March 26
Earthquakes! I can’t remember ever feeling any earthquakes in my 10 years in California, but here they having been averaging about one a month. Yesterday was the biggest yet, a series of five medium size tremors in the morning and a sixth in the afternoon. In the morning I was helping run P.E. classes with the younger kids when the field started shaking. It was interesting to actually hear them coming and be able to tell what direction they came from. I realized that we were in the safest place in the community, as nothing could fall on us and a landslide was unlikely. The soccer games stopped and everyone gathered together as four more tremors arrived. Some of the kids started crying and the school director explained to them that the quakes were caused by the “moon changing”. I tried to explain the tectonic plates theory, but no one really understood. School was dismissed early and everyone went home. I don’t think where I live is too dangerous in regard to earthquakes since the roof is tin and the walls are brick, which I think can withstand most earthquakes. The whole community is built on the side of a mountain, so a landslide may be possible. I wonder if there will be any bigger ones while I am here.
March 27 update: Channel four news came up here to interview people about the quakes, since the epicenter was here in the community. I showed my smiling gringo face and was interviewed, I think I managed to state that I felt them and that earthquakes can be dangers (thanks for that valuable information). I’m going to try to catch myself on the news tomorrow. TV interviews in Spanish are not easy.
Lately I have gotten back into coaching kids soccer after a few of the kids begged me to do it again. I had gotten mad at the last practice back in November since the kids were disrespecting me and being lazy about playing and generally being little punks. It is going better now since I made it clear that is they don’t respect me then we won’t practice. We have a girls team and two boys teams, 4-6 grade and 6-9th grade. They basically just scrimmage while I referee. Hopefully in a few weeks I can organize some away games against neighboring schools.

Here is what the stoves looks like, complete with Salvadoran tortillas!


Here is me and my buddy Facho loading stoves into his pickup to bring to Laguna Verde

March 4
Alright, its been almost a month so its definitely high time for another post. I have been dabbling in a few different projects lately, here is the round-up-
Trash collection service – So I was getting increasingly fed up with smelling burning plastic and seeing ditches and gullies filled with trash, so I charged into the mayors office (which is in the nearest town, Apaneca, about a 45 minute walk from Laguna Verde, my village). He was surprisingly compliant and understanding, and sat through my speech in particularly bad Spanish (some days my brain and mouth just will not cooperate). Laguna Verde had a trash service in the past, but people filled trash bags with dirt, sand, rocks, dead animals, and other ridiculous things which angered the mayor’s office since they pay by the pound to put the trash in a landfill. This is where I come in, I plan to visit everyone I can with a picture-laden brochures (not everyone can read) and explain why and how to use the trash pick-up service. We are now trying to agree upon a time and day for the truck to come, so hopefully this whole operation will start soon.
Recycling- A freelance pickup has been making the rounds in the community to buy recycling such as metal, plastic and paper from people, haul it to the city and sell it for a profit. Gotta love entrepreneurs! I sold them 53 pounds of plastic that I had inherited from the previous volunteer for a cool $3.75. Not a lot, but a good start. They also let me know that they pay well for paper, so I got motivated to try to start a program in the school. I’m starting small, a box in each room to collect cans, bottles and paper that I store in my house until I can sell it. The money will go to painting a mural of a world map on the side of the school. I briefly explained it to all the classes but output has been slow, a couple of cans and pieces of paper in the first week. I need to go back and do some more motivational speaking to get the kids into it. There is a lot of motivational speaking involved in being a PCV, which is something I previously did not have much experience in. I believed that if what you are talking about is important and compelling enough to warrant enthusiasm, you shouldn’t have to trick people with fancy speeches, it should speak for itself. I now understand the importance of speech and in setting a positive attitude in your audience. Enthusiasm and motivation are critical to start new enterprises, and both are highly contagious.
Outdoor classroom- My school director approached me and proposed building a reading area behind the school over some old latrines. Basically he wants a foundation, floor and roof, but no walls. This would serve as a place for reading, meetings, music practice, and other uses. This would be nice since there are not always classrooms available for these things and would be much nicer to be outside in the beautiful weather. We only need $225 to build this thing, so I will be writing some grants to try to get us the funds.
Environmental Lessons. PCVs have compiled a book of these in Spanish that are to be given to various grade levels in a participatory way that promotes learning through doing. I have been preparing and assisting in giving these lessons. First we made a worm compost bin with the 5th grade and then did an activity to learn about how water cycles through the environment with the 6th grade. The kids really like these and it is nice to have a written plan to follow. I will continue to do a couple of these per month throughout the school year.
Also, Obama is coming to El Salvador! He is visiting a few Latin American counties and is going to stop here for a day to talk to the Salvadoran president. Get ready for broad, positive, nonspecific heart-warming messages like : “The US is determined to fight poverty alongside allies like El Salvador” ect. Although good for general propaganda purposes, nothing much seems to come of visits like these. However, I may journey to the capitol to see the man and hear a speech.
Other than that, I’m just living life in a bizarre parallel universe. Staying healthy and happy are full time jobs here, but I have been blessed with both lately. Please leave a comment with questions or, well, comments. Sometimes I wonder who is out there reading on the other side…