Wrapping Up

So, I know I didn’t really get to finish off the last entry… but let’s just say that we are very happy with our site, and that we learned a lot about how PC volunteers can be an asset even without really doing anything. We are strangely powerful just as an outside force.

Right now we are starting to pack up to prepare for leaving our families homes, and heading to San Salvador later in the week for swearing in. Yesterday was our Family Fiesta, it is a gathering to say thanks to all of the families who have hosted the volunteers. Over all the mood is a mix of sad and excited. Sad to be leaving our families soon, and our fellow trainees as well, but excited to finally have training over with and to be heading out to our new homes for the next two years.

This afternoon as a final project, and to help say goodbye, the other two trainees in our community along with Katie and I are going to show movies on a big screen. It now seems like it will all come together, but we’ll see in a few hours. We were able to borrow a projector (think powerpoint consultant types) a computer and some DVDs. That was the start of the idea… then you need a place, so we got the church. Well, that meant that one night we had to head down to visit the Padre to get our films approved. We are showing Cars, and Bend it Like Beckham… the Padre had seen Cars, so he thought that was great, I think he just trusted us on Bend it Like Beckham. That was a lot of the worry, he had just heard that some folks from the States were going to show movies in his church, and people from the States have different standards of decency. Once he met us, I think he decided to trust us. That is a big thing down here, we talk about confianza all the time, but it’s true, it is vital to meet and spend some time talking to the people you want to work with.

Other small hurdles are trying to pop popcorn for the movie, have some other foods available, collecting admission ect… Actually quite a few logistics for a simple idea. All of the money we make (which will not be a ton), we are donating to repairing or replacing the water pump for the five nearby communities including ours. Right now the pump they have is inadequate for the number of houses, and many days the communities don’t have any water. Donating money to something when the concept of transparent accounting doesn’t exist could be it’s own separate blog entry… but for now we are just trying to say goodbye and thanks, and maybe give a new idea for fund-raising.

So, the coming week is busy with things like orientation, counterpart day, and finally swearing in…. with the inevitable swearing in party afterwards for all of the volunteers, a good time to meet all of the others working in the county. On Friday we will head up to the site and start figuring things out from there. This all means that this is probably the last blog entry for a week or two… I could be wrong, and I may have time to just type one up on the fly at an internet café, but don’t expect it. Cheers!