It’s February 8 and I didn’t even notice
the time has flown by so fast... my last January in El Salvador has passed.And thank god because I hate the windy
season!Speaking of, the winds have
mostly died down and the dry season is in full, scorching mode.
Do any of you know your Enneagram
personality type?I’m type 7, the
Enthusiast.It’s the idea that human
beings have personalities that are manifestations of their insecurities.Our defense mechanisms to hide who we really
are, or what are “essence” is.The idea
of even knowing your type is so you can understand why you react to certain
situations the way you do, then move beyond that to become a better and
balanced person.I’m obsessed with this
science, which is typical for a type 7, the type most vulnerable to obsession
and addiction.Anyway, I highly
encourage everyone to check out a book on it at your local library.You can take an online test that last about
10 minutes at the Enneagram Institute.Google it.This test will point
you in the right direction of which type you should read more about to see if
it’s how you would rank yourself.I have
know about Enneagram since September and I feel like it has really been helpful
for me to understand my psychological complications, but I feel good about
finding more balance through it.
I’m busily planning “What’s Next” after my
Peace Corps life.A couple of years ago
I found out about a scholarship through Rotary that will pay for my graduate
school in Argentina,
studying International Relations with a concentration on Peace and Conflict
Resolution.I’m in the process of
applying right now and it’s a tough one.I had to write a very detailed and complicated personal statement all
about my life and successes.It could
only be three pages long and it had to cover about 800 different topics, in
depth.It was insane, but I finally
finished it and now I’m just waiting to get all my recommendations, then
translate the entire application to Spanish.If I get it, which is a big fat IF since there are only 60 recipients
worldwide each year, I will start studying in Buenos Aires in March 2012.So, I have a whole down year after I’m done
here in El Salvador
in December.Maybe I’ll go traveling to India, or get a
government job for the benefits and good pay... we’ll see.But if anyone has any exciting suggestions,
I’m open to ideas.And I wouldn’t mind
exploring a city I’ve never lived in before, like DC or somewhere on the West
Coast.
Softball is in tournament three and
thriving.Last tournament I left one
team that was basically full of big fat A-holes, and formed a team of
misfits.Nobody expected us to do
anything, and we were softball outcasts.But, we pulled together and came in third place of eight teams in the
league.We would have had first, or
second, but a technicality put us behind.Anyway, the point is we kicked some softball butt when everyone counted
us out from the start.My same team has
reunited for a new tournament and our chemistry together is clicking.We had our first game yesterday and ended up
winning by about 20 some runs.We are
amazing.If anyone who reads this knows
any females who can pitch fast pitch and wants to come to El Salvador to
show off some mad skills, I would love to invite you here!This tournament will last until mid-May.Come, come come!
Some Canadians have invaded the San Isidro area of El Salvador.It’s a group called Hope through Homes, and
they come to El Salvador
three times a year to build houses in a neighboring community called Las
Lajas.These people raise 100% of their
own funds and take their vacation time from work to come down here and build
houses for some of the world’s poorest people.And they do it just because they want to help out a fellow human
being.I think what they are doing is
incredible and I hope one day to be able to give back as much as they are.So, anyway, I’ve been spending almost ALL of
my time translating for them because their usual translator is not in El Salvador.It’s a great opportunity to test my Spanish
skills, and I must say, I’m quite happy with my progress.In the past few weeks, several people have
asked me where I learned because they say my accent is so good.I’m totally bragging and boasting about this
because I spent two years hearing people tell me I have the worst Spanish
possible (which is untrue, but it still hurt).
Anyway, translating is a pretty tricky
business!One is not only repeating
words in a different language, but one is an integral part in building trust
between the two parties.A complete
stranger although the translator may be, is thrown into the middle of a
perfectly solid relationship and asked to process and share intimate
moments.It can get uncomfortable, but
the translator must remain neutral and not start cracking up, like I sometimes
do.Also, a translator has to act as a
cultural buffer many times.Not only
must one comprehend the two languages, one must be entirely aware of the
cultural nuances of both parties.A good
translator will take mercy on an offending client by translating his or her
savage words and convert them to cultural acceptability, all while explaining
sour faces and insolent gestures in a diplomatic manner.The job of a translator deserves the high pay
it receives because at the end of the day when the brain no longer functions in
any discernible language to process thoughts and emotions, the translator must
wake up the next day and do it all again.
Oh, I’ve been meaning to update my photos
for some time now, but I have been having problems with my website.It will not accept new photos.I don’t know what the issue is, but when I
resolve it, photos will be updated.I
have some good ones to share too!
I think that’s it for now.It’s been real, take care,
81°F 
