Enfermedades

So I'm still sick to my stomach, have weird skin breakouts probably caused by the fact that it's the rainy season and our clothes never dry, and my muscles have continued seizing up a week after that killer hike. I woke up this morning and immediately took 4 different pills. Needless to say, living in El Salvador is not fun right now.

It's really amazing how being sick can color everything you're doing and make you question your reasons for being here at all. I just keep thinking, why would anyone want to live in a country that their body continuously rejects? I am physically being told to go home.

The good thing is that all the symptoms of all of these problems are minor, so I have generally been able to keep working and keep busy, although everything gets done slower and sometimes I have to force myself to just lie down.

Our first stove project meeting was yesterday, and tons of people showed up and signed up to participate, which means that they listened to a lesson about how fuel-efficient stoves benefit the environment and their health, and they will provide either money or some of the materials to build the stoves in their houses. I hope to provide the more expensive materials and labor costs through grant money, and if USAID doesn't have enough I will probably be soliciting you, the gringos. Be prepared.

We did just get some USAID money to take some of the school kids on a field trip to see agricultural projects, despite the fact that the kids are rude, horrible and completely undeserving of any joy (school is still in my house and they leave Wednesday, thank God! Maybe I will finally like children again.)

The rain has also slowed down work considerably. For example, my invitation elves (students who have to do community service for their scholarship program) and I still haven't passed out all of the invitations to the stove project meetings because it keeps pouring rain right when we've decided to go walking around the community. Plus, I made a ton of lovely posters to describe each stove model the families get to choose from, and then the rain ruined them -- when it rains really hard, the water floods my house. There is still a small pond under my bed.

I forgot to bring hike and pineapple fair pictures. Sorry!

Paz y amor.