Do you ever wonder what people are like in developing countries? I definitely wondered that before this Peace Corps experience. I´m going to talk about a few people in this entry to let you decide for yourself.
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GUSTAVO
Gustavo is a high school student in my community. He´s 17 years old and loves computers. The computer training in this country is, well, sub-par in my opinion. I´m trying to inspire the youth to work on this internet project that I´m working on to (1) teach them about project planning and implementation and (2) get them excited about technology. The other day, I was in the computer lab in the school, and began talking to Gustavo. I´m used to showing kids different things they can do in various programs, but this kid was teaching ME stuff! I was like, "Man! You know what you´re doing with these things! Where did you learn all this?" And he was like, "I don´t know. I just like computers." I was like, "You´re going to the next technology committee meeting, right??" And he said he would. And I told him we should start a computer club.
This kid is SMART when it comes to computers. And he lives out in the country, like me, and attends the high school in town. Our high school costs $5 per month to attend. In comparison, the high schools in capital cities and the country´s capital cost about $25-500/month to attend. So, you can imagine the difference in education that these kids receive.
I don´t know much more about Gus than that, but I´m determined now that I know that to support him as much as I can and teach him as much as I can!
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SONIA
Sonia is 37 years old. I met her in September during a visit to the Cooperativa (the office for the organization of local farmers). I was supposed to be meeting with someone else, but was having some digestive problems with food I had recently eaten so was spending my meeting time in the bathroom. When I came out, there was a short Salvadoran woman standing outside waiting to use the facility. I was in no mood to chat small-talk, but she was insistent on finding out who I was and why I was there. After I told her I would be living in San Isidro for 2 years, she became ecstatic and told me that she had studied at Cal Poly Pomona in the US. And at the time, I was ecstatic that I may have met someone that could speak English. But, no, she can´t. I wondered at the time how she managed to attend a US university without the ability to speak English, but didn´t really press to find out why. I found out later.
Sonia and I began to hang out a lot. She lives in a typical country home - dirt floors, a little electricity and water, and tons of family members squashed together. I think she has the ability to get a really good paying job here, but she enjoys working for and within the community and enjoys the closeness her family shares. She´s full of energy and motivation to get things done. She is a leader in her church. She is the only woman working in the leadership of the Cooperativa (the other women, like most Salvadoran women who work, are secretaries). She used to be a teacher in the local schools and was selected to be 1 of 2 people from the entire country to receive a scholarship to study at a US university for 6 months (Cal Poly). Because she started working at the Cooperativa, she stopped teaching full time. Oh, but decided to volunteer (for free) on weekends to teach high school students that work during the week. She´s involved in all of the community´s activities. Everyone in the community respects her. When we´re in meetings and people say, "We can´t do that", she responds with, "Why not? We CAN do it!" I love Sonia to death. She has become my best friend in the community. She has confided many personal things to me and I to her.
Two weeks ago, she stopped by to chat. But the "chat" consisted of her informing me that she had just found out she only has 2 months to live. 3 years ago, she was in a bus accident where the bus rolled over. Two people on her bus died in the accident and she was checked out - everywhere except her head. And now she has a cyst between 2 membranes in her head. She has been told by medical personnel here that it´s inoperable. She decided to only tell me (and also included statements about how she thought all Americans were distant - never close to anyone - and how I taught her that she was wrong because I´ve inspired her so much).
After bawling my eyes out uncontrollably (nice support, huh), I was like, "We´re going to see a private doctor that specializes in nuerology." So we´re going in the next week or so. That´s one amazing woman that I want to stay around for awhile.
There are more - these are just the ones I´ve been thinking about today. Just thought I would give you a glimpse into my world...
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