My Fun Life_archives

When I joined Peace Corps, a lot of people gave me a lot of reasons NOT to do it. There are going to be a lot of bugs. You're going to be dirty all the time. Everyone hates America. You're going to die trying to help people. You know, stuff like that. And, with the exception of the me going to die while trying to help people comment, I usually responded, "Listen. If other people can live their entire lives there, what does it say about me if I can't handle it for 2 years??"

Well, in terms of all the physical stuff that you have to get used to (throwing buckets of cold water over yourself, learning to let loose in nature when you're not "lucky" enough to have a latrine, sweating all day everyday, watching all the animals and bugs play in your house, ignoring the warning on the bug repellant that says in all caps, "DO NOT USE DAILY. DO NOT USE PRODUCT IN AREAS IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH CLOTHING.", it's true. If you can't handle it for 2 years, you're a wimp.

But, what I didn't expect, what I didn't expect at all, was the emotional roller coaster associated with a Peace Corps experience. It's not just adjusting to culture, as people would have you believe. It's adjusting to how you will be treated as an American within the culture. Because believe me, you're not the average person. As much as you try, you don't blend into the surroundings. And therefore, you experience life TOTALLY differently than a normal local does.

It's interesting that Peace Corps has 2 of it's 3 goals locked in exchanging cultures - Salvadorans (or whoever) learning about Americans and Americans learning about Salvadorans. I can tell you this. Everyday, all day, I am filtering EVERYTHING that I do and/or say to make sure it's culturally appropriate. People in my community claim that they love me, but how can they ever love someone that they don't actually know? But I suppose it has to be that way. I definitely am experiencing first-hand here what it feels like to be a minority...

Posted by Michelle at 07:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (47)

So, yesterday I posted some differences I saw in Nicaragua. As I was leaving the Cyber Cafe, I thought of a few more and kept thinking, "WHY didn't I include that??" So, here are some additions...

(7) There are virtually NO buses in Nicaragua. And now that I say that, there is less traffic in general. El Salvador is traffic-central. And buses are EVERYWHERE. Apparently, Nicaraguans use taxis to get around. And as the taxi is taking you where you need to go, it will stop as it pleases when it sees people on the side of the road. If they are going anywhere close to you, you will all split the cab.

(8) I didn't hear any horns. Well, except from Adolfo, the driver from El Salvador. :) Horns in El Salvador are extremely overused. Oh, there is a person on the side of the road a mile away. Honk. Oh, the car in front of us is braking. Honk. Oh, we're irritated at the car that is next to us. Honk. Etc. Not happening in Nic.

(9) The food is different. They eat similar things, but they taste different. For example, there is a dish called casamiento in El Salvador (rice and beans mixed together). I think it's pretty good. I ate the same thing (though called something else) in Nicaragua, and it tasted totally different (and it's better in El Sal). Also, I ate some quesodilla in Nicaragua. It's braided cheese, onion, salt and cream stuffed into a tortilla. It is to DIE for!! Every single cheese that I've tasted in El Salvador has been NASTY, so I was SUPER excited to find one I liked, even though it's a couple of countries away. :)

Ok, that's what I can remember for now. I'm leaving for the airport in 15 minutes to go home for a visit!!! :)

Posted by Michelle at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (59)

I just got back yesterday from Nicaragua. Since I am one of those volunteers that has been in the United States and El Salvador (that´s it), going to 2 more countries (Honduras and Nicaragua) was eye-opening. The people that I met that are living in Nicaragua described El Salvador as "a dangerous version of the US" and told me that "Nicaragua was the place to be." In my opinion, it seemed pretty similar on the outside to El Salvador. Basically located in the middle of nowhere. But, as I went from town to town, some differences became apparent.

(1) If El Salvador is equivalent to the Bronx and downtown LA in terms of murders and other crime, Nicaragua is like Cedar Falls, Iowa. NOTHING happens. It seems like crime is pretty much non-existent.

(2) Tortillas are thin. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but after a year of choking down thick ones, it seems like heaven.

(3) The Spanish is different. Not hugely, but I continued to say, "Salud" to people as I left them (it means "health", but people use it as "goodbye") until Adolfo informed me that it ONLY meant health in Nicaragua and told me that everyone was staring at me like I had no idea what I was doing with Spanish.

(4) There is WAY less trash just laying around everywhere. At first, I thought this was due to a difference in culture, which I was a HUGE fan of. After thinking about it more, however, I realized that it´s probably due to the fact that it´s much less populated, in terms of density.

(5) The people look different. It took 10 hours to get to the capital of Nicaragua from the San Salvador. I was pretty shocked about that. That would be like seeing a difference between the people in Ohio and Iowa. I pretty much figured everyone in this area would look similar.

(6) They use different money. It was my first experience with needing to change money between US dollars and another currency. Nicaragua uses about 17 cordobas for every US $1 and Honduras uses about 13 X (I forget the name of their currency) for every US $1.

Well, I know it´s a short entry today, but it´s what is on my mind at the moment. If you´re interested in my current mindset about this whole Peace Corps experience, click here.

Posted by Michelle at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (8)

The Story of B. It's one of those books that really makes you think about life on this planet and where we're headed. It's an AMAZING book that I recommend to EVERYONE. And I would LOVE to hear comments that you have about it when you're finished.

The agricultural revolution that occurred 10,000 years ago is the centerpiece to everything that happens in the book. An event that occured 10,000 years ago has everything to do with where we are now and what we are facing as a community. Amazing.

Really. It's a must-read.

Here are some comments that I found online regarding this book (in case my recommendation isn't inspiring enough to make you read it):

Just like `Ishmael' I didn't always agree with the argument presented to me, however, I cannot emphasize enough how important this book, and others like it are, because they present an entirely new way of thinking. One that is less myopic and arrogant. One that could very well save our species, if not the planet. Even if you don't agree with the conclusions drawn, the premises will still change the way you see the world, and THAT is important.

However, read Ishmael first. If you don't like that book, then I doubt you will make it very far in this one.

This book, in conjunction with _Ishmael_, is the most important book I've ever read. I recommend it to every open-minded person I come across. These are the only 2 books I've read so far of Daniel Quinn's, but they are mindblowing (and I'd already had my mind blown by several books before!)

This was a fantastic semi-sequel to Ishmael. Having read Quinn's first novel, my thought-process had already been stirred and open to his ideas. I understood the heart of what he was saying, as well as the logistics. I craved more.

The Story of B. gave it to me. What I found in this novel was a fantastic plot that I became increasingly engaged in as it developed - something I did not have on such a scale with Ishmael. Also, I found a deepening of Quinn's perspective/theory/whatever-you-want-to-call-it throughout the novel. I loved that the teachings were left to the end of the book, so you could choose to read them in context or separately. I chose the latter, because I was so engaged with the story and felt I had a good base with the philosophy, although I did read a few of them in context. I don't regret that way of reading, because I feel I got just as much out of it and then was able to confirm and tweak a few ideas afterwards while reading the teachings more thoroughly.

All in all, this is a fantastic read -- engaging and even more thought-provoking than its precursor, Ishmael. It was hard to continue with Quinn to My Ishmael, returning to the questioning format, after such a great plot.

If you're interested in more about Ishmael, click here.

Posted by Michelle at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (14)