A running joke among Peace Corps volunteers is Peace Corps El Salvador should be renamed “Posh Corps.” Imagine packing pocket knives, survival guides, hiking shoes, and emergency flashlights, then arriving in country and getting a cell phone, home internet, and long hours in the hammock. The beach is a few bus rides away, so is Chili’s, Tony Romas, Benihanan’s, Nine West, Burger King, Wal-Mart (I think you’re getting the point…)
So, I am not saying life in the campo is a picnic. There is still a lot of mold, boredom, it rains on me while I am sleeping, I am always broke, always muddy, always with a plethora of bug bites (some of which swell to welt-like size), and always looking over my shoulder wondering if the man walking behind me intends to pull a weapon on me.
But, I can call up a friend and meet them for lunch at Pizza Hut and shopping. I can scoot into Juayua and drink a licuado and tacos at my favorite Mexican restaurant any time. I get to travel for work all the time. Just in the last month I have been in Sal Salvador, San Pedro Puxtla, and Chalchuapa, all different cities in different departments, and all for work.
We are such a lucky group of volunteers with this small little country. We all live within a few hours of each other. And, yes, this serves our ability to do fun touristy activities and hang out together and get together with much ease.
However, that same accessibility makes not only hanging with other volunteers easy, it makes working with other volunteers easy as well. We can be in constant contact to bounce ideas off each other, talk about work struggles, get new insight into each others solutions, and just serve as a support system for each other when you need a day of American English and sensibility. We can work on joint projects, such as the upcoming girls camp some volunteers in my region are doing. Either way, it is easy to find a little support and a little help if you need it, especially if you are not too shy to ask.
So I guess sometimes our close-knit community is allowed to play hard…but that same closeness helps us work hard to!
***Also, on another note, just a quick reminder…there is still time to donate to my “Girls Leading the World” camp if you haven’t had a chance. The camp is slated for the end of the month, so we will be collecting money for another week or so…so you can still do it! Remember there are two ways to donate:
•By check made out to Lantern Projects and sent to:
Lantern Projects, 51 Glen Alpine Rd., Piedmont, CA 94611 (The check MUST indicate “El Salvador Leadership”.)
• On line by going to www.lanternprojects.org and following the General Donation instructions. On the last page where it says “Special Instructions for the Merchant” indicate “El Salvador Leadership”. (Note: If a credit card is used there is an approximate fee of 2.5% deducted from the contribution for processing charged.)
Gracias!
