On the road...

As you can see by all of my pictures, I've been getting around alot here in El Salvador!!! Alot of it has to do with taking care of myself in the city. I'm not crazy about life in San Salvador, so I try and take every opportunity I can get to get out of the city! There is so much to see here in El Salvador, and San Salvador is NOT the place to do it (many Volunteers call it "little America"...sad, but true...)

My work has also been keeping me extremely busy. Angela and I started doing psychosocial workshops in a community outside of San Salvador, and so far its going extremely well. People are really interested, and its been a fun experience as well. Since Angela is a Social Worker, with lots of group therapy experience, its been a great learning opportunity for me as well. She's full of positive energy and good ideas, and I couldn't have hoped for a better work partner! We've also been going out to another community with one of our Salvadoran counterparts to help with disaster preparedness workshops. Its another eye opening experience in that many communities have worked with NGOs before, and have worked on emergency action plans...you'd think that the organizations would get together and work together. THIS is one of the most frustrating experiences with development--trying to get organizations to share information and work together. Not that REDES, my organization isn't trying to do it, but there just seems to be so much overlap in what people do...yet the people who need the help are still staying in the same situation. It is infurating at times, but I'd be worried if it didn't make me angry. The best that I can do, for now, is bring this to the table and try to communicate MYSELF as much as I can...

So, while my work is going extremely well, its also drawing to a close. I officially end my work with REDES on October 20...But that doesn't mean that I'm going to end my relationship with REDES. I will be here in El Salvador at least for another year working with Peace Corps (YEAH!) My heart is here, for now, and I am anxious to learn more about El Salvador, the people, the land, the history, and most importantly about life itself.