I just got an email from an old friend of mine I haven’t heard from in a while. She’s going to be joining the Peace Corps next month! That’s very exciting. She will be heading to El Salvador, which is awfully close to Guatemala, so maybe I will even get to see her during our service.

There are a lot of similarities between Guatemala and El Salvador: former Spanish colony, history of unstable governments, horrible violence and genocide in the 80s. But they have their differences, too: El Salvador is mostly ladino (non-native), and ALL of it is streamy hot. Man, I’m glad I am where I am, working with Mayans and living on a freezing mountaintop. But there is a place for everyone in this world… and apparently Alicia’s is El Salvador. I met her back when I was a summer camp counselor at Skylark Ranch, and she was a camper. She was my best archery student ever (maybe even shoots better than I), and she was a counselor-in-training as well. It all makes sense to me; I’ve long maintained that being a Peace Corps Volunteer is like being a summer camp counselor x12. Instead of 2+ months, it’s 2+ years. Instead of one week of intense training, you get 12. You spend about 20 hours a day working, and get paid next to nothing. You live in the woods, poop in a hole in the ground, and regularly cook over an open fire. And, you change lives.

I am sure Alicia (Gamma) will feel right at home.

She is starting a blog, it’s at www.aliceacock-esteb.blogspot.com.