Ferris Wheels, Cheese, and Hippos

Since my last post I have been stuck on a ferris wheel for 45 minutes, stood in El Sal and Honduras at the same time, and I went to a circus where I saw hippos drink from a baby bottle….there is never a dull moment in my life down here.

So last week was the fiesta patronale in the pueblo closest to us, the culmination on which consisted of a big dance, a parade, and a lot of fireworks. I ended up going on a ferris wheel from hell with one of my family members. There were 4 of us crammed on a seat for 3, and the thing went so warp speed that I thought I was going to be sick…I had to close my eyes the entire time. To top it off, the ride broke while we were on it and we had to sit on the thing for 45 minutes while the workers proceeded to beat part of the ride with a sledge hammer in hopes of repairing it. Needless to say that was probably the first and last time I will ever go on any sort of an amusement park ride down here. I couldn’t believe people were still in line waiting for their turn after seeing that it was not functioning properly.

Moving on to Field-Based Training. Last week I traveled with 3 other trainees, a Spanish teacher, and a technical trainer to an area called San Francisco, which is located in Chalatenago. The volunteer who lives in the community set each of us trainees up with a host family, and he had a schedule of activities planned for us. I stayed with a mother and daughter who make cheese to sell in San Salvador, the capitol. They get up every single morning at 2am so they can leave their house by 3am, walk in the dark carrying cheese on their heads to the nearest bus stop, and then spend half the day in San Salvador selling their cheese….they do this every day of the week. They were a great family to stay with, and I learned a lot about the process of making cheese during my short stay.

One of the best parts of FBT was the 2 hour hike we went on. We hiked up to this huge rock that is actually split in half by Honduras and El Salvador. The view from the top was absolutely gorgeous. We could see El Salvador, Honduras, the Rio Lempa, and even Guatemala in the distance. That night we went to a house in the community and made individual pizzas with about 15 of the community members. We went through the whole process of making the dough, letting the dough rise, cutting up the veggies, and then putting the pizza together. Once they were all set we cooked them in the family’s outside “oven” that was heated with leña, or firewood. Everyone seemed to have a really great time, and the pizza was delicious!

The rest of FBT consisted of visiting a few local farms, talking with some kids about the importance of reforestation, helping a local farmer construct a worm compost in his pila, and taking cover from the incessant rain that we experienced. Overall, I had a great time and I am even more excited about becoming a volunteer in a few weeks.

So the night I got home from FBT was also the opening night for the circus in our community. I was really shocked when my family told me that there was going to be a traveling circus from Mexico set-up in the soccer field for the entire week. My family invited me to go along with them, so I decided to go and check it out. Let me just say that it was quite a show. There were a bunch of lions and tigers that were crammed into some small cages, and randomly enough there was a family of hippos. The animal trainer who fed the father hippo milk from a baby bottle was also one of the trapeze artists, and the two clowns were little people whom the audience really seemed to get a kick out of. It was an interesting night to say the least. I saw the hippos again the next day when I walked by the circus on my way to buy 10 pounds of corn ….they were eating grass while tied to a tree in the soccer field!

That’s all for now. Many thanks to all of you who have been sending packages and letters my way. It always feels great to receive mail, especially if I’m having an off day. I promise to get better with the letter writing. Things have been pretty hectic, and I haven’t been writing as often as I would like. My next post should be about where I will be living and working for the next two years. I receive my site placement next Tuesday!!!!! Oh, by the way, I now have a cell phone so if anyone wants to call me send me a message and I'll give you my number!