Ashley visits...

It’s amazing how much the internalization of problems can be solved through the help of friends and loved ones. I had been in my new site for 10 days when Ashley arrived. By the time she left, I would have spent more time in my site with her here than not. I felt that I had settled in fairly well before her arrival and that my new site was steadily progressing in a desirable direction, but having her here helped me resolve issues I didn’t even know existed; I became more human than I had yet been in this Central American republic.

She was here for two and a half weeks, and roughly speaking, we spent each ‘work’ week in my site and each weekend in a different part of the country, exploring secluded mountain-top coffee villages and rustically-developed beach towns. The time we spent in my site was an absolutely fantastic opportunity for her to truly experience the things that I often have trouble explaining over the phone. Some things simply do not translate through conversation: soccer games played in hurricane-force winds and horizontal rain (which then turns streets into nameable rivers); the true isolation of some communities (like my first one); the loneliness that can swallow you whole; the incredible companionship that can be found in a giggly 7 year old; the art of eating Salvadoran pupusas (thick, corn tortillas the size of tea saucers filled with cheese, beans, sausage); the utter frustration of packed buses; the pure bliss of empty, early-morning buses; the simplicity of a hammock, coffee, and a book; Pollo Campero (the equivalent of Chick-fil-A maybe?); realizing that some things are universal, like little kids begging their mom with the word ‘but’, only in Spanish (pero, pero, pero, pero); the comfort of a mosquito net in the tropics; the refreshing first splash of a bucket bath (maybe I‘m exaggerating this one).

But I think I received the better part of the deal (sorry darling). At the most basic level, having a visitor forced me to push the boundaries of what I thought possible. Food, movies, and organization of the house, for example. All have been forever changed just by her visiting. I know now that, if I so choose, I can live comfortably and enjoyably in this country. In a more substantial manner, though, she also reminded me that I still am a human, I still am Erik Howard, and I can fully be that individual in a country with different mannerisms, expectations, and norms. Quite honestly, I think my community was more interested in her arrival than mine (it’s ok, no hard feelings haha), but I certainly know that her presence opened many doors and began PLENTY of relationships throughout the community. I simply became a regular human in the eyes of my community. My story became real and visible. I absolutely miss her presence here, as does the community. As the little girls have been asking since she left, ‘…y la Ashley?’ (…and Ashley? Where did she go?)