Alubaren!

Ok. So I have managed to let not one, but two months slide by without posting anything. And what a crazy two months it has been! I am now officially a Peace Corps Volunteer and have already been in my new site for over a month! There is so much to share, but I will try to keep it relatively brief, because I realize that much of this blog is really only interesting for my mother. Here we go.
My site:
My next two years will be spent in a small pueblo called Alubaren, a beautiful little town nestled in the mountains. It’s got about 4000 people total, with a little over a 1000 living in the casco urbano and the rest living in the surrounding aldeas. Annnd it’s chockfull of rivers, swimming holes, meadows, and flowers. The crazyabundant natural beauty more than makes up for the fact that we have no bank, no restaurants, and often no lights. There are two churches, one catholic and one evangelical respectively and a charming old park. And then there are about 16 pulperias, selling an assortment of vegetables, toiletries, and junk food. It’s about 3 hours from Tegucigalpa and 4 hours from Choluteca and 2 hours from El Salvador. So those are the details about my new home!
My first month here hasn’t been one of extreme programming but it’s been incredibly busy. I’ve realized that I am much more people-oriented than task-oriented (a fact that few of you will find shocking) and that works well with the pace here. We were told in training that it’s important to gain the community’s confidence and trust before beginning projects and so that’s been my focus. ☺
My days are full of home visits, where I’m given coffee and cooked squash with sugar on top (I almost died the first time this was placed in front of me), or playing baseball with the boys that hang around my house. I take kids to the river for swimming adventures and attend charismatic church services where I once saw a woman shimmying because the Spirit moved her. And its out of these moments that I’m beginning to get a clarity of focus for the needs of this community. I’m learning that people will not knock on my door with a list of problems that they’d like me to fix. But when I’m sitting on the floor of the local pulperia, playing with this adorable 2 year old, I’ll be approached by a woman who wants me to teach her to read. Yeah I have doubts. I often feel that Western urge to have tangible immediate results. But I’m trying my best to take time to listen first.
As of right now, I do a story hour once a week in the kinder, a literacy program for second and third graders that was started by the amazing volunteer before me, help out at the NGO, and spend time at the centro de salud. I’ll also be beginning baseball in November. Ohmygoodness I’m dreading that a little bit. I know almost nothing about baseball and the little I do know is super diminished when you translate it into the Spanish I can speak. It’ll be an adventure! Hopefully I’ll write again soon!
Off to the swimming hole! ☺