All Smiles

I’m a year in, and everything is coming up trumps. I can’t really wrap my mind around how incredibly wonderful the past few weeks have been. Here’s what’s up:

I got the email from WorldConnect that they have approved my grant for sewing machines. This means that I have six months of work with women to get them in the right headspace to start a sewing business! Here's the link if you want to donate!

I have called Ciudad Mujer about a hundred times in the past few weeks and maybe, with enough nagging they may actually come to have a meeting with the women in my site so we can get them some training and get them legalized as a group. UPDATE: About 50 women are going to visit and sign up with Ciudad Mujer on November 25. I will be home, so this is a chance for them to try out a little independence and networking on their own.

The ADESCO had their first meeting in seven months, and they are revitalizing it, starting with restructuring the governing board, getting signatures and putting out feelers for who could support them in projects. 

We got the soccer ball shipments from One World Futbol, so at the beginning of the next school year I will turn in 6 soccer balls for the school. I'm also seeing if we can get baseball gear through an American NGO so that we can have some legit baseball games. 

The teachers agreed that a school garden would be a good idea, so I am working on a grant for tools and seeds so we can get started when the next rainy season comes along. I also offered basic English classes to the teachers in the weeks after classes end at the beginning of November, so hopefully they will have some basics to teach their kids for the next school year.

I did a cost analysis of cake with Isabel and a cost analysis of cookies with Edwin, and we made both for Catherine’s Oct 31 world food event in San Nicolas, which I brought 15 women (and Edwin) to, and it was a blast. We continue to meet every two weeks, and sometime this month someone from Marcia's community is coming to teach people to make fertilizer in my community. 

On Nov 1 a group from Enlace came in to offer free consultations at the clinic and to build some latrines. One of their group was a PCV in El Salvador in 2000 and we had a great time getting to know each other. The ADESCO got their contact info (yay advocacy!) and hopefully will be able to get in on the action in the next round. 

I got to help out with Asiha's bakery project in her site, teaching cookies (tasty) and lemon bars (we loved them, the salvadorans DID NOT) and learning how to make a ton of different breads and sweet breads.

Spending a few days with Mario was productive and fun and relaxing all at the same time, and we got to go up and play Settlers of Catan with Noah with the football game in the background. Asiha’s bread was tasty (the bakers improve every day), and the lemon bars I made with Mario were delicious. 

I am bursting with excitement about a new women’s group in Monseñor Romero (about an hour and a half walk, but SO worth it), which is full of dynamic and hilarious women, that we started two weeks ago. Funding will be a struggle, but they are as willing as any I’ve seen to try everything and put their hearts into their work. 

And food ALWAYS makes me happy - I got sopa de pilitas for lunch, watched Patch Adams and Sleepless in Seattle, and Nayely and I washed Paprika and Rambo to get rid of a few fleas, spent a few hours in the Jalala river, came home to potatoes and beans (I don’t know what all they cook the potatoes in, but it’s my favorite dinner), then made Deb’s World Peace cookies. The next day Marcia came and we made german sunken apple cake (delicious), and on Sunday it was pizza time with the women's group. Kara and I are doing the babka for Thanksgiving though...chocolate trumps all. 

The tomatoes we planted ages ago are ripe and delicious!

On a random note, they are making Paper Towns into a movie and I adore seeing John Green all excited in his posts. Also, I took the GRE practice and scored terribly on one essay but probably a 6 on the second one, and higher than the average for the school I want to go to on both verbal and math, so I think I'm pretty ready for the test in December (fingers crossed).

I have been reading a ton, which always improves my outlook on everything, and I even had a super long phone call with a friend from home about books and food and Thanksgiving and post-Peace Corps travels and terrible North Dakota accents. We also discussed a much-needed butter revolution in El Salvador. It will start with me making butter at home, then spread to the women’s group then spread across the country. This margarine situation is gross and out of control. They have cows in the yard, for goodness’ sake! 

New Books Read: 61

Total Books Read: 88