Week 4

So things are busy. Really busy. Between classes, full days at my praxis site, evening activities and weekend outings life here in El Salvador keeps me plenty occupied. And although I feel as if I’m running from one thing to the next on some days, I’m slowly learning to approach my life here with a little less of a preoccupation with time and obligation. One aspect of the culture that I have completely fallen in love with is the way in which Salvadorans share themselves with each other on a daily basis. Whether you are an old friend or a stranger, every greeting comes with a hug and a kiss. Short home visits turn into hours of food and conversation, and when someone asks “what’s up/how are you?” in passing, they are actually interested in an answer that differs from my usual “fine.” Here, every interaction seems to be somewhat of a little celebration. The Salvadoran culture understands that life is extremely short, and that every moment we share with each other is a gift.

I have probably been the most aware of this attitude during my days at my praxis site, El Cedro. On Mondays and Wednesdays I meet Sharon (the other casa student) and Hector (driver/entertainer/sage) at the navy blue pick-up truck at the corner of our block. We pile in and roll down the windows as Hector reaches for the radio dial and turns it up full blast. Sometimes the mornings are full of lively conversation and laughter, and other mornings we are content with the fast-paced morning radio shows. It takes about 30 min. until we reach a town outside of San Salvador where we pick up Sor Lidia and Sor Rosa. We then head for the mountains. It takes us about another hour of extremely uneven, rocky road to reach El Cedro. On most days, the cab and the truck bed are completely full of people by the time we reach the final destination.

On Monday morning’s Sharon and I accompany the women who work to sustain El Cedro’s garden. We water, pick weeds, clear bushy areas and do any other maintenance work. All of the women who work in the garden are El Cedro community members and work as volunteers. Most have households of around 8 kids, and depend on the soup kitchen everyday to feed their children. After getting plenty dirty in the garden, we walk up to the kitchen and clean up. Sharon and I then have about 1 hour to help the cooks with whatever needs to be done before all the kids come for lunch. So far I’ve learned how to make tortillas and peel fruit with a knife the size of my forearm. After preparing the food, Sharon and I either help serve or visit with the children and the mothers who are there to eat lunch. In the afternoons, we’re given the task of entertaining a group of kids who range from ages 5-13. Sharon and I are learning fast that lesson plans are a must!!

Our Wednesdays are spent out in the community doing home visits. On our first visit, Sharon and I went to the home of a family grieving the 1 year death of their son. After a round of hugs and kisses, they sat us down in front of a meal of tamales and café. Sharon and I had just come from a huge breakfast of eggs and pancakes and were stuffed, but knew we had to somehow figure out a way to eat a plate of tamales. It would have been very disrespectful to not eat everything that was served. At that point, all we could do was laugh and start unpeeling the first of the chicken Tamales.

After tomorrow’s classes, I leave for an entire weekend at El Cedro. I will stay with families in the community and help celebrate Independence day (Sept. 15). I’m a little nervous, but am also excited for such a new experience. I’m especially looking forward to the pig roast!!! I will let you know how everything goes in the next post. I am also planning on setting up a slideshow of pictures sometime here in the near future.

Hasta Luego!

Chan-Chan, Chanita, Chancita (I've acquired some new nicknames)