And it has begun!!

I am an official Peace Corps Volunteer, sworn in by the deputy ambassador of El Salvador. And I´m finally in my permanent site. It´s just me now. It all feels very surreal. I am almost continuously thinking, ¨Is this really my life?¨

The people here are so great, but they keep calling me ¨delicate¨ which really ticks me off. I´m out here living alone in the campo of El Salvador, aren´t I?!?! But then I stepped back and looked at the toll it has taken on me and, okay, I´m a mess. I am covered in bug bites, my toenail is falling off, I´m constantly sweating and filthy. Every little thing requires tremendous effort. And I´m just hanging out in hammocks and going house to house chatting and eating mountains of food that is shoved at me. The women here are barefoot and carrying 5 gallon pachingas of water on their heads with six kids in tow. So okay, compared to that I am delicate like an orchid.

Peace Corps recommends we spend these first few months just getting to know the community and what it needs before beginning any projects. In this culture you have to build relationships and trust (¨confianza¨) with the people before you can work with them. People here only want to work with you if they like you. It is a simple concept, but it´s hard when my American Producer mentality kicks in and I want to get out there and DO something. So I´ve decided to eat my way into the hearts of the Salvadorean people. I pretty much just walk into people´s homes and join them in the kitchen and they teach me how to make whatever they´re making and then we eat together. It´s a pretty sweet deal for me and they absolutely adore feeding me! My life right now is structured around setting up my house, studying Spanish, playing softball, and eating. I´m so excited to have people visit me so we can make tortillas and tamales galore!!!