what am I doing here

What exactly is my objective? They told us during training that it would be a good idea to have objectives or a mission statement written down somewhere for us to reference back to, and see how much it changes as we continue on our journey. Every once and a while I feel completely without purpose, so I think some objectives would be helpful. According to Peace Corps/WorldWide my goals are as follows (paraphrased of course):

1. to provide interested (and less fortunate countries) with human capital (that's me!) to provide technical assistance in the continuing work to achieve basic needs for all members of the host country.
2. to provide american citizens with a better understanding of other cultures through their service in other countries, as well as blogs and letters back home to family and friends (you all are helping me fulfill my second goal - thanks!)
3. to provide citizens of the host country with a better understanding of american culture through the presence of a gringa in their community for 2+ years.

All of these objectives hope to encourage peace, friendship and understanding between the US and other countries. No big deal. I think I can do that.

The objectives of Peace Corps/El Salvador and the Sustainable Agriculture/Environmental Education Program (my specific prorgram) are:

1. to provide technical assistance to communities interested in agroforestry systems, soil conservation and maintenance; and sustainable agricultural techniques in general.
2. to provide formal and non-formal education in relation to the protection and mejoramiento "betterment" of the environment.

So that's what other people have told me my objectives are, but what are my objectives? Right now I'm really getting in to the cultural exchange part. I'm participating in any activity I'm invited to, and I'm chatting with anyone who wants to chat - except the bolos when I go running by in the morning. They just get a curt little buenos días and I continue on my way. I've taught some kids in the school red light, green light; hangman (it highlights how awful some of them are at spelling); and a really fun version of rock, paper, scissors but instead it's with wizards, elves, and giants and the kids have to act out the parts. It's a chance to be silly. I also helped my host brother make a piñata with papier mache. The whole family was astonished that corn flour and water could be used for something other than eating! :)

So in addition to immersing myself in Salvadoran culture, and sharing a little bit of my culture, I pretty much just try to be in the community. My biggest objective right now is just to get my name out there, and hopefully a little bit about why I'm here, and what I can (and won't!) do. It's like introducing a new puppy to your herd of animals. Let the other animals sniff him and make sure he isn't trouble, and then you can start playing. I hope when I come back from two more weeks of training I can get off on the right foot and start "playing", i.e. working.

Another one of my objectives is to continue improving my Spanish. Besides emails, journaling, rare phone calls and books in English, the rest of my day is spent in Spanish. I honestly can't tell if I've had dreams in Spanish yet. While my dreams are vivid as usual, the soundtracks are especially quiet so I can't actually tell what language people are speaking. What I can remember generally seems to be a crazy mixture. Or, I'll be speaking one language and everyone else will be speaking the other. (Now analyze that!)

Another objective is to broaden the horizons of the kids in SAS. As I mentioned in a previous entry, I'm really interested in improving the environmental conscience of the kids. Not only that though, but just life in general. Personal development, life skills and goals - to enjoy reading a book, to know where to look for answers to your own questions (dictionary, newspaper, parents etc.), to dream big about their future, and then have the gumption and tools to make it happen. For my host brother's birthday I bought him the first Harry Potter book in Spanish. He's seen all the movies and he was astonished to start reading and find out all sorts of things that they just couldn't fit in the movies. I'm hoping he will keep reading and learn to love it as much, if not more than he loves television. I hope to be able to broaden the horizons of many kids in this community. Luckily, I think just being here and being different is already changing things.

Another objective of mine is fairly concrete, and that would be the creation of home gardens and compost in the homes that are interested (hopefully the majority!) It is sunny almost all the time here, they have a good, consistent water source (it doesn't run all day, but it always comes on for 3-4 hours every morning) and plenty of decent, available soil. (The soil will probably be the limiting factor here, but that's where the compost and lombriculture can come in and help.) I pains me to see people eating only eggs, tortillas, rice, beans, chicken, sausage, corn, chips, soda, coffee and sweet bread. Many people comment on my height (I'm tall here!) and say that it's all the vitamins and nutrients that are pumped into our foods in the states and that that's what their kids need. I try to tell them that I actually wasn't raised on fortified foods, just good 'ole fashioned veggies, and that they can help their children grow by giving them lots of fruits and veggies. I think home gardens and the increased availability of veggies would greatly help the families here.

So those are my goals. Also, to play Memory with my little friend Elena as often as possible. She precocious, inquisitive, makes up stories all the time (about herself), just a tad annoying, and really cute. She kind of reminds me of what I think I probably was like when I was 3 and a half. She's here now so I'm going to go off and play.