Saludos --
I'm now a month-and-a-half into my assignment in Citalá, and exactly halfway through my 27-month service in El Salvador. Citalá so far is meeting my expectations. People here are proving to offer the support necessary to make productive use of me, which in my view is the most important determinant of volunteer success and contentment. This is not to say there are so many people here eager to undertake projects that I'm booked every day from eight to five. Unfortunately, such a situation is virtually unheard of in Peace Corps El Salvador. But it is to say that there is enough going on here to keep me feeling optimistic and engaged.
Work-wise, so far I have begun teaching a weekly drama class with 7th-9th graders at the primary school, which is good fun. Who knew that what I learned during my four years in CTE at Tam High would come in handy five years later in El Salvador? Additionally, soon I'll be starting an entrepreneurship class at the high school and an English conversation section with high schoolers attending the private Adventist school in town. The management of all three educational institutions has been very welcoming and willing to collaborate, an openness that PCVs in this country cannot always count on.
Apart from my work in the schools, I am hoping to engage with a committee that the alcaldía just formed to promote tourism in the municipality. I see modest potential for Citalá with respect to tourism development--owing to its proximity to existing touristic amenities, charming ambiance, and pleasant climate--and am interested to ascertain the vision of the committee when I attend one of its meetings for the first time tomorrow. Ideally I would like to find a way for the touristic ambitions of the alcaldía and the entrepreneurial ambitions of the high schoolers to complement one another, but it is yet too early to tell if such a collaboration is within the realm of feasibility.
Another development I am looking forward to with restrained optimism is the renewal of the ADESCO (Asociación de Desarrollo Comunitario) that represents the downtown neighborhood of Citalá and has been mostly dormant of late. The alcaldía is coordinating the effort to elect a new ADESCO board of directors, and though there are all kinds of partisan tensions simmering beneath the surface (I shouldn't and won't go into details), my hope is that the ADESCO leadership that emerges is a motivated group of individuals willing to work for the common good in spite of political differences. We shall see.
Lastly, I expect to co-lead some HIV prevention workshops for youth over the next few months. Last week using PEPFAR funds Peace Corps hosted a training-of-trainers event on HIV prevention to which each volunteer was able to bring two counterparts. I invited one of the health promoters at the medical clinic in Citalá, as well as a person who coordinates a youth group in town. They enjoyed the training and are very motivated to co-lead trainings with me in Citalá using the techniques they learned.
The novelty of working in a community with motivated individuals is not wearing off one bit.
Until next time,
Frank
I'm now a month-and-a-half into my assignment in Citalá, and exactly halfway through my 27-month service in El Salvador. Citalá so far is meeting my expectations. People here are proving to offer the support necessary to make productive use of me, which in my view is the most important determinant of volunteer success and contentment. This is not to say there are so many people here eager to undertake projects that I'm booked every day from eight to five. Unfortunately, such a situation is virtually unheard of in Peace Corps El Salvador. But it is to say that there is enough going on here to keep me feeling optimistic and engaged.
Work-wise, so far I have begun teaching a weekly drama class with 7th-9th graders at the primary school, which is good fun. Who knew that what I learned during my four years in CTE at Tam High would come in handy five years later in El Salvador? Additionally, soon I'll be starting an entrepreneurship class at the high school and an English conversation section with high schoolers attending the private Adventist school in town. The management of all three educational institutions has been very welcoming and willing to collaborate, an openness that PCVs in this country cannot always count on.
Apart from my work in the schools, I am hoping to engage with a committee that the alcaldía just formed to promote tourism in the municipality. I see modest potential for Citalá with respect to tourism development--owing to its proximity to existing touristic amenities, charming ambiance, and pleasant climate--and am interested to ascertain the vision of the committee when I attend one of its meetings for the first time tomorrow. Ideally I would like to find a way for the touristic ambitions of the alcaldía and the entrepreneurial ambitions of the high schoolers to complement one another, but it is yet too early to tell if such a collaboration is within the realm of feasibility.
Another development I am looking forward to with restrained optimism is the renewal of the ADESCO (Asociación de Desarrollo Comunitario) that represents the downtown neighborhood of Citalá and has been mostly dormant of late. The alcaldía is coordinating the effort to elect a new ADESCO board of directors, and though there are all kinds of partisan tensions simmering beneath the surface (I shouldn't and won't go into details), my hope is that the ADESCO leadership that emerges is a motivated group of individuals willing to work for the common good in spite of political differences. We shall see.
Lastly, I expect to co-lead some HIV prevention workshops for youth over the next few months. Last week using PEPFAR funds Peace Corps hosted a training-of-trainers event on HIV prevention to which each volunteer was able to bring two counterparts. I invited one of the health promoters at the medical clinic in Citalá, as well as a person who coordinates a youth group in town. They enjoyed the training and are very motivated to co-lead trainings with me in Citalá using the techniques they learned.
The novelty of working in a community with motivated individuals is not wearing off one bit.
Until next time,
Frank
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| Above: Some festivities celebrating Central American Independence Below: Volunteers and counterparts at the HIV prevention training  |
