Tuesday, July 27, 2010

La Mascota

So I dont have too much time to write as I am using teh Peace Corps (PC) office computer but I wanted to give a brief update on my trip in El Salvador. We have now all moved in with our host families in various towns throughout San Vicente. Mine includes an AMAZING abuelita, her daughter, a cousin and an uncle. They have all been amazingly welcome and warm towards me and I havent really felt lonely or sad the entire time I have been living with them. The storms here (since it is winter here) are amazing and tremendous. Imagine a sort of waterfall sound of rain hitting a tin roof with bright lightning, booming thunder...for HOURS!! This aint no east coast weather where it rains and then stops after five minutes. My family sees to it that I eat way more than I ever have been in my life. Other than that, I get a nice wake up call every morning around 3 am from the gallos (roosters), chompipes (turkeys) and the perros. More later!!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Flying out

So staging has officially begun and its actually almost over! I have met my team of 15 "youthies" (aka youth development volunteers) as well as some agriculture/environmental education volunteers. Everyone seems really excited and prepared for the Peace Corps experience and we have all been getting along really well. We all went out last night for dinner and walked along the pier in LA. I think the mutual nervousness and excitement about the upcoming two years of our lives makes us all the best of friends. It makes it a lot easier to deal with the idea of living in a foreign country when you have others who are going through the same experience. So, for now, Adios! I will write and post pictures when I can in El Salvador!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Adios, Hasta Luego, Ciao!

Well it is THE big day. I am leaving home and setting out on part one of a very long journey. I elave for LA today and basically all I have to do is step on and off a plane and check in at the hotel. I am, needless to say, close to nausea but I want to attribute at least half of that to being sooooo excited that I have no idea what to do with myself. So I am going to try and just take one day at a time so I dont get overwhelmed by looking at the whole next two years all at once. Thank you to all of my friends and family for sending me so much support and love during my last month here. I will really miss all of you. I want to say keep in touch but I feel like thats such a lame way of saying: I am going to miss you so friggin bad, PLEASE write me, email me, VISIT! I think my biggest fear overall, the one that I havent voiced to anyone, is that I dont want this amazing experience to be a reason to lose contact with everyone that I hold near and dear in the U.S. So when I say, keep in touch, I guess I really mean, dont fade out of my life and/or dont let me fade out of yours!
Ciao!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Two more days?!

I wanted to take the time to say how freaked out and excited I am at the thought of leaving in two days to live in El Salvador for the next TWO YEARS!! My brother Jason and I were talking yesterday about how this is a major crossroads in my life and looking back, I want to always remember how I felt at this moment in time. Right now, I feel as if I am standing at the edge of something, although I don't know what it is yet (besides the whole leaving thing). I hope I can live up to all the expectations I have of myself and at the same time, try not to have any expectations at all! It's a very conflicting sort of feeling. It's also really new and weird for me because I am, by nature, a planner. I love to plan everything and for this trip, not being able to plan for anything besides maybe the weather, is really hard for me. Basically, I hope you all who read this blog are keeping your fingers crossed for me and thinking encouraging thoughts because the looming next two years are starting to look very daunting now that my time here in the US is drawing to a close. I am fairly sure that once I have said my goodbyes, cried a little (more like bawling like a baby at the airport and then trying to get the red out of my eyes before going through security) I will be ecstatic and wont be able to wait to get down there. I know I will be meeting amazing people, making tons of friends, having lots of fun, and sharing it all with you!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Leaving in two weeks!!!

So I really cant believe that its only two more weeks until I leave the United States for El Salvador! Its really starting to sink in....The fact that I am going to live in an entirely different culture for the next two years of my life, speaking in a language that I did not grow up with and eating food that may be completely different than anything I have ever had before. I guess I am excited with a side of paranoid nervousness. I am crossing my fingers that this is the right decision to make and that this will keep leading me down the road I want to take in life.
All I want is for the experience to be what I see in my dreams: laughing children, smiling matriarchs, friends of all backgrounds and cultures, and really really good FOOD! I know there will be ups and a lot of downs but I am hoping that the overall arching theme will be bliss :).
I did get a somewhat stressful email from Peace Corps basically telling me that I will no longer be able to wear my flip flops outside of my house. Anyone that knows me even a little will know what a tragedy that is for me! But I think I will manage.
More later when the departure date gets closer!