My best friend Jennie has a blog and is really good about keeping it updated. I considered throwing in the towel on mine, but she’s convinced me that blogging doesn’t have to be painful and that all of you really do enjoy reading about my grand adventures. So, I’ve given the old blog a new title and will try to post something brief at least once a week. This first post is long though, since there is a lot of catching up to do. My last post was February 2009 (!!!).
Let’s see here then. In 2009 I managed to get in a little traveling. I visited my Aunt BJ in Acapulco, Mexico (trip highlights: lounging, meeting my aunt’s crazy friends, and LUCHA LIBRE), and my friend Louise in Panama (trip highlights: the Panama Canal, San Blas Islands, and hanging with Louise). Peace Corps projects included planting an organic corn and bean plot, sunflowers, and hibiscus plants around my property. It kind of worked except that I was a little lazy and neglectful. Instead of improving the soil and testing out home-made, chemical free pesticides and fertilizers, I just went around and picked all the bad bugs off the plants. It wasn’t a very good example for my farming friends because they could never reproduce my experiment on a large-scale. But the sunflowers and hibiscus plants were a HUGE hit. They really improved the look of my dirt house and a couple Salvi friends and I ended up making wine from the hibiscus. Yummy! Other projects included the formation of a mommy-baby play group, youth camps on team work and self-esteem, fundraising for refurbished computers for the school, and the successful application for a Kids to Kids grant to fund children’s sports teams.
Boys Soccer Teams
Girls Softball Team
Over the second year of my PC experience, my relationships with community members grew much stronger. I figured out who my true friends and greatest supporters were and I was baptized with a nickname! Aside from common variations on my real name (Ang, Angie, Angelina, Angelita, etc.) it is my first real nickname ever. “La Chele” means, “the pale one”. While this may seem strange to most people, it means a ton to me. No longer “La Gringa” (the American), I was now a member of the community, the only distinction being my slightly off colored skin tone. I like it; I think I’ll keep it.
True Friends
My sister Kelly and bro-in-law Chris never made it to El Salvador because they became pregnant (yea!) and Kelly’s doctor said it wouldn’t be safe to take the necessary vaccinations. That’s okay though. The excitement of becoming an aunt obliterated any disappointment I might have had about their not coming to visit me. My Peace Corps Service ended in early November so I headed home for the holidays and finally got to meet my nephew, Jack. So cute!
Jack w/his Great Grandma Guzik
I went back to El Salvador in January to ring in 2010 and finish up a few projects that were left incomplete. My community and I organized two boys’ soccer team and a girls’ softball team (See above photos). We painted a mural in the school, and built some furniture for the Rotary library books and the computers.
Proud of a job well done.
And, we PARTIED!!! Two pinatas, 300 enchiladas, and one trip to the beach later, it was time to return home again. But not for long…
Pinata Time!
Beach Bums
This is where the new chapter begins. One of the things I realized about myself while in Peace Corps is that I can’t sit still or be inside for long periods of time, I love to write (ironic since I am not that great of a blogger), I like managing projects, and I LOVE working in culturally diverse environments. So I started applying for jobs with different non-profit organizations. Habitat for Humanity, Room to Read, YMCA, etc. and SURPRISE!!! I was offered a job with Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children as their “Director of Special Projects” for their clinics in Central America. I will be managing their micro-finance health insurance programs in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and helping out with any other projects or emergencies that arise. They also have a clinic in Costa Rica so I will be helping out there too. I can’t believe it! I really feel like this is my chance to learn more about the non-profit world, get some great experience in project management, work for an AWESOME organization, and get in some more travel to boot! It’s the chance of a lifetime. So, to my family’s chagrin, its back to Central America for at least one more year.
Speaking of family, I want to thank my family for being SO SUPPORTIVE during this weird, transitional time. Aunt BJ let me stay in her AMAZING downtown condo, Kelly and Chris and Baby Jack employed me as their nanny, and Amy did a great job keeping her eye out for potential jobs for me. My bro-in-law Stevie’s laid back approach to life was exactly what I needed at times and even my Grandma did a pretty good job trying to be excited with me. Mom and Pa have been the greatest, reminding me while I was in the depths of readjustment and reverse culture shock despair that there is life after Peace Corps. And while I know that they don’t want me to leave again, they are putting up a good face about it.
I would also like to thank my friends. Luis, Nicole, Kate, and Sarah J. gave some great advice during the employment hunt, Jennie offered up her house in the event I decided to move to TX, and Sarah T. offered moving services. It was great to rekindle old friendships and I thank everyone for the warm welcome home and encouraging words. Hopefully some of you will come visit me south of the border.
That’s enough for now. Take care everyone!
La Chele's life after Peace Corps 