The Peace Corps sends all of the trainees on a brief trip called immersion days. The idea is for the trainee to travel solo to a different part of the country where he or she is greeted by a current volunteer who has arranged for the trainee to stay with a family, generally in rural areas.
So Thursday morning I left San Vicente to meet my volunteer in Sensuntepeque. It was about a two hour trip and it went off without a hitch. From Sensuntepeque, we took another hour and a half bus trip to San Antonio where the volunteer lives. Then from there, we got a ride to the house I stayed at (I can't remember the name of the town right now.) The house was up in the mountains with a view of Honduras only 4km away. It was an absolutely gorgeous location, and the family I stayed with was amazing. There was a husband and wife and their four kids--boys ages 14 and 1 and girls 9 and 6. The husband's dad and brother also live close by, and the three of them grow corn, beans, watermelon, and cucumbers. I ate plenty of beans, watermelon and cucumbers, and corn flower tortillas. I expressed to the family my desire to learn about farming and they invited me to come live with them, teach at the school and work in their fields...and they were 100% serious. It was one of the nicest invitations I've ever had, especially since it was so earnest. These people were so genuinely nice, I was really taken aback.
Going on immersion days, we were given a letter to pass along to the family that basically tells them that we need to have water boiled for us. I of course forgot that letter. I could have told the family myself, but I feel like an asshole saying that the water they drink isn't clean enough for me. So I kept my mouth shut and drank water from the chorro (tap). The whole first day I was fully expecting to start vomiting at any time, but I made it through with absolutely no trouble...and I'm hoping I'm in the clear by now.
On Saturday morning, I met my host volunteer and we bused into San Salvador for the American Society's 4th of July Party, which is basically for all the American's in El Sal. The party was at the Sheraton, which is probably the nicest hotel in El Salvador, and where all the foreign dignataries and business executives stay. After the party, 7 of us split a room in the hotel and stayed the night in San Salvador, and I'm now back in San Vicente for more training.
2 comments:
man your time there thus far sounds amazing, good thing that water didn't hit you hard, maybe you'll develop some immunity from that
was the family's offer something you can do? or is your program already set up? it seems like if you could stay with that family, it would work out great. well, keep us updated. (ps. flying home to wisco tomorrow, so i'm pretty excited. and i'll be up the cities soon, so i'll get to see everyone from mac.)
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