Nonsense

Well folks, my family came and went. I would say that they integrated pretty well and got a real sense of what I am doing, in the week that they were here. My Mom was caught scolding Hoja in Spanish, my Dad did shots with Cowboy Carlos (who has about 80 heads of cattle) and my brother picked up a bunch of words in Spanish (and actually taught me one). All and all it was a great trip.

Hoja loves chairs. 

I am sure you are all wondering what exactly I am spending my time doing down here in The Savior. Well, mostly I am trying to work on my Spanish skills and integrate into the community. This is what we are told to do for the first 6mo to year. It sounds like a lot of time, but if the community does not trust me, then nothing will get done. Here are a couple of ideas I am working on. The volunteer that was here before me had a Women's Group. There were only about 5 members and since the volunteer was a guy, he could not talk about a lot of sensitive subjects (like sex-ed and HIV/AIDS prevention). Since he left the group disintegrated. I would love to restart this group and open it up to more women in the community. Also since I am a women I can talk about issues that might be taboo for men to talk about with women. I have a lot of ideas, and I would like to try to make the group sustainable so that when I leave, they will continue to meet. 

I am also very interested in a water project. Getting my community potable water will be expensive and probably take at least 5 years. But someone has to get it started. I just found out that there is a water committee already formed in my town, which is a huge fist step. I am looking into grants and NGOs that could possibly help. In the mean time I am looking into a water filter project. This is, unfortunately, also expensive. Each filter costs about $30. A lot more than many in my community can afford. So I am looking for a grant or something that will help cover that cost. *Also none of you people who read this know ANYONE in Rotary Club?? Tisk tisk. I find that very hard to believe.*

I just finished reading a few books, and I loved all three of them. I read Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Pride and Prejudice, and Bossypants by Tina Fey. First of all, Pride and Prejudice was awesome. I read slowly because I did not want it to end. Drama, romance, old-fashioned letters and a woman heroin? Where is bad? No where. This is my new favorite 'classic' book. I also just finished the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series. The first two book were way better than the third, in my opinion. The third book was slow start. And actually I did not find myself enjoying it until the last 1/3rd. But I am sad that the series is over, especially since the third book's ending is totally set up for more books to come, but that will never happen. So sad. I also just finished Bossypants. I love Tina Fey. The disk drive on my computer has decided it will only play two of my DVDs. (DVDs are crucial down here, especially since it is not normal for women to be out after dark. Needless to say,  I have a lot of time to read and watch DVDs.) Anyways, one of the two DVDs that I have on rotation is Baby Mama with Tina Fey and Amy Pohler. Classic movie. Tina tells it how it is. And that is great. (I also feel that I can call her Tina because I have watched that movie so many times now, we are practically sisters.) 

My miniature hen had chicks! She laid 6 eggs, and 5 eggs hatched. They are adorable. I am so excited! Unfortunately there was a small incident where Hoja ate one of them, so now there are only 4. We will get to that in a moment though. This brings my current chicken total to 10, plus 1 rooster. Baller. 

Now on to Hoja. Girl is off the walls. I am daily reminded that I have no say over what she does. If she feels like it, or if there is food involved she might listen to me. Maybe. Since the spray bottle did not work out, I have started using some pennies in an empty soda can. She seems more aggravated by this than afraid. I want her to grow up a little so this crazy, teething puppy thing is over. Also she did actually scoop up and kill a 3 day old chick in front of my friend Joelle and her parents who were in town and had stopped by to say hi. I am totally mortified and I am sure Joelle's parents think I am just as much of a spaz as Hoja is.  

This week I am headed back to San Sal for three reasons. Reason one is that I have a dentist appointment. If you know me, you know that I have mad issues with dentists. Once when I was like 15 I was at the dentist getting a cavity filled. My dentist tried to put something in my open mouth without telling me, which I assumed was the novocain shot. So I slugged him. What? Don't tell me that would not have been your first response. (Remember when I wrote about my fear of needles? Yea that makes me do irrational things sometimes.) Needless to say he was pretty mad, and when I walked out of the office my Dad was quite aware that it was time to switch dentists. SO I think we can all assume that I am pretty stoked for my appointment tomorrow. It is just a cleaning. But I do not have the genetics for healthy teeth, so I already know nothing good can come from this. Wish my dentist luck people, and lets hope my anxiety can stay under control.

The second reason for my trip back to the capital is Harry Potter. Yes people, I will be seeing the final installment of HPotts. I am a little more than thrilled. If it were up to me, every HP movie would be 5hrs long and leave no details out. I would totally pay to see that. And it is going to be subtitled, not dubbed. Score! Reason number three, and probably most important, is my yearly In Service Training (IST). What's that you say? I just got done with 3 weeks of training? I know I know. But all PC El Salv programs have yearly training around this time. So I will have it again next August. I have no idea at this point what we will be learning about. Also it is only 3 days long. So I will be back in my site by Saturday. Holler. 

Here is a list of the books sitting on my table, waiting to get read. 

*The Poisonwood Bible- Barbara Kingsolver (This is the one Hoja tried to ruin, I am pushing through.)

*Shogun- James Clavell (Paige- I promise that I will finish this book in the next 19 months...)

*Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte (Started but hard to get into. As opposed to Pride and Prejudice, which was phenomenal and I never wanted it to end.)

*House of Sand and Fog- Andre Dubus III (Anything in Oprah's Book Club has to be gold.)

*The Dogs of Bedlam Farm- Jon Katz (From reading the back I am pretty sure this book will help me train Hoja... Maybe? Hopefully?)

*Say You're One of Them- Uwem Akpan (Again with the Oprah's Book Club comment.)

*Their Eyes Were Watching God- Zora Neale Hurston (Over the years I have learned to mostly trust my Mom's judgement in books, there for I have high hopes for this book.)

*Game of Thrones- George R.R. Martin (Not sure why the author has two initial 'R's in his name, but apparently this series is a phenomenon taking the US right now.)

Also Ali- If you read my blog, please answer this question. On your blog you mention that you miss 'American Cheese'. Can you clarify that. Do you miss slices of American cheese that people put on hamburgers and turkey sandwiches? Or do you miss the types of cheese found in America? Like bricks of cheddar, American cheese and cheese whiz? Because I miss the types of cheese that are found in America (excluding cheese whiz, although I retain my right to eat it without judgement). This includes American cheese. I like some Salvadorian cheeses, but I would kill for a brick of cheddar and a box of Triscuits. Also you are living in Paris, the cheese capital of the world. So you cannot complain about cheese. It is a law. Look it up.

Also who is still reading this blog? I am curious as to my fan base. I mean I know my family read this, but anyone else? Hello? Let me knoooow :)

Hoja gets tied up after she eats baby chicks.