed the first time they meet you, but the second time they come around, they act as though they've known you their entire life. They're so enthusiastic about playing with me and teaching me how to live here!
5. Yummy fruit! My host mom knew I was anticipating the mangos on our tree ripening, so she picked the first ripe one and hid it in the kitchen so I could have it for breakfast one morning. Love! Pineapple season is also fast approaching, and bananas and plantains are always available. Not to mention my new favorites, jocote and mamey!
6. Music. Who in the world, outside of Latin America, understands my passion for Spanish-language and 80s music?
7. Spanish. In a week I will be in my site, speaking only Spanish for days on end! I won't have to see a gringo for two months if I don't want to!
8. On the other hand, the ES is small enough that I'm within a day's journey of all my PC friends, the beach, all major cities, and several foreign countries. Vacation!
9. PC friends and staff. I've made some great friends here, and I look forward to meeting the rest of the PC volunteers in the next few months. The staff here is also really awesome! I'm going to miss seeing them daily.
10. SAN JUAN ABAJO! My site:) We got assignments yesterday, and they are sending me to the village of San Juan Abajo in the region of Jocoro in the department (state) of Morazan. Good luck finding San Juan on a map! If it's detailed enough you might find Jocoro. It's in southern Morazan, near La Union. I'll post photos as soon as I can!

I have one week left of training, and then on Friday I'm being sworn in as a volunteer. It's a big deal - a ceremony at the US embassy and a crazy party afterwards in a private club! Then Saturday I have to wake up early to move to my site! I'll be getting there just in time for Holy Week, which is the week from Palm Sunday to Easter. It's one great big vacation all over the country. Then I turn 23! Life is good:)

13 February 2010

Why in the world am I here, you ask

I feel I should do a better job of explaining my work here. As yet, there hasn´t been a whole lot because I´m in training. We have 7 weeks of training in San Vicente, and it mostly involves culture, development, Peace Corps policy, illnesses, and security. Then, we go to our sites for two months to run diagnostics and (I hope) integrate into the community. After that we have 2 weeks of technical training. Officially I am a trainee right now, and I will become a volunteer on March 27 at the swearing in ceremony in the capital. It´s a big party with the ambassador and most of the PC volunteers in ES.
Basically, it will be a long time before I know what I´m doing, and it will probably change a lot. It depends on what the community wants and needs and what is actually feasible. Peace Corps is about capacity building more than anything else, though, so it will certainly involve training and workshops. It´s like the saying about teaching a person to fish instead of giving him a fish.

04 February 2010

I'm here!

I arrived in San Vicente safe and sound! Right now we're in a hotel, but tomorrow night we move in with families who will host us for the next seven weeks while we train. There are 36 of us total in my training class, with 25 Rural Health and Sanitation volunteers and 11 in the Community Organization and Economic Development program. It's a great group!
Some of you asked about care packages, and the Peace Corps staff here said that they have not had problems with customs or boxes being opened.
I love you all!

25 January 2010

Bienvenidos!

Welcome, everybody, to my blog! The title, El mundo es un panuelo, is one of the first sayings I learned in Spanish. It is roughly the equivalent of the English phrase, "It's a small world."
I really have no idea how often I'll have Internet access during my Peace Corps service, but I hope to at least be able to add photos and comments once or twice a month. I love snail mail, so email your address or send me a letter, and I'll be sure to reply!
I'm finishing packing and saying my goodbyes this week. I'm also enjoying eating all the foods I'm going to miss over the next two years!