Well that was interesting

As I try for the thousandth time to upload pics using a slow Net cafe computer, I figured I'd write about Christmas here.

Christmas in El Salvador is December 24. A volunteer I know wrote "Navidad" on her calendar on December 25 and was told by Salvadorans to change it because it was wrong. But nothing much happens until the evening of the 24. During the day, everyone works. I personally spent all that morning washing my clothes by hand.

At night is when the fun begins. And by fun, I mean 5-hour church vigil. In hte week leading up to Christmas, I had gone from dreading this to mildly interested. After all, my community counterpart/host family member was going to sing, and the church is the nice big one with the pineapple on top, and I was curious. Plus, sitting through church here (something I do whenever I am invited so I don't offend people) is kind of relaxing. I just zone the priest out and plan the next day in my head or something.

Before church, I was invited to another family's house to eat panes rellenos, or big sandwiches stuffed with warm chicken and vegetables. They were delicious. I had been told we were going to church afterwards, but at the last minute, no one went. I was actually kind of nervous because I had told the whole family I would go but didn't want to walk the 30 minutes alone in the dark. So it was that I accidentally missed 5-hour church.

Instead, I went to a dance. Going dancing here is not as much fun as it sounds because 1) all the dances are the same, 2) I can barely dance to any of them, and 3) I have to stay sober. Luckily, the dance was next door to my house, so I was able to duck out after 2 hours, no harm no foul. Tonight there is another dance much farther away...we'll see if I go to that one.

Real Christmas, the next day, was even more fun and even more strange. I woke up and finally opened the seriously great packages from my mom, which included a less great student loan statement (I'm sorry you're bankrupt, Citibank, but stop pretending I didn't send you that deferment form!) and the fall issue of TERP magazine, which I was suprised to find I was in. Look for the photo of the journalism school groundbreaking. I did NOT sign up for that to follow me here.

Then I washed clothes by hand for two more hours. Ah, Peace Corps.

During the day, I was annoyed by children running in and begging for my gifts, so I eventually had to hide them. Then the dance committee man to whom I lent the community center key came over drunk and babbling about said key. A member of the family had to kick him out of my house. Finally, I got the key back, ate a lovely chicken dinner with the family and watched the community Christmas pageant for the thousandth time when it came to our house. The pageant people have invited me to come with them on their little tours every day for a week, and I could never figure out why they were so disappointed that I only went twice. Until I remembered all the random people I don't even know begging for me to take their pictures and then asking me when they will get to hold a copy in their hands. In short, I am the town digital camera, and everyone expects me to print all the photos even though they're 55 cents a pop, which is a fortune here. And when I don't show up to an event, there are no photos. This makes me very popular and very irritated.

I feel like a terrible person when I complain that people just want my things all the time: my money (yes, I have been asked for loans already), my Christmas presents, my photographs, my food, the fuel-saving stoves I am actually trying to build for the community but can't do overnight. I always thought I was a generous person at heart, but one time I gave two of the family's kids chocolate and now there are children at my house AT ALL TIMES begging for candy. This is just one example for the if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie mentality I encounter every day here. It's made me go the other way and instinctively not give anything away, ever. And isn't the Peace Corps supposed to make me a better person?

I don't mean to sound too negative, because I really have had a great week. So I'm going to shut up now and give you some photos, because it didn't work on Facebook after all and it will not cost me 55 cents.

This is Hernan, the youth group president, and his sister Maricela as we go on the impromptu hike/camping trip I mentioned earlier.

Here are Will, Megan and Nick in front of the pineapple church in my pueblo. See the pineapple? See? Isn't that funny??


One of many photos of the Christmas pageant that featured pyrotechnics for the Devil and lots of off-key singing.

More to come on Facebook when computers work in the city of Zacatecoluca. Paz, amor y prospero año nuevo a todos.