There is something special that happens when you bring
people to visit your community. I am not sure what it is exactly, but you get
so many points for it. Maybe it is that Salvadorans love to see that you
actually have other friends? And on top of that that you are proud enough to
bring them home? Maybe it is the allure of meeting a new person? Maybe it is
they are just bored with you and like a shiny new face? Whatever it is, I’ll
take it. I’ll never turn down the opportunity to gain more “cool points” in
life. (READ: COME VISIT and HELP A SISTER OUT).
I have not had many visitors (COUNT: my two bosses and the
previous volunteer, Brian ) up until this point in my service. I promise it has
nothing to do with me. I am a good host. I provide good snacks, a comfortable
house, and an amazing community that will welcome you with open arms. I’ll
chalk my lack of visitors up to Upire’s location—maybe just a little too far
for the average traveler. However, the word has spread, our luck has changed,
and rightfully so Upire has become a high-class tourist destination. I have
already received 4 visitors this month and this is just part 1.
Okay okay I am exaggerating a bit. Tourism is taking it a
little far. Most of my visitors came because they had to (work
related/training), but despite that tiny detail 4 new Americans over a 3-week
period in a small rural community feels like tourism is booming.
I know you are interested so here is the general breakdown
of my visits:
Visitor # 1:
A lovely volunteer friend of mine who just finished her
service came to visit me for a few days. (SARAHHHH! How’s the states?! I hope
you are eating the steak and potatoes you talked about as I write this. Miss
you every time I put on my sea horse (caballo del mar?!) shirt)…which is at
least every 3 days). She is the one visitor who came for the pure pleasure of
my company and to enjoy the cool climate in Upire. I should have put her to
work teaching my students how to make fabulous bracelets because she is a rock
star at it, but I had just come back from a workshop with my teachers and was
feeling pretty lazy and unmotivated to go to the school immediately the next
day. Instead, I just took her around the community and we hung out in my house.
I hope she didn’t mind the lackluster, unproductive visit. I really enjoyed
just having her up to hang out with me. Plus, she is so easy going I knew I did
not have to worry about her. It was a nice, relaxing, easy-going visit. The
best kind!
Visitors # 2 and # 3:
Then for a weekend in the beginning of this month I had two
visitors in one weekend! If you recall during my training to be a PCV I wrote a
post entitled Immersion Days (or something like that). It documents my weekend
visiting a current volunteer in their site, learning what is means to be a
volunteer, and to live in the campo. It also documents my challenges,
surprises, and my infamous one time only chicken killing experience. Well now
the tables have turned and I find myself writing as the host of two future
volunteers. Our weekend was pretty relaxed for the most part (as weekends usually are). Plus, one of my trainees had a cast on her leg which made a lot of things seem impossible when I planned the weekend, but she had such a great attitude and can do mentality that I believe we could have done way more than I had anticipated. We arrived to my site late on Friday (9 p.m.) because we got off the bus and met my host mom in the community a little bit up the road to help her set up for a big birthday party. The poor girls were stuck setting up chairs and tying ribbons, but they also got a chance to meet my youth group and see just how flexible one must be during their service. On Saturday I brought them to Dia de Comercio and then in the afternoon dropped them off with host families so they could spend the rest of the weekend being "immersed."I hope they enjoyed the weekend. For me, hosting two trainees was a really fun, reflective, and draining
experience. I guess I should explain what I mean by all of those feelings.
FUN: For the most part, hosting is really fun. It is a
chance to show people what you know best: the place where you live. It gives
you a unique opportunity to be a guide and convey the love and deep connection
you have to a certain place. Hosting other Americans also wins you cool points
(mentioned above) and provides sometime to chat in English, gossip about Peace Corps
or life in general, and feel a little more at home for a brief stint. For all
of those reasons, I really had a fun time hosting trainees. I got to meet two
new friends, to tell my random stories from the past year and a half, talk to
them about training and their current situations, and introduce them to a
community that I believe represents the best of El Salvador. Additionally, they
were a breath of fresh air for a Peace Corps program that has suffered quite a
bit during my time here. I am so excited to see the program rebuild again,
welcome fresh faces, and start a new chapter for Peace Corps E Salvador.
REFLECTIVE: During the weekend, I could not help but find
myself reflecting on my service. For the first time since I arrived to this
country, there is a group that is newer than mine. I am no longer a “newbie.” I
think it took meeting this group of trainees for me to actually realize the
truth in that statement. I am that “older” volunteer that I remember during
training giving me annoying advice, telling me to suck it up, and learn to live
in rural El Salvador instead of the fancy USA. During training I often hated
the condescending tone of the older volunteers telling me let go a little more,
eat the food and gain the inevitable weight, and learn to be more patient and
flexible. However now that I am in the position of “older” volunteer I realize
just how right they were and how terrible it feels to give that kind of advice,
especially remembering how you felt in their situation. But, I realized in
order to become the volunteer I am today, I had to follow their advice. You
have to let go of your old life and embrace a new one, you have to eat with
your family and gain a little pudge, and more than anything you have to be
patient, flexible, and ready for an emotional roller coaster. I think the
quicker you learn the better off you are—hence I told the trainees the truth
with all the brutal honesty I have in me. I hope it helps them in the long run,
even if they hate me for it today.
DRAINING: Well hosting can be fun, it can also be draining.
First, I have gotten pretty accustomed to being on my own in my site. Therefore
it was a little out of my routine to have two other people around me
constantly. Moreover, two people who actually relied on me to kind of take care
of them. I was in charge of their daily activities, their travel, their host
families, and just their overall well being while in my site. It sounds easier
than it is. Trainees are still new and adjusting to life in El Salvador, which
means they are a little more vulnerable to the elements. They are not quite
used to the dirt, bugs, stomach issues, travel time, language, host family
life, food, climate, lack of privacy, need to be social with everyone, etc. As
their host all of that falls on you to try and mitigate potential discomforts
if possible. However, this is virtually impossible and leads to some stressful
and frustrating moments for all parties involved.
Visitor #4:
Following
Immersion Weekend I was so happy that my next visitor was one of my favorite
current volunteers, Kara, who is not only one of my best friends in country but
also a fantastic volunteer, person, friend, and human being in general. Hosting
Kara was awesome because she is flexible, ready for anything, and always has a
positive and energetic aura about her. Not only all of that but she also taught
my kids how to make wallets out of chip bags and make paper beads (all part of my art and leadership course). Talk about a
rock star! Here are the pictures:
It was a really productive week with Kara. My kids loved her, the crafts that they learned, and are more motivated than ever to keep coming to class. Mission accomplished! Until the next visitor...here is a picture of me and Kara!
