Last week we had our all volunteer conference in Belmopan. The second year PCVs joined our group of 40! (Soon 40 more will arrive on March 25 and we won't be the rookies!) In fact, neighbor Kerry, on Murray Ct. knows one of the incoming volunteers and we have been emailing--JANE! Looking forward to meeting her.
There has been a fair amount of travel lately with the conference and our second round of language training. I think K'ekchi might be the hardest language on the planet!! (But what do I know?...just English!!)
Returning to San Miguel at this point is met with mixed reviews. I'm anxious to help--to make a difference--to improve quality--to be a friend! They have had the same type of life for hundreds of years and have a certain acceptance of that. Sometimes, even though they requested a Peace Corps volunteer, I'm not sure what they are willing to do on their end to facilitate improvement. Peace Corps is definitely a partnership idea. We don't come in and change for change sake, rather work together so that they OWN their projects. I'm currently working on plans for the playground. This is mostly intended for the wee little ones so there's some 'early childhood stimulation'. Even though this may sound like 'child's play' to you, it would be HUGE if these people would allow themselves (or their children) to just play a little. It truly is a hard and serious life for all of them.
My host sister, Luisa, who is 16 is getting married on February 28. She recently dropped out of school with only a year and a half til graduation. The groom's parents came over on 3 different occassions to 'engage' their son to Luisa. Luisa is happy to be getting married and begin her married life of cooking, cleaning in the river, and being a dutiful wife...different culture for sure! I hope to be in attendance for the wedding. It happens to be on the same day that some US dentists are coming to the neighboring village and I will be helping???
I hope all of you have a happy valentine's day! It's not about the flowers and the chocolates, is it?
Until next time, God bless us all! tracy
Lots of love to you on this Valentine's Day. You are so right--I did not receive flowers or chocolate, but I feel very much loved by my family and friends. Share your love and you will make a difference, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you and Jane are in touch! You will LOVE her...she is so interesting and fun! She may swing thru here before she leaves, I can't wait to her her adventures too! I love reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteKerry