Latrine Building, Volcano Climbing and Charlas

Ok, so this entry is mixed with things that I’ve done in the last week.

First, is Latrine Building. A latrine is the campo version of a toilet. It’s like an outhouse, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be in a “house.” I however am lucky even that the latrine at my house has four walls and a roof, a rare commodity. There are two types of latrines: 1.) fosso – simple. Dig a hole in the ground a few meters deep when it’s full, cover it up and make a new one. 2.) composting latrine. These are the spiffy ones that are healthy for the environment. You mix your poo with ash and cal and after it’s all dried out you can use it as fertilizer. yymmmm…yummy.
Before picture, except for the first layer of bricks for the stairs.
So last Monday Kevin, Ginger and I went to build our share of a latrine. The composting latrine is being build for a family in a community about 10 minutes from us. Each community of trainees has a part to do and our job was to build the stairs and the plancha (the floor of the latrine). So we sifted sand, made cement the old fashioned way with shovels and used cinder blocks to make three stairs leading up to the latrine. It was really fun and I learned a lot – it reminded me of working on the lot with Uncle George cuz you’re always learning something new and I was able to use what I’ve learned from him while building our section of the latrine. All went well and after 4.5 hours of work we finished the stairs and cemented the huge slabs of concrete (la plancha) in place. I love good hard labor!
After we build the stairs and put those huge cement slabs with holes on top.

Kevin, Ginger and I - proud of our hard work.

Saturday afternoon, seeing as it was blazing hot and we had the afternoon off, about ten of us trainees went to a campo version of a water park, and man was it fun! It was kind of like a backyard hang-out with three pools, two huge slides, a full menu comedor and lots of space to chill. We swam, went down the slides, watched as others tried to go down head first and totally ate it, and played some chicken fight – my team won of course! And to top it off there was a television so we got to watch the Barcelona vs. Madrid game which was, to say the least, an awesome game. A great way to relax before the mmisery that lay before us.

Sunday we climbed the volcano of San Vicente, about 6,000 ft. and 9km each way. I thought I was going to DIE! This was the most horrible trail I have ever walked on in my life and not just for difficulty but the trail isn’t well trekked and half of it is just these horrible cobblestone roads that go up at about at 50-degree angle. And there was dust everywhere so you couldn’t breathe. When we finally got into the forest part of the volcano it was much better and very beautiful, until we got to the parts that were sheer inclines with pebbles and rocks so for every two steps you took you slide down one. The whole time I was thinking, what the hell have I gotten myself into? My ass was burning from climbing at such sheer inclines.
The view from the top.
It took me about 4.5 hours to get to the top, including some breaks. The view at the top was ok, but because of all the pollution, visibility was pretty dismal. But you could see the ocean and the mountains bordering Honduras. At the top of the volcano is a military base and the volcano is owned by an ex-Salvadoran president who has a beautiful, huge house about half way up the volcano. I was so happy I made it to the top, but going down became just plain miserable after almost falling every other step and getting lost once because Teresa and I didn’t have a guide with us. In all, it was okay, but I don’t think I would ever do that again. And in the hour we were at the top of the volcano my legs got fried, so I couldn’t walk yesterday. I mean literally it kills to bend my knees. Stupid me.
We conquered the volcano!

Monday we had out first charlas, or presentations, at the local school. I decided to work with second grade and give a charla on dental hygiene. It went really well I thought, although I could have made it a little longer. But the kids really enjoyed the things I did and we had a good time. I drew posters of a mouth all filled with cavities and the little animals that each your teeth. We played a game and they sang “Happy Birthday” while I showed them how to brush their teeth.

Tomorrow I am leaving for what is called Field Based Training. In groups of 3-4 we go visit a volunteer in his/her site, live with families, and participate in activities planned by the volunteer. I’m going to a site without electricity so we’ll see how that goes, but I’m really excited about our schedule. We’re going to teach English classes, give charlas on “Como Planear Mi Vida” (how to plan my life), build a latrine, build rabbit cages and participate in fútbol and baseball practices!