more photos

I'm on a photo kick. Enjoy it!

the nice thing about having parents come visit is an excuse to get pictures of the market. otherwise I just feel ridiculous.

more market

more market - where's waldo?
and still a good kid, looking both ways before I cross the street... :)

That's it for right now. I will try and put up more photos. Possibly a video of Monkey!

photos!

I have finally been able to upload some photos, so enjoy!

AGEE 2009-2011

my "office"
I'll eventually be borrowing a bookshelf from the school, I just haven't grabbed it yet.

kitchen
I spend a lot of time in here

my living room
it's huge, and I have just a hammock

the bedroom
bed is right next to me as I'm taking the photo
the bathroom
it's really big, and clean. I swear!
back yard
notice the hammock, pila (water trough/washing area), sitting area and totaled car. The car is not mine...

Monkey!
kind of a bad photo, but she's a cutie

good afternoon, class

I did it! I survived my first week of classes. I was not eaten alive, I was not sent home crying at the end of the day and I even had some little successes in this first week!

So as you might already know I was roped in to being the "substitute" English teacher. The one they had last year found another job. Supposedly the school has another teacher lined up, and they just need me to fill in for a little bit. But that's why I put "substitute" in quotes. I have a feeling this could easily be a many month position. We'll see.

I'm the English teacher for the afternoon crowd. The morning English teacher is still at the school. He has been helping me get my materials together and otherwise get me "orientated" to the whole teaching thang. (They forget that I'm not a teaching professional. I'm a college grad with a degree in Political Economy. Which means I need help! Sure I know English, but anyone who has ever been in a classroom knows that's often not enough!)

So I get to work with the 6th - 9th graders. The 6th graders are young enough that they are pretty much willing to learn anything. The 7th graders have the biggest 'tudes of all the grades, but they are still a high energy group which is good. I want lots of participation and they love competition, so I'm going to use that to my advantage. The 8th graders are great. It's a huge group, 42 students I think, but they are all well behaved, which is amazing! They are also pretty listo (literally "ready" but in this sense also "intelligent", or "quick"). The 9th graders will be an interesting group to work with. School here ends at 9th grade, and you can continue on to Bachillerato if you want. (Bachillerato is either a 2 or 3 year education track, depending on what you choose to concentrate. It's kind of like a vo-tech high school. You can specialize in Auto Mechanics, Nursing, Tourism, Accounting, Business or Generalized studies. If your family has money, after Bachillerato you can go on to a University.) So some of the 9th graders are already in "senioritis" mode while others are ready to get down to business to prepare for Bachillerato. Some are serious about studying English and some just want to make googly eyes at their boyfriend. But what can ya do?

I began all the classes with review - numbers 1-100, days of the week, months of the year, classroom vocab etc. Most of them just began English studies last year, so they are more or less on the same page. At the end of the first class I asked all the students to write an anonymous comment, suggestion, question etc. on a piece of paper and turn it in. I remember in health class our teacher had us do this so we could ask the questions that we've always wanted to, without having to be embarrased about asking them. I figured that some students will probably never want to come talk to me face to face, or at least for a couple weeks, but I wanted to get their feedback sooner than later. And boy did I get some priceless responses.

Quiero saber como se dice - quiero salir al recreo I want to know how you say - I want to leave for recess.

Porque el ingles se escribe de una forma y se pronuncia de otra forma? Why is English written in one way but pronunced another? (That, my friend, is the million dollar question!)

No me qusta que me pregunte nada en Ingles, OK?! I don't like you to ask me anything in English, OK?! (Ouch! Well, sorry buddy but this is English class, so I will in fact be asking you questions in English, OK?!)

me caes muy bien, tienes hijos? I like you, do you have children? (When I shared this one with my host grandma, she thought I read it as quieres hijos? - do you WANT children? oh boy!)

Como se dice hamburgesas en Ingles? How do you say hamburgers in English? (I received a bunch of "how do you say" some of the other ones conejo - rabbit, pachanga - big party, tortuga - turtle, Pedro - Peter(?), Victor Fabian Rivera Perla - I have no idea!

Me gusta como usted ensena. I like the way you teach. (awww!)

Usted es una buena maestra. You are a good teacher. (Thanks guys and I haven't even given you homework yet!)

Porque es chelita? Why are you white? (I want to respond with, "ask your mother", but I don't think that really translates...)

Quiero saber porque los americanos hablan tambien el Ingles. I want to know why Americans also speak English. (Not entirely sure how to respond to that...I mean, some Americans only speak English, others speak what can only loosely be considered English, and some speak a downright encyclopedia of languages.)

So all in all I think classes are going well. It's definitely helping me get an "in" with the students which I hope will help me when I start doing my real job of Environmental Education and other projects.

As I leave the school at the end of the day, some of the students call to me, in English, "Goodbye teacher!" I really want to yell back, "goodbye, student!" But then that would suggest that if they were to start using my name, I would have to use theirs too, which is a hopeless task if I ever was given one! But at least they put a smile on my face as I walk home.

would you like to buy this beanie with scripture on it?

Happy New Year! I just got back from Molineros, where I celebrated the New Year with my first host family. The 1st and 2nd of January are also the Fiestas Patronales in Molineros, so New Years is a bigger deal there. I headed out from my site on the morning of the 31st to make it there in time for the evening’s festivities. Bus transportation in this country is always an experience, but not always the simplest, or most direct. Long story short – I can normally make it from my site to Molineros on two buses, but this time I ended up having to take 4.

The bus riding experience here can’t really be compared to anything in the States. Each bus has a driver and a cobrador. The cobradors lean out the front window yelling to people on the side of the road where the bus is going and convincing them, verbally, physically (if he shoves you on his bus, you have to pay right?!) and loudly to get on this bus and not the other one. The cobrador also helps old ladies, or pretty ladies, get on and off the bus, helps with big bags and children and is otherwise helpful. He also walks up and down the aisles collection bus fares. (I say he because every single cobrador, except for one, I have ever had in this country has been a man. I think it’s too dangerous for women.)

So those are the two main characters that come with which ever bus you take. But by no means are those the only characters. At each of the bigger desvio (junction) stops, vendedores (wandering vendors) get on and hawk their wares. So far in this country I have been offered – jicama, tortillas, strawberries, ice cream, hair clips, Gatorade, pistachios, flashlights, candied peanuts, power cords, dried coconut, a full chicken dinner, French fries, a dozen apples, the word of God on cards, posters, CDs, DVDs, books, coloring books, placards, tapestries, bracelets and book marks. I have been told of the benefits of eye drops, foot creams, cleansing teas, weight loss pills and memory enhancers. My future children might benefit from this collection of anatomy, language, geography, mathematics, grammar or history text books. It’s absolutely astounding the variety of things you can buy on a bus. It kind of defeats the purpose of taking the bus to go shopping. Stay on it long enough, and you might just be able to purchase everything you need without leaving your seat!

But I digress. So I made it to Molineros and was immediately thrown into the festivities. We went off to visit Conchita's aunt and then came back to a house full of people ready to make bread. So we made bread until it got dark, then went back to the aunt’s house and chatted more. We got back to the house at about 11:30 and from there the fireworks really got going. They had been going off all day, but as midnight approaches, more and more begin going off. I lit a couple but mostly let the children risk losing a limb…

The next day, the 1st, family and friends from San Sal showed up in droves and by noon the house was absolutely full of people. The day was spent chatting, making tamales, being serenaded by a wandering band and watching the mini-parade. In the evening was the mass to celebrate their Patron Saint, Dulce nombre de Jesus (the sweet name of Jesus). After the mass was the lighting of the fireworks that covered the tower that bared the image of the Patron Saint. After the fireworks was a dance. I ended up going and dancing until about 2:30 am.

The next day, the 2nd, I spent the morning just enjoying my time in Molineros before heading back to my site. Conchita made fresh bread and pulled it out of the oven, wrapped it up and put it in my backpack right as I was running to catch the bus. I also had tamales, so the whole way back to my site, I think I might have slightly bugged my bus companions with the smells coming from my bag. But hey, at least they were good smells and when I got back to my site, the bread was still warm!

man's best friend

I thought fetch was a universal game. I assumed that when ever a little boy or girl gets a puppy, they play fetch together. And while I didn't make an ass out of myself as the saying goes, I was wrong for assuming. My host family has two dogs, one spunky puppy, Canelo (Cinnamon) and one calmer mother, Negra (Blacky). Negra just had 5 puppies and they are doing well. I am planning on llevar-ing uno (taking one) to my new house when I move in. One, for the company, and two, to be an example of adequate pet care. Some families are definitely better than others, but very few people treat their dogs as pets. Many treat them as nothing more than an intruder alarm system that every once and a while needs food. I think that's why fetch was not in the repertoire of Canelo or my host brother David. So I taught them both.

We started with the all important stick. I picked one that wasn't too big but had a good weight to it so it would really fly when you threw it. Then we had to get Canelo interested in the stick. That involved just letting him sniff it, then I threw it, and ran after it as if I wanted it more than he did. Eventually he understood that the point of the game was to get the stick before I did and soon he was going for it on his own. Every once and a while he got distracted and forgot about the game, or chased after the stick, sniffed it, and came bounding back without it. But all in all he understood and appreciated the game. (If you'll allow me to project human emotions on an animal, as well as allow me the ability to read them!)

My host family was stupified that such activities could be done with a dog. They loved it. I also took the opportunity to explain to them that some of the "behavior" issues they don't like in Canelo - that he jumps up on them and tries to grab invisible food from their hands - come from the fact that he has too much energy. Not too mention that he is still a puppy, receives no love and attention, and barely receives enough food, but those are issues that are entirely too big for me to handle all at once. So I mentioned that if you exercise your dog, he will be tired, and will be less likely to jump or nip at your hand. They loved the idea and all of a sudden I found myself the official "Dog Whisperer" of Canelo. They want me to train him and exercise him and all that jazz. It's completely my own fault, and I don't mind, but as I worked with Canelo and David on the "sit" command, I remembered the invaluable words of Cesar Millan, the true Dog Whisperer. "Dog training is more about training the human than training the dog." And boy is it true.

Canelo was really quick to learn the sit command. But, he became confused when David said it a different way, or added other commands or gave harsh words as punishment for some innocuous thing as opposed to a treat for the more important "sitting" that was going on. So I had to teach David as much, or more, than I was teaching Canelo. How to properly react when Canelo jumps on him, or why he's nipping at David's hand because he thinks he has food or he just wants to play etc. etc. And then I realized that I could do well with some of my own training.

It seems that every other day or so, I'm presented with some new cultural quirk that nips at my better sense and pushes my buttons. I know that cultural differences are just that, constructs of culture, and there's nothing wrong with anyone's culture, it's just different. But I think we all can identify in ourselves things that we could do better, so I think it's only natural, and okay, to identify things here that could be done better. (Also, it's part of my job to change the mindsets of people in terms of Environmental Management.) Now, I'm not going around on my soap box telling people that I think some of the things they do are... different - leaving a fan on is considered wasting energy, but leaving a T.V. on is not; dogs are neglected, and then people wonder why they have vicious dogs all over the place; plastic trash is burned left and right while respiratory problems are the number one health issue of Salvadorans; and cutting a sapling down because you don't like where it's growing, instead of transplanting it.

But, if I want to have an effect on any of these things, first I need to train myself. I need to be aware of how I feel and control my reactions. I need to check in with myself and make sure that I'm not assuming anything. That I tread lightly, but confidently when it comes to changing mindsets. Nothing comes quickly, and I most gain people's confidence before I can even begin to show other ways of doing things. And even then, it doesn't mean a change will occur, but it will mean a broadening of horizons. An understanding on their part that there is more than one way to skin a cat. But first I must understand and accept the same.

It's tough, but that's why they call it culture shock. It's the incredible differences that you are confronted with, the actions and habits that seem so counterproductive to you, but everyday normal to someone else. I know that in the end my integration in, understanding of and acceptance of (and from) my community is crucial to my future success. So right now I'm adapting. I'm teaching myself first how to handle my emotions and reactions when I'm confronted with these differences. And often it's tough. I want to yell out "why are you doing that!?" "who taught you that that's the best way to do that?!" But that, of course, wouldn't help anyone. So I reflect in my journal, and I share with you all the mini-frustrations. They are, however, just that - mini-frustrations. And they are always overshadowed by the joys of each day. But that doesn't mean they aren't there. Nipping at my heels like the over-energetic Canelo.

waiting to see

Acabamos de terminar la segunda ronda de capacitación y todavía siento… extraña. I had to put that in Spanish because I think it just adds to the vibe I’m trying to express. (We just finished the second round of training and I still feel….weird.) Not bad weird, not good weird, but maybe anxious weird?

Training was great. We stayed at the ENA – Escuela Nacional de Agricultura. We lived in a house on the campus, and ate all our meals at the cafeteria. It was weird being back on a campus because I thought I was done with that lifestyle for a while. It was nice to see students relaxing on the “quad”, shooting hoops or hanging out at the little store. But the students were speaking Spanish, playing baloncesto or basquetbol, and the little store sold yucca chips and fresh mango.

Training was not as comprehensive as I thought it would be, but I guess that’s because there’s no way to become an expert in so many diverse fields in such a short amount of time. Instead, we were introduced to lots of different topics that might lead to projects for us and our communities, and more importantly, we were given the contact information of people that can help us make the projects a reality. For instance – lombriculture (worm bins!); compost and green fertilizer; home and school gardens; natural, and simple, pesticides (my favorite was the slug “trap” – make little balls out of masa and beer, place them under a propped up piece of cardboard, and wait for the slugs to come to the cool place with food, then stab them with a pointy stick!); environmental education tips; national park visits; youth camps etc. etc. It was a whirlwind of information, but really good. We covered pretty much everything on the list of activities that my community is interested in, so that’s definitely a positive. But that’s partly why I feel weird.

Now I have all this “training” under my belt, and I’m back in my site, and I feel like I need to start now. Right now. Like yesterday. I think I will begin with my own projects in my house and let the word percolate through the community that the gringa has a garden where she gets her fresh veggies, or she doesn’t have to burn her trash because she composts, recycles, reduces plastic use and takes the rest of it to be properly disposed. But I think that will still leave me feeling kind of…worthless. Not in the woe-is-me kind of sense, but the, what-the-heck-is-she-doing-here? kind. The “We thought we were getting a trained professional to come in and help us fix some problems in our community and she’s making dirt?!” I’m sure that’s an exaggeration, and I know that just living in this community and sharing my energy with the people I meet is a lot, but I just feel a little lazy.

Though, on the housing front, I have another option that just aparació (appeared) so I might be keeping busy in the next few weeks with setting up my house! So, I’m in a weird spot right now. That “hands up. breathe.” spot of the starting line. (To use rowing here instead of the traditional “on your mark” of track.) I can see a future with gardens and viveros (tree nurseries), compost and worms, chickens and fish, and a comfortable house to come home to after a good day at work. But right now, the path to get anywhere near these things is still a little cloudy. I think I just need some more time, and maybe some more pupusas.

rocks and mountains

Waking up Sunday morning, November 8th to my host mom standing over my bed with a flashlight and saying very passionately - Verapaz está hundido!, Verapaz está perdido!, Verapaz está inundado! at 3 am is not my idea of a good morning. I didn't immediately register what she was saying, so I went back to sleep to the sound of falling rain. It had been raining on and off since Friday afternoon. When I finally woke up for real at 7 am, I realized what my host mom was saying - Verapaz is buried!, Verapaz is lost!, Verapaz is flooded!. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do.

It was still drizzling outside but, there wasn't any water on the porch like there usually was after bad rains. Nothing seemed abnormal where we were, and no one was offering to run off to Verapaz right away to help, so I didn't do anything. The power was out, and I was planning on spending Sunday with my host family anyway, so I started to help with breakfast. As we were preparing breakfast, there was a decently steady stream of men and boys with shovels and ropes and hoes heading off to go help in Verapaz. I would have liked to go, but I figured we would all go as a group later. A little while later Alicea came over and that's when I knew it was bad. Her family woke at 2:30 am and hiked to higher ground through knee deep water as the rain was pouring down. They had lost their home before (during the earthquake, I think) so they were not messing around with Mother Nature. It was Alicea's host mom who woke up my host mom who woke me up to inform us what was going on. After sitting in the rain, but on higher ground, for about 3 hours, they came back down the mountain and walked to Verapaz to look for family members. It was (and still is the house shown at second 42 is in Molineros) a disaster zone. Rocks the size of motorcycles destroyed entire houses and twisted barbed wire into pretzels. We realized later that day, while comparing stories, that what we thought were thunder claps at night, were actually rocks crushing in to Verapaz. The San Vicente Volcano, Chichontepeque, looms large over Verapaz, Guadelupe and San Vicente. The 355 mm of rain that fell in 4 hours was too much for the rocky subsurface to hold onto the mountain anymore, so parts of the volcano came sliding down.

Peace Corps began contacting us all in the early morning to verify that we were all right and where we were. Our second part of training was set to start on Monday, so all of our training class was back in the area, i.e. communities surrounding San Vicente, the hardest hit in the nation. Thank goodness that most of them had taken the opportunity to go to San Salvador for the night, and most of them were already there when the "standfast" call was made Sunday. That means that no matter where you are, you are not supposed to leave that community/city/pueblo unless told specifically otherwise by the safety and security officer. (Some lucky volunteers were taking a vacation up in the northern reaches of El Salvador, so they had to stay another night because of the standfast call!)

So we waited. We waited in Molineros, which is a 15 minute walk from Verapaz. All day long the caravan of people going back and forth to Verapaz was immense. Trucks would pass by and pick up anyone that was going to help, until the back was practically touching the ground. Other trucks were shuttling people who had lost their homes up to the homes of family members or friends in the higher communities of San Isidro and Cañas. The Red Cross and Salvadoran Army had showed up by 9 am. The rural police had already been there since day break, shuttling the wounded off to regional hospitals.

I was torn between going and not. The opportunity finally came at 4 pm, but it was starting to get dark, it had been raining all day, we still hadn't heard from Peace Corps what we were supposed to do, and I had the only charged phone with signal and saldo (pre-paid minutes) of the Molineros volunteers. (There were three of us in Molineros, two in San Isidro/Cañas, two in San Cayetano and one in San Antonio Caminas.) It was a good thing I didn't go because we received a call at 5:45 pm saying that we needed to evacuate. We were told that Peace Corps was trying to arrange transport, but some of the other volunteers were much more stuck than we were (bridges out, roads completely blocked etc.) Luckily Alicea's host uncle was heading back to San Sal (he and some friends had come to help in Verapaz all day) and they were heading back for the night. We quickly packed up our things, said goodbye to our families - and encouraged them to get out as well, because more rain was prognistacated for Sunday night.

We arrived in San Sal without a glitch, and got to the hotel were Peace Corps was putting up the evacuees. I eventually headed back to SAS (my permanent community) on Tuesday night. SAS was not affected at all by the heavy rains. We live in a relatively flat area, with the closest river many kilometers away. The closest volcano, Volcano of San Miguel, is quite a ways away so land slides aren't too much of a concern. Though, supposedly it is a very active volcano and due to erupt, so we'll see about that natural disaster!

It definitely is something to live through one of Mother Nature's shows of force. I have even more respect for the power of water, (and the necessity of trees in this country! El Salvador counts with only about 3% of the original forest cover.) It's also quite amazing the aid response. This country, though developing and small, has been able to rally people from all over the country, through the help of radio, print and television, to donate items. However, as in our country, and all over the world, there are plenty who have turned a blind eye to the situation. I know that I have done the same when other natural disasters are publicized, partly because I didn't know how to help, and partly because the natural disaster, and victims, felt so distant. This time was different. Family members of host families were lost. One municipal development volunteer (their training class stays in Verapaz during training) lost his entire host family. I've walked the streets that were being shown on television. When Peace Corps tells us we can go back in to San Vicente (the area is still off limits) I will be heading back to help in any way I can.

While I understand that if people were to let themselves get worked into a tizzy about every disaster and every victim, they would do nothing but worry all the time, I do think that we all could extend ourselves a little more to help victims of disasters. Whether it's through donating items, money, planting a tree, saying a prayer or even just telling people about it, to raise awareness, all these actions help in their own way. The relative geographical privledge that the United States has is not to be taken for granted.