Happy New Year everyone – here’s my first entry of 2009! Actually, it has only really been today (and this afternoon, to be precise) that I have started to muse upon on the calendar shift, contemplating the year gone by, and thinking about the one that lies ahead. Yesterday, on New Year’s Eve, try as I might, I couldn’t really get myself into a reflective or thoughtful mindset. I suppose that so many changes came about for me earlier in 2008, when I packed up work and set off on this trip, that the transition into 2009 yesterday paled in comparison, and didn’t really seem to herald any immediate significance. Leading the atypical kind of life that I am at the moment means that every couple of days I’m packing up my things and tugging that battered wheely backpack that contains all my current possessions along to a new destination - with everything pretty much in a constant state of flux. Spending this past week or so at Simon and Esmes’ has therefore given me a brief taste of the kind stability that I haven’t known for a long time now. New Year for me this time around, as a result, just felt like a time to be still and content, rather than a time to chase around partying and making lofty resolutions. Having said that, though, today I’ve felt a bit more in the mood for thinking about things and, having just been for a late afternoon wander around my current neighbourhood here in Santa Tecla, and for a beer and a ‘boca’ (little snack) in ‘El Café De Don Pedro’ (the local bar here), I actually feel I have more to speculate on, and marvel at, in terms of the change from one year to another.
So…
2008 was, for me, a year of
– some pretty grim and challenging times at work with EPIC (situations that, with hindsight I perhaps could have handled differently - but not too much so, given my relative youth and levels of experience, and I know that my heart and principles were always in the right place)
- many more edifying and enriching hours in the counselling room at the City and East London Bereavement Service (some clients who taught me so much and strengthened my conviction that getting my BACP accreditation and moving further into counselling work is really what I want to do next)
- planning, planning, planning to make this trip happen (sometimes it felt frustrating and fruitless and, by now, I’ve shot a lot of those finer plans to pieces – still, it was ultimately worthwhile, as I couldn’t have made it this far without a bit of time and effort on the thinking ahead front)
- packing in my conventional work lifestyle (one hell of a relief but also quite scary) and spending a wonderful, enlightening, fun and resourceful summer doing pizza-making, TV extra work, waitressing, selling stuff on e-Bay, and handing out muesli-bars at tube stations!
- leaving my lovely flat (I hope the French couple are enjoying it and taking good care of it - I miss it so much!)
- the genesis of many new and remarkable friendships (mainly overthe past 2 ½ months – forged in hostels, on buses, on traveller’s websites, on the side of strange highways in strange lands), plus the strengthening of many existing ones back home (everyone who I had good times with in 2008 before I left; everyone who wished me luck on my travels and who has kept in touch with me as I’ve been on the road)
- re-familiarising myself with the smell of my own fear in shady situations in sketchy places, and also learning to live with more tedium, frustration and enforced changing of plans than ever before. However, on the flip side, I have been...
- learning more about my own resilience, flexibility and instincts for physical and psychological survival
- following whims and going out on a limb (more than once - something that's been particularly good for me I believe)
- seeing beauty in so many different places (sunsets, beaches, mountains, the goodness and warmth of all the people who have been kind and hospitable to me so far)
I could go on, I’m sure, but that’s just what’s springing to mind at the moment. And what of 2009? With a life so fluid and transient at present, it’s hard to hope or aim for anything too concrete (and I suppose, if I’m honest, I’m still avoiding thinking of going back home and deciding what to do about work and stuff). Just the anchor of continued love and support from family and friends is top of my wish-list, I guess, followed by more adventures and interesting connections in my next set of destinations. If we’re talking about specific resolutions, then I suppose...
– to get back into Couchsurfing as I mentioned in my last entry
- to pay more attention and devote more time to my Spanish (which has fallen by the wayside a bit lately – been hanging round with too many English speakers!)
- to not lose any more debit or credit cards!
So, having done my ruminating (and forgive me for indulging in that!), what of New Year itself? Well, for me it was spent with Simon and Esme, who returned from their honeymoon in Belize yesterday, and who I, at last, got to meet after a week of living in their house! It was a real pleasure because they were as lovely and laid-back as I imagined they would be, and we spent a very relaxed evening just having dinner and chatting (with Stuart, who cane round as well) before watching and listening to the crazy midnight New Year fireworks that seem to be a pan-Central American obsession. At about a quarter to 12 these started to go off on pretty much every street in the capital, like gunfire, making a ground-shakingly noisy, but quite arresting, spectacle. New Year’s Eve here, Esme explained, tends to be quite a quiet affair up until midnight for Salvadorenos, with most of them just staying in for meals with their families. No bars, restaurants or clubs are really open until about 1.30 or 2.00am, at which point a lot of younger people go out to party. We contemplated doing this, but I’m afraid we didn’t have enough of a second wind and ended up going to bed at about 2.00am – me with my earplugs in to keep out the continuing crackle and bang noise of intermittent ongoing fireworks!
It was a nice way to spend New Year – although not as raucous as some of my recent ones, it was definitely good to wake up this morning on the first day of 2009 without a crashing hangover! I slept like a dream actually, until almost midday (practically unheard of for me), so my body must have needed the rest. Although I didn’t do much on New Year’s Eve itself (Wednesday), Tuesday was quite a busy day, with me heading off by bus to San Miguel to meet and hike with another Couchsurfing Peace Corps volunteer called Rob. I actually visited Rob in his ‘community’, which gave me a lot of insight into the work he does (like Zach, mentoring young people and helping with community projects). His Salvadorean ‘family’ met me off the bus and gave us lunch before we trekked off to a local waterfall where we were able to swim, which was cool. I then sat and watched the football team that Rob coaches playing a match. A lot of the kids had Manchester United or Liverpool kit on and wanted to talk about which team I supported back in the UK. A bit of a shame for them that I tend to draw a blank when it comes to football (I told them I supported Portsmouth, as I suppose that is where I was born)! However, even though the game has little general appeal to me, it was good to watch these kids really getting stuck into it.
So, I think that’s all I have to say for myself on the first day of the year. Simon, Esme, Stuart and I have just been watching some films together on TV, eating up the leftovers from last night’s dinner. Therefore, in some senses, it feels like a typical New Year’s Day! Tomorrow I think we’re going to head off to a little town called Suchitoto, and I also need Esme to help me call the ‘General Correos’ (Post Office) here to try to find out what has happened to my replacement debit card. Once that is all sorted, sad as I will feel to wrench myself away from here, I guess I will have to start making my plans for moving on to Nicaragua, where my first stop will be Managua.
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