Stop. Hammock Time

new hammock chair

One of the best, and sometimes worst, things about PC is that you have tons of downtime. While being a volunteer is considered a 7 day a week job, we are only expected to do about 4 hours of work every day. That leaves 20 free. A lot of this time is occupied with other things, of course, especially when you are trying to get to know a community and a host family. But, there are still quite a few unoccupied hours every day. This free time coincides nicely with the Salvadoran tradition of having many hammocks in the house. Salvadorans string hammocks where Americans would have couches or lawn furniture. I suspect because they are cheaper, but also because it is so effing hot here that you don’t want to be snuggled into cushions. When you’re in a hammock you can still get nice breezes from all directions, and the gentle swaying can lull you to sleep in seconds.

When we were in La Palma a couple weekends ago for our volunteer conference, I bought a hammock chair. Good timing, because I have had plenty of hammock time lately, as it has been raining steadily across El Salvador for over a week now. The government has declared a state of emergency, and there are flash floods and mudslides going on. This means all schools and agencies are shut down and we PCVs cannot travel (and who would want to). Mudslides are a really scary natural disaster. With an earthquake you can get away from tall buildings, hurricanes usually give you enough warning to batten down the hatches, and volcanoes are just plain rare. But mudslides are frequent enough here, and if one is coming for you there is literally nothing you can do except stay inside and hope your house doesn’t get swept away. In November of 2009 there were devastating mudslides in San Vicente that killed many people and wiped out entire neighborhoods and towns. Luckily, Santa Paula is not in mudslide territory, but just thinking about it is scary.

On a happier note, due to this interminable rain, I have been spending a lot of time in the house just reading and lounging. Due to boredom, I sniffed out the kitten (who lives behind the refrigerator…not sure why) and have de facto adopted him (the family calls him my hijo, aka son). Every afternoon we hang out and nap together. He is a little freakish looking because his mom never feeds him and I think he is malnourished. He also has fleas. A little girl in my town has named him Manchita, which means "little stain" due to a white splotch on his back. not the cutest name, but it has stuck and it seems to suit him. He is a funny little guy and keeping me good company!

view of the volcano on my "commute" to school, when it isnt raining that is

no one likes the rain

malnourished, flea ridden kitten