Kickin it in the campo...

Well I´m at my site now and I totally dig it! I am living verrrry rural which is unlike anything I´ve done before. The pace in my community is initially shockingly slow but after just a couple days I´m already falling in love with campo life. Yesterday I sat in the pasture by the river with a few kids from the school, Jesus, Luis, and Cristina and we just told jokes, played rock paper scissors and knocked down gualcales from the trees. Luis turns 9 next week and I got an invite to the party! Yesterday I spent the day at the school, 200 students K thru 9. Immediately I decided that one of my first projects will be two foot bridges on the way to school. The rocky dirt road to the school is crossed by two streams which the kids must wade through on their way to class. Suprisingly no one has even made like a makeshift rock bridge...so the kids take off their shoes and socks and cross over and then put them back on. The school has no library and no computers, and is mainly sheet metal. It could use some sprucing up and some color...a mural may be in order. The director is super chill and supportive and so are the teachers. All the teachers show up in the morning on motorcyles. All 7 are women and them commute about an hour from the next big town Sansuntepeque. The English teacher Amita is really excited to work together. I got a formal introduction to all the students. I explained what the gringa was doing and I got a standing ovation. All the kids huddled around during recess asking me how to say things in English. I think I´m going to start an English club for the younger kids...they are really eager to learn but kids here dont start studying english in school until 7th grade. Here in the campo there are bunches of crazy fruits that I´ve never seen or heard of before. Manuel, one of the students, ran out at lunch to pick me some fruit to try...a bunch of kids gathered around me in fascination as I took my first bite of anona. A new face in the campo is a big deal. So I´m taking advantage of the initial fuss over me in order to meet as many people as possible and get as involved as I can. (You would lose your mind here if you didn´t keep busy) I live on a dirt-rock road about half an hour by bus from a small town. The bus passes through my community at 6:30 am and at 1pm. If you dont catch the bus during those times...you better start walking. Occasionally pickups pass through and you can get a ride but it´s not very dependable. I have two amazing volunteers within 45 minutes of me, Charolette (A rural health vol) and Eli (Municipal Development Vol). They are really great and accompanied me to the big town today to orient me and show me all the hot spots. I feel great being so close to them. Where I live is incredibly scenic. Huge green peaks, hills, rivers, streams, flowers, and fruit trees of all kind, and a giant sky with puffy white clouds that dip onto the surrounding peaks. It´s really hard to describe. The house I live in is large by local standards, very clean, and I have my own room and hammock. I live with Niña Reina and her 3 beautiful daughters, Nubia (16) Zulma (15) and Estefani (3). Her husband Roque currently works in Virginia at a Chinese food restraunt. At our house we have a slew of chickens, a cat, and 4 dogs, Campeon, Canela, Lucky, and Oso. We also have a little green parrot Chico that likes to sit on my shoulder when I read in the hammock. Water is kind of an issue...at least during the dry season. Right now we have water most days but November starts the dry season and apparently it gets very very dry. My counterpart from the local ADESCO says they want to start a potable water project so I will try to get involved in that. The pila (where the water is stored) is outside by the coconut tree. I take my bucket bath there every morning. The water is cold but its pretty refreshing because its reall hot at my site. It´s pretty to watch the sky turn pink in the morning as the sun rises. Well I´m off to by a much needed fan for my room. Love and miss you all. I´ll be in touch.