In the home stretch

Well, I can´t believe we have less than a week left. The past week has been full of late nights and lots of final projects. Yesterday was my last day in Tepecoyo. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to that place, my home away from home. Typical of Tepecoyo we spent most of the day sitting in plastic chairs, sweating. You know what, unfortunatly I think it was a little more bitter than sweet. I´m having a hard time processing everything I feeling right now because I´m trying to finish classes and say goodbyes.
Oh, last weekend I went to Guatemala for the weekend. Ally and I went to Guatemala and met up with some old CISV friends and then went to Antigua for about a day. What a great place.
I´ve really got nothing else to say. I´ll be home next week. wow.

What does solidarity mean to me?

So here are some reflections of solidarity. I can´t promise they are all coherent but it´s what I have right now. They have grown and changed these past months and will surely continue to change in the next few, so take this with that in mind.

What does solidarity mean to me? This question has changed and grown so much in the past 3 months. Before coming to El Salvador I felt I had a pretty good grasp and understanding of solidarity. I understood what it meant theologically and in practice…kind of. I just went back and pulled out a theology paper from last semester where I wrote, “Solidarity with the oppressed has lead to a deeper sense of commitment to them.” While this really has not changed it certainly can not begin to encapsulate what I have experienced this semester. It wasn’t until really experiencing praxis that my conception and understanding of solidarity began to change and take the shape it holds today. I also want to be completely honest that I doubt my understanding of solidarity today will be the same as tomorrow and weeks from now.
I truly want to live a life of solidarity. As my mind is skipping ahead to this summer and next fall I am worried I will somehow not be able to fulfill this desire. Last week I was talking with my dad about this very thing. We were talking about the challenge of living a life of solidarity outside of a regular praxis experience. It is so easy to feel removed from the struggle for justice when you are not face to face with it everyday. Before coming to El Salvador I had been on immersion trips and had experiences that opened my eyes to struggles for justice and helped me feel a sense of solidarity. Last fall I had the opportunity to sing the names of the dead at the SOA protest at Ft. Benning, Georgia. As I stood on the main stage in front of thousands of people, I was not scared, like I imagined I would be. Instead, I felt a deep sense of solidarity with the people I was walking with and with the people whom I was naming. Most of the names were, “unnamed child of Bohaya-Choco, Colombia.” These nameless children will never leave me, and more than once while in El Salvador my heart has gone out to the many nameless and forgotten children I have met.
The children I have met have found a place in my heart far deeper than I ever imagined. For me solidarity is about relationship. It is so hard to really feel solidarity when you do not feel a sense of relationship with the people you are in solidarity with. My relationships with children have been my primary source of hope and rejuvenation. There is something about a child that is so vulnerable, trusting, and innocent that helps me be the same way. More than once I have felt awkward or insecure about my language abilities and the children I am around have made me feel relaxed and able to communicate. I feel like they do not care how well I can speak, but are just happy to have me around. My relationships with Salvadoran adults have been another story. Sometimes I have felt like conversations with adults have ulterior motives or they do not have the patience to really build friendships. This has been disappointing, but I am so grateful for friendships I have made with kids.
My thoughts and feelings about my week in the campo have been unfolding over the past two weeks and it has now turned into one of the most blessed times here in El Salvador. The family we stayed with was full of kids. One girl especially stole my heart—Reina Isabel. We played for hours, laughed so much, and ate way too many mangos. Her older brother Santos and I also became close friends that week. He was really the first young Salvadoran man I was able to get close to. We spent so much time together walking and talking and the whole time we were able to just be ourselves and share that together.
If I had been thrown into the campo experience three months ago I would have never had the same experience and I can now see how much I have grown since that first weekend I spent in Tepecoyo. The friendships I have made here put faces and feelings with struggles. When I go protest at the SOA next fall, assuming it is not closed down, I will there for my friends who cannot. Solidarity through praxis has put humanity back into a people who have been forgotten and dehumanized. This experience is especially true of Salvadorans, and the frightening thing is that there are forgotten and dehumanized people all over the world. From this sense of solidarity I am developing a sense of responsibility that has come from my experience here and because of my relationships; where will this responsibility lead me next?

Life in the campo!

Massacre at the Rio Sumpul










The little girl that broke my heart








Biggest cactus I've ever seen, at sunset

Roosters actually roost...in the trees!

Last week in the campo I had my heart broken by an eight year old girl named Reina Isabel. I really fell in love with the family I stayed with. There were 9 kids in the family, some in and some already out of the house, but we were able to meet all of them. The house we stayed in was constructed of Adobe, had no electricity and was also inhabited by a number of friendly critters. The bats were creepy, but to their credit I think they munched on a lot of the mosquitoes, more than us anyway. The father of the family was nearly impossible to understand. Not only did he speak with a lot of slang but he also was missing most of his teeth. Just about every morning we conversed with the father, usually about religion. The first day were got there he sat us down and asked us if we had been to confession lately. Most of our conversations turned into awkward laughter. The mother of the house spent most of time grinding corn and making tortillas. We walked everywhere. The first day we walked from Los Posos to Nueva Trinidad, which is a 1.5 hour walk, for a 20 minute meeting, and then walked back home. We also swam in the Rio Sumpul, site of one of the most brutal massacres during the war. It is told that so many were killed that the river ran red with the blood of women, men, and children. It was surreal to be swimming and playing in that sacred river. I ate about 5 mangos everyday. I love mangos. There really are just too many stories. Last week will live with me forever, and I hope I never forget the taste of ripe mango, the innocence of children at play, the feel of massa in my hands, the smell of farm animals, the feeling of sticky mango hands clasped together with mine, the feeling of exhaustion after hours of walking, the sound of Salvadoran hymns at church, the taste of ice cream when you really just need it, and more than anything a life of simple joy.

Another day in La Javia

Today Amber and I began our final project for praxis. We are creating a documentary video which will hopefully capture la realidad of life in La Javia, Tepecoyo, especially for the children we work with. It was a really powerful day of interviews. We visited who a woman who shared her story and about her son. Her son, age 24, has been missing for over a month now. She does not know whether he is dead or alive. It was almost unbearable to listen to her story as her other children sat around her and the tears dripped from her swollen eyes. At the end of the interview all she could say was "gracias, gracias a ustedes." She was just so happy that we were there and cared enough to take down her story and share in the "tristeza" sadness of her life. It was such a beautiful and heartwrenching experience.
Life her continues at a torrid pace. I have to read 2 books and write a paper this week, and I have a spanish presentation tomorrow which I haven't really started. Sometimes I forget I'm actually in school.
Romero's anniversary was this past weekend. We all participated in a great celebration and memorial march downtown. It was really energizing and reminded me of why I am here and my call to living a life of peace, justice, and solidarity. Thank you all for your continued love and support!

Honduras y más

Copan ruinas







Roatan beach at West End









Crazy ant eater friend from the jungle









chillin by the river




First I would like to apologize for the long awaited update from Honduras. Spring break was incredible. We started the week at the ruins of Copán. We toured the ruins and visited some hotsprings. We then traveled east to the island of Roatan. We stayed in a great backpackers hostel right on the beach. We snorkeled and went on a boat tour. The island is basically paradise and meets the standards of any Caribbean island you´ve ever seen in photographs. Then we went to La Ceiba on the mainland to Pico Bonito national forest. While there we stayed in an amazing jungle lodge over looking a roaring whitewater river. We went rafting, ziplining through the jungle, and played with their pet anteater. The whole trip was like a dream come true. I really love living out of my backpack, traveling, and meeting great people along the way.
This week, coming back to the reality of El Salvador, has been really hard. I feel like I left myself in Honduras and I´m just now starting to catch up to myself. The time we have here is already waning and we are all getting worried about final projects and making connections before it´s too late. I have to keep reminding myself to live in the moment and experience everything that I can. This weekend is the anniversary of Monseñor Romero´s death. We will participating in a great remembrance celebration along with thousands of Salvadorans. I really excited to be a part of this celebration. Tomorrow we are meeting with ex-ambassador to El Salvador, Robert White. This will be a unique opportunity to see into the workings of American politics in El Salvador during the civil war.
I have been horrible at keeping up correspondence; I apologize. If you would like a postcard please send me your address because I don't really have any one's here. Finally, I would like to throw a shout out to my dad who's birthday is tomorrow! ¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

Social Analysis of El Salvador

So we just got out of class with the head of Catholic Relief Services in El Salvador. I have learned so much about the greater social realities in just 2 hours. I would like to share some of these realities with all of you back home.

There are certain areas in the country that flood every year because the government will not build dikes. The funds are available from an international institution but will not be allowed because the area is predominately FMLN.

All the rivers and most of the underground water supplies in the country are contaminated.

Out of 100,000 births 174 mothers die from complications

there are 16,000 people reported with HIV/AIDS but it´s more like 32,000

40% of the country lives on less than $2 a day

Banco Cuscatlan, the biggest bank in the country doesn´t pay taxes and there are no property taxes in the country

1.5-2 million Salvadorans live in the USA and every year $3 BILLION are sent to El Salvador in remitences, which is larger than all international aid combined.

El Salvador is the second most violent country in the world next to Iraq, and the most violent peace time country in the world.

It is common for police to pick up kids who look like gang members, take them to a field, and kill them without trial.

48% of the wealth is held by 6-8 families

only 7 of 100 homicides go before a judge

Just some facts to chew on, because I sure am. wow.

Belice

The boat ride from Guatemala to Belize

After climbing through the rainforest

Munching on some tasty termites! They actually taste like carrots!

Hanging out at the cave entrance

This past weekend we traveled to Belize. The trip took about 10 hours—8 by microbus, 1 by boat on the open ocean and another bus into the jungle. We stayed in an enchanted valley in the middle of the rainforest/jungle. Feet from our cabins ran a crystal clear river which flowed from the mountain side. Hundreds of fish nipped at us as we swam around and dove off the dock. At the mouth of the river there was an enormous cave which we swam into. With headlamps we swam deep into the cave. After 20 minutes of swimming we came across a huge and powerful waterfall pouring from above. The whole trip was magical. Although, the dangers of the jungle did poke their little eyes once in a while. The first morning I walked into the bathroom to find a 5 inch scorpion climbing on the wall, and a tarantula in the hallway. Other than that it was a relaxing and much needed weekend away from San Salvador, and really the only reason we make this trip is because we need to leave the country to renew our visas/passports. And since the inception of CAFTA we have to leave the CA-4 (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua). Lucky for us, this trade agreement means an extra long weekend in the Belizean jungle. It was so weird to be speaking English to people in Belize. The official language of Belize is English because it was once a British colony, much like Jamaica. There are only 250,000 people living in Belize with 6 different ethnicities and languages spoken. Despite its rich tourist industry the country is desperately poor due to horrendous governmental corruption. I would love to go back someday and travel more. It’s so different than El Salvador. The people are so friendly and there aren’t as many walls. I immediately noticed the lack of barbed wire which is so prevalent here in the city.

Today I took the day off from Praxis. It was my first time to miss, but it was much needed. I developed a wicked cough and sour throat in Belize and can barely speak due to my lost voice. This week is going to go so fast, and then on Friday we’re off again for spring break. Time moves faster and faster.

Good times in Tepecoyo

Hello all!


So, Monday was by far the best day in Tepecoyo. Two other praxis groups came for a visit so I was able to introduce them to my host family and show everyone where I pass my time on Mondays and Wednesdays. We walked down to the river and took a nice dip in the cold water. In the afternoon we played soccer in the street and climbed mango trees. To top off my fantastic day I received an awesome letter in the mail.
Last weekend we went on an Ignatian silent retreat at Centro Loyola. It was a beautiful location overlooking the city of San Salvador. It was a much needed time to reflect and look ahead to the future. With everything we are going through here it is sometimes hard to make time for reflection.
The violent reality of El Salvador has recently been rearing its ugly head. The assasinations in Guatemala of the Salvadoran diputados and the murderers subsequent assassinations are prime examples of the corruption present throughout this region. There has also been a lot of gang activity. Even though the war has been over for 15 years there is still a war between gangs. Many of the gang members were deported from the US, and the Salvadoran government is just not able to control the violence and corruption. The other day 8 gang members got on a bus and shot a teenage boy in the back of the head 5 times. They all got away. The boy was part of a community near one of our praxis sites. On monday we saw two gang members walking down the street. You can tell because they had their shirts off and were sporting huge tatoos saying ¨MS.¨ Another girl, the niece of one of our friends here, fell from a tree collecting fruit. She later died of complications from her injury. I don´t share these things to scare people. I am not in danger. I just want to share a piece of the reality here. It´s not all coconuts and beach parties.
Speaking of which, this weekend we are heading to Belize for a jungle adventure and also to renew our visas. It´s only 8-10 hours crammed in the Micro all together. Updates soon to follow. Then, next weekend is the start of spring break. I can´t believe it´s already here. We are planning on heading to Hondurus. Any suggestions or things not to miss?

El Volcán

So this weekend was pretty awesome. First, on Friday, we went to watch El Salvador play Costa Rica. It was my first soccer game outside of the US and it was INSANE. I really could not believe it. Some of our friends got beer and pee sprayed on them because they were Gringos. They were also sitting in the cheap $3 seats whereas I shelled out for the $9 seats...good choice. Second, on Saturday we drove out to the western part of the country to climb the Volcano Izalco. It was very gruelling but worth the view. We hiked all the way to the top and even went down into the crater. Yesterday at praxis we did more house visits but only 4 instead of 9, which is utterly gruelling. Tomorrow we are teaching more English, but I am excited because we had a workshop on Sunday on how to teach English to kids. I´m pumped to try out the new techniques. And we now have a pisara, or whiteboard to write on during class. And we got internet on one of the computers in Tepecoyo. I´m going to make a blog for the kids so stay posted!

Happy Valentine's Day / Dia de Amistad

Some days I love El Salvador.

Some days I hate it.

Most days I just don’t get it.

Today on the way to Tepecoyo we drove past the scene of an accident. At first glance it didn’t appear much different than one in the States. But, what I saw will be forever seared into my memory. First, one woman lay motionless, probably dead, on the group while a couple men stood over her. Then I saw another woman lying on the ground. She rolled over exposing fresh blood dripping from her face. It appeared that both women had been violently thrown from their pickup trucks during morning rushhour traffic. There were no ambulances, only Salvadoran men standing around watching the women doing nothing. Most Salvadorans do not use seat belts and riding in the back of pickups is a common mode of transportation. And, there are laws here that forbid people from moving victims of car accidents until the medics arrive. All day I had these horrific images running through my head and don’t think they will ever leave me. Actually, I hope they don’t. I’m here to understand the reality and this is la realidad.

Someone recently called El Salvador the biggest paradox. They are right. There is so much death and violence here surrounded by utter beauty, grace, and love. There were over 1,000 car accidents in January alone. Private security forces, vigilantes, outnumber the national security forces. I think on average I see about 15-20 shotguns daily. This said, El Salvador continues to surprise me. On the flip side, today was dia de amistad, and in class about 6 kids came up to me and gave the biggest hugs. There is so much beauty here that pops its head amongst the sorrow and poverty.

I’m trying to understand this reality. I’m trying to live the questions. I just wish I could ask the right questions, because the answers are not coming…yet.

el fin de semana

This one is for everyone at Nature Outfitters, and all lovers of Chaco's everywhere. This is what my feet looked like after 6 hours in the jungle.













Don't worry Ma! Me scaling a waterfall with some rope

Well this past weekend could have been the most exciting weekend yet in El Salvador. A group of us went to Juayua for the weekend. When we got there we found a beautiful travelers hotel for $5 a night. We went for a pickup ride to an enchanted night market in an indigenous market. Then on Saturday we hired some guides who took us on a 6 hour jungle hiking up and down waterfalls and mountains. There were amazing swimming holes with tunnels through the hillside which we swam through to other waterfalls. It was seriously like a dream, except for the two police guards posted at the waterfall. They were a friendly reminded to the dangerous reality here. Oh did I mention there is a food festival and open market every weekend too! Shish-ka-bobs, chorizo, and 70 cent beers. Can't beat it.
Praxis in Tepecoyo was really hard on Monday. We made 9 house visits in one day. We were giving survey on community development. It´s been tough getting to know the members of the community because they live so far away (we go everywhere by foot), and the language barrier has been hard too. Some interesting things I learned from the interviews is that the average monthly income for a household of 4-7 is about $90. That's staggering. And interestingly all the families I've met do not have family in the states to send remitences.

The past few days

So the past week has been a whirlwind. This past weekend I spent in Tepecoyo at the house of Angelica. The weekend was full of lots of walking to people´s houses doing home visits. It was a good experience although I rarely understood everything that was said. We leared how to make tortillas and pupusas. On Sunday we went to mass which was quite different than anything we have in the states. We had to stand for almost 2 hours because there weren´t enough seats for everyone. Oh, and after church I learned how to scale and gut fish...I´m turning into quite the salvadoran chef. There were also a ton of super creepy cockroaches in the house I was staying. The poverty is still overwhelming, which is good. When I start to become to numb I think I´ll need to reevaluate something.
On Monday we didn´t go to praxis but had a day off to recoup from the long weekend. In the late afternoon I received an email from two old Cincinnati CISV compañeros, Mark and Jacob. I had kinda forgotten that they were traveling through Central America and they were expected into San Salvador later that afternoon. A few hours later I received a call from Mark who was down at the UCA. So, the two of them came up to Casa Romero and spent the night. Mark came to Tepecoyo with me on Wednesday and the spent the night again. We played lots of guitar, taught everyone Kittos, and had a great time conversing and catching up. It was so good to have someone from home at the Casa-someone that shares a similar context with me and who was willing to jump right into mine here. I think there is another weekend trip in the works for us adventures. so stay tuned!

Sociology Paper

Hey so I thought I would share this paper I wrote for sociology. I think it's pretty good, but who knows. My praxis weekend in Tepecoyo went well although very difficult. I will hopefully write more about it later.
He goes the paper...

What do we really know? This question has been rolling around my head for the past couple weeks as I have been reading through the material from class. It has led me into a reflection on my education, my intellect, and also my experience thus far in El Salvador, especially at my praxis site in Tepecoyo.

When I first arrived in El Salvador I was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of this place. The beauty of nature juxtaposed to the shocking reality of poverty has astounded me. Naturally, I immediately, subconsciously or not, began to compare my experience here to past experiences from home, school, and my life in general. I began to try to understand El Salvador through the lens of my context. As Bourdieu writes in The Scholastic Point of View, we of the academic world have been given great opportunity and privilege to make these kinds of comparisons and to think about topics of philosophy, religion, or politics. We have been granted the ability to “play seriously” (128). For example, I do not have responsibilities to supply food, shelter, or succor to myself or others. This free time allows me the pursuits of scholarship and travel. I have not only been given this once or twice but it is an ongoing paying of the “admission fee” into further pursuits. This is a privilege that only the smallest majority of the world can manifest, and there are some pertinent dangers which one must protect against, especially in an environment like my own.

When traversing cultural and transnational boundaries it is so important to fare the warnings in Bourdieu’s writings. I have been given amazing opportunities to expand my intellect in countless ways and with that has come a sense of certitude about theories, ideas, and knowledge about myself and the world. With education there comes a presumption that much of what you learn and experience is true. And indeed, much of it is “true.” But in order to more holistically experience the world and education we must from time to time take a step back and think about how we are thinking, what we are thinking, and why we are thinking that. One can make presumptions about what is right and what is wrong, not from a full contextual experience, but from a face value reading on what is perceived from an experience through a personal context. Therefore, before making a presumption it is important to put oneself into the context perceived so that a judgment can be made from within. That said we can not abandon our own context. I will never be able to abandon my experience and education from St. Xavier High School or Loyola University Chicago. But, in order to really enter into a reality I must intentionally lower my intellectual shield. What I have learned and experienced is not wrong, but it is not the whole story. Further, in order to communicate with someone, on the same page, we cannot keep that shield up, because we will never be able to speak the same language.

This has been very relevant at my praxis site in Tepecoyo. I have spent two weeks and a full weekend there, and I still find myself seeing that reality through my North American, white, male, student…etc. context. I have caught myself judging things through my context and dismissing their reality as incorrect, naiveté, or superfluous. For example, sanitary conditions have struck me especially. Practices that I take for granted, like brushing my teeth twice daily, or washing my hands after each bathroom use are not regularly practiced at my praxis site. I think instead of really trying to figure out why they do or do not do things I have blown it off as being gross or out of mere ignorance. However, I am sure they do the things they do for good reason. I have not gotten sick, and they are not dropping dead from pestilence; and, even if it is out of ignorance is it necessarily better or worse?

Another insight I had while reading this chapter was the use of language privilege of education as a form of power. Education is power, not necessarily in the form of domination, but in the sense of societal and cultural power. Over the years of my life doors have been swung open because of my education and my social network. Many people in Tepecoyo do not have the education or the social structures available to do what I have been able to do. This puts me in a unique and intimidating situation. On one hand I hold a certain power of them, but on the other they over me. I come with a topnotch education and cultural power as American. But, I do not know what life is really like in Tepecoyo and I can not really speak the language. No matter how much Spanish I learn I doubt I will ever be able to truly speak the language, on the same field, as them. There are certain cultural contexts which I will not learn in 4 months, or perhaps even 4 years. There will always be a part of my inherent context blocking my comprehension of their reality.

I do not think Bourdieu wants his readers to abandon their own contexts and framework. On the contrary he wants us to be aware and constantly in critical reflection. If not, we run the risk of letting our own context blind us from the current reality. Even if we never truly see that reality we can acknowledge our own limitations and work from there instead of from a place of assumptions and false pretenses. Then by acknowledging these shortcomings perhaps we can compensate for them in order to better grasp and delve into la realidad.

Journal entry and more

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who posts on my blog. It means a lot to me that people back in the states care about me and are interested in what I am doing here. They really give me fuel for the fire.
This weekend we are going to our praxis sites for the entire weekend. I'm kinda nervous, but also really excited. On Saturday we're just going to play lots of futbol and hangout with kids. Two things I can do pretty well, teach English and speak Spanish, that's another story. Below is a journal entry I wrote for a class. I just thought I would share it.
Everyone stay warm and you are missed and loved.

Wow, what an intense few weeks. I have been turned upside down. I have often stopped in the past few weeks to find my body throbbing and my soul crying out at the uncertainty of it all. Before I left the states I felt like I had sufficiently prepared myself for the four month immersion I was to undertake. I had heard the stories, seen the pictures, experienced changed people, but know I know I really had no idea what was coming.

My first day at Tepecoyo was hard. I went alone because Amber was sick. I was immediately placed in front of a class of about 18 students and had to introduce myself. I have a moderate grasp of the Spanish language but I found myself freezing and saying the most elementary sentences. Everyone spoke so quickly and all I could say was “más despacio, por favor.” I left with a headache and physically exhausted by the day’s end. I could not stop thinking that this was going to be the same thing twice a week for the next four months. I almost cried. Two days later Amber joined me, and I still left the day screaming on the inside and with my head throbbing. And I still can not figure this place out. Will I ever?

It was the little stuff that got to me first—how can they go to the bathroom there every single day, or let mangy dogs linger at their feet, or let the flies buzz insensately over everything? The initial shock of the poverty and my inability to understand the context and communicate with my hosts made the first week very unnerving and scary.

The first week has passed, and now the second and I now feel more comfortable with my role at Tepecoyo. I still do not understand everything that is said to me or the complexity of the social, economic, and political structures which have created this poverty. However, I have started to just relax. I needed to get past the initial shock of my surroundings, to realize who I was meeting and to allow relationships to take root. I remember now what Fr. Dan Hartnett said before I left about not going into a community with an agenda, but going in to experience and learn. As much as I tried to do that right away I don’t think I was very successful. All I wanted to do was jump in and start fighting the system. I am smart; I can do so much. Why can I not do something to change this?

The kids to whom we have been teaching English are amazing. I wish more kids in the US would appreciate their education as much as these kids. More like, I wish I appreciated my education as much as these kids. They are so polite and enthused about learning. We have so much fun singing songs and learning new vocabulary. Many of them have much pena but I have found that big smiles and silly faces can break down most barriers and often speak louder than any of my broken Spanish words.

I think more than anything I have been left with more questions than answers. For example, what is the relationship between the community and the police? On Monday we were walking through the community making home visits and there was a police truck sitting on the side of the road. I asked Neilson what he thought about the police, and when I did his voice lowered and said that he did not trust them and that they are mostly all crooks. Another question I have is about public services. I do not understand how they get water or electricity. On Friday we are getting the internet for the computer classroom. This is so exciting but also an utter paradox because they still have an outhouse that would make the average American gag.

The past week I have been thinking a lot about our sociology class and about “language games.” On the one hand I am trying to understand the context and the reality of Tepecoyo and life in the campo, but am I really. We are still talking in different languages. I do not understand the reality after only two weeks, and I do not if I will have after my experience. Can we really ever enter into another’s reality, or are we always stuck playing our own language game? I really want to enter into this new reality but at the same time I cannot escape the context which I am coming, and honestly I would not want to escape it. It is who I am. That’s a scary thought. Maybe I will never be able to escape my context long enough to enter into the context of another. But, are not both contexts ultimately tied up together? Is that not what Solidaridad is all about?

In political science we have been starting to talk about the political structures in Latin America which have perpetuated and exacerbated poverty here. One thing that has struck me is the use of political exclusion to maintain a power structure which fuels poverty. However, in the case of Tepecoyo this political isolation may have been the source of inspiration for productive grassroots organizing and community building. The local community relations here are amazing. There is so much confianza in each other and really good work has been done and continues to evolve to better the life of the community. Perhaps these unjust political structures have in some way direct correlation with the establishment of grassroots community organizing.

Costa del Sol

So it feels like I've been going at 100mph for the past three weeks. I have yet to spend a day doing nothing. This past weekend we had two birthdays in my house. On friday we went to La Luna, a salsa club. I've never been salsa dancing before so it was quite the treat. At one point in the night I happened to be sitting by myself when this beautiful women came over and asked me to dance, well, I think she did. She did grab my hand and lead me to the dance floor, so I followed...naturally. We I got out there she just kept saying: "mueva las caderas" (move your hips) I tried to no avail. She bored of my poor salsa moves and handed me off to one of her friends who proptly depositted me to my friend Elizabeth. We then happily enjoyed our mediocre Americanized salsa moves. On Saturday we all went to Costa del Sol, a really great beach. We hung out at a resort all day chillin on the beach. That night a group of us stayed overnight because Sunday was our friends birthday. The sweetest part is that we got the rooms for free because the Casa payed for them all day. We spent the night eating, drinking, and chilling in hammocks. What the life! Sunday we took a 4 hour bus ride with three transfers back from Costa del Sol to Antiguo Cuscatlan. I almost fell off a moving bus because it was so overcrowed. It just about scared the crap out of me. I was only hanging out of the bus for a couple minutes until I pushed myself in to saftey. It was quite the adventure.

Long awaited photos!

Coffee beans laying out to dry










Isla de los parrajos - Thousands of birds and their crap.










My room, affectionately called "la Cueva"










Sur Lidia and some kids










Laying on top of the truck










Mountains near Jayaque


Niños

Volcano at Puerto del Diablo

Me and the guys at Puerto del Diablo

Washing clothes by hand in the Pila room

Chillin on the hammock in our ¨living room"

Portrait from Romero's Casita

Suchitoto

Here are some photos from the past couple weeks. It's an odd assortment and in no order.

busy few days

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I posted. First, we had a pretty intense earthquake last week. It was a 6.2 on the Richter scale and the epicenter was about 30km off the coast. But when it hit I just about soiled myself. That was the first time I had ever experienced anything like that.
On Sunday a group of us went to Puerto del Diablo. It is a beautiful place for hiking and there was an open air market. We hiked around some awesome rock formations and got into some pretty precarious spots…it was AWESOME. Many of you know how I love to chill out on rocks, so Sunday was like a dream. A couple of us had to leave early, but the other half of the group stuck around and got to do an awesome zip-line over a huge ravine. I was so jealous, but luckily it’s only about 30 minutes from the Casa, so watch out, I’ll be back.
Pandemic has hit the Casa community and left 12 people in bed today. They had the poops and the pukes. It was pretty narsty, and I am so blessed to be healthy. I’m sure my day will come soon enough. It was really a shame that it hit today too because today was our first day at our praxis site. My praxis partner was one inflicted with the bug so I had to make the journey to Tepecoyo by myself. Already on the first day I was helping teach computer skills. I was so overwhelmed by the language barrier, especially with the adults. The kids are fine and we can both laugh about my silly errors. The drive to Tepecoyo was exhausting too, with about 3 hours in the micro today.
I know it’s taken me so long to get some pictures posted to the blog, so I hope you can wait a little longer. The computers here take forever to load stuff up.
I think the word for the day is overwhelmed and tired. So with that—adios.

Patricio

¡Clases mañana!

Tomorrow we begin our first day of class! I´m excited...I think. I´m taking three classes in Spanish: Sociologia, Politica, y español, and two in English, Theology and my praxis class. Today was another long and hot day. We went to more praxis sites to see where people will be placed. We went to Fe y Alegría, a school run by this cute old nun, sister Marcos. We have been making many site visits and I´m really looking forward to getting in something a little more regular. Last night some of us stayed up until about 3am, sitting in the Hammock, listening to the cool breeze blow through our courtyard. (I´m still not sure if staying up until 3 was a good idea or not because now I could easily fall asleep sitting here. I am making some great connections with people and the sprouts of great new friendships are poking their heads. I am not yet accustomed to the many new sights and sounds of San Salvador, to the roaring buses, the car alarms, the roosters crowing, the dogs barking, the latina music blaring, the children laughing, the barbed/razor wire everywhere, the ubiquitous flowers which grow in the most unexpected places, the houses and shacks made of tin and scraps, my dirty feet at the end of the day. Everything is so much more real and in your face. The violence and poverty is real and extreme, but so is the hope and the laughter. Last night we were able to meet with Fr. Dean Brackly S.J. It was so great to finally meet him after so long. I have read a number of his works, and he is such a inspiration to me. He gave us some words of wisdom for the semester and answer questions, except for mine. I asked how we can keep the fire alive when we return to the US and how we can begin to live lives of solidarity. He wouldn´t answer it, and said I would just have to wait. I actually think that´s a pretty good answer. I ok with waiting. I just can´t wait to get some tortillas tonight and relax with my new friends.

Buenas,

patricio

Happy MLK Day

Hey all,

So the past couple of days have been pretty amazing. We are still doing orientation so we have been visiting the Praxis sites. We went to Tepecoyo, which is where I will be 2 days a week. The town is beautiful and we were there for the opening of their computer lab, where Amber and I will be teaching computer classes. Yesterday was a free day so some of us went to Suchitoto, a small town by a beautiful lake. We had lunch, had a couple beers, went for a tour of the lake. We went out to a beautiful island called Isla de los Parajos. There were thousands of birds, it was nuts! Dinner is calling, more stories later!

Adios

patricio

Buenas a todos y todas

Hello all,

I am here in El Salvador. The trip was painless, and actually quite fun. I met an interesting guy on the plane from El Salvador and we spoke all most the whole way here. The past 48 hours have been so intense with orientation to the Casa program. We have already visited the UCA and even seen the rose garden where the 6 Jesuits and their 2 friends were murdered. Today we sat through hours of meeting about health and safety. My room is nice. I am living in a double by myself so i have plenty of room. It was quite surprising though to find that my living room has no roof and there are actually 2 trees growing there. Well, it´s actually more of a courtyard, but my room opens up right to the outside. There is an awesome hammock that hangs between the trees, and is great for taking siestas...if I ever have time. The Casa staff is amazing including the cooks who are preparing delicious food for us. (don´t worry Ma, it´s safe to eat) It is hot, but not as hot as I expected. At night it actually gets quite cool and I´m really glad to have my sweatshirt. The people I have met have all been so nice and welcoming, the other students and the Salvadorans. Tonight we are going for pupusas, yum. I hope you have enjoyed my rambling and first entry from El Salvador!

Hasta luego!