Hola a todos y todas!!

So I know it’s been awhile since I’ve updated my blog but life has just been so busy here and we already seem to have enough time in the day to think about everything we’ve been doing.

Last weekend we were supposed to go to the beach but with the hurricanes that have been going on we were unable to go do to giant waves taking over the beach. However, we did get to go to this little oasis in the middle of the mountains that turned out to be absolutely wonderful. The oasis had a river in it that at first seemed pretty calm but within a minute of stepping into the water I had already fell over due to the force of the current. Rather than getting out though we decided it would be a good idea to just sit in the water and let it take us. It was so much fun (and only slightly painful) and the water was really warm. The oasis also had a soccer field and a pool where I spent the remained of my day. What made the day really awesome though was the fact that the becarrios came along with us. It was really great to hang out with them in such a relaxing environment and theres nothing like bonding over a game of Marco Polo.

The not so calm river

The pool area

This past week seemed like ages ago. On Monday I returned to my praxis site at La Javia where Ella, Katie and I walked around the village with Angelica and Ana getting to know more of the community members. The walk was a little rough (steep hills, lots of mud, lots of rain) but it was a great way to spend the afternoon really getting to know the people we will be spending the semester with in their homes. I feel like people really open up when they feel comfortable in their own environments. Every time we hear a new story it shocks me. Life here is so different than the life I am used to and I am honored to be able to hear such strong stories of hope, struggle, loss, and courage. Wednesday at praxis was an equally rewarding day for myself and I hope the children we worked with. Wednesday was our first English class. After a great morning class with younger kids we were surprised to learn we’d also be teaching a group of older kids in the afternoon. We soon realized that singing head, shoulders, knees, and feet and playing with Mr. Potatohead was not going to work with this group. After a little bit of a rough start though I think we did well and when we met up with some kids from both groups this weekend they still remembered the words and phrases we taught them. Not only are the kids in our class great students, they are great people. Many of these kids are being raised by grandparents because their parents could not handle them, they go without meals, and they don’t always have running water or electricity. But they love learning, they love shining their shoes every day and putting on their uniform, and going to school. The 12 year olds take care of the 5 year olds as if they were their own and they can find joy in the simplest things.

My English classroom

When I’m not at praxis I usually spend my time in class. I finally have my classes all sorted out. I managed to test out of Spanish class so I will be taking Salvadoran Literature (in Spanish), Economics of El Salvador (in Spanish), Perspectives of El Salvador’s Civil War, Liberation Theology, and a class to go along with my praxis. I definitely thought class here would be easy but it’s not. There is a lot to read and a lot to write and overall a lot of new information to grasp. However, for once in my life I feel like I am actually learning something and I love it. It is such a gift to be in these classes taught by professors with such strong connections to the history and culture of El Salvador.

I guess I lied when I said all I do is go to praxis and to class. A lot of other great things go on during the week. We spend our nights playing hide in go seek in the pitch black, pigging out on late night tortillas with a variety of toppings, going on citas with members of the house, sharing stories by candlelight, and playing guitar.

So that was my week and now onto the best part of the blog: Praxis Weekend!!!!

This Friday we all goodbye to our housemates for the first time since we arrived and headed out in our vans to our praxis sites for the weekend. Some people were split up between different houses in their communities but Katie and Ella all stayed together at Angelica’s house. We also got to hang out with Maria and Nate and some of the folks from Zacamil on Saturday. I can’t really sum up this weekend in any other words besides AMAZING! Angelica is one of the most welcoming and loving people I have ever met and I felt so at home in her little house. We didn’t arrive until late Friday night so we spent the evening eating el plato tipico (rice, beans, and tortillas) while watching some quality telanovelas. After a rough night of fighting off dogs on the way to the outhouse in the middle of the night, very loud roosters (who do not just make noise at sunrise but actually all night long), and little kids who wake up at 5am, we rolled out of bed at 7 am to begin our adventurous Saturday. We had a hearty breakfast of hot dog, eggs, tortillas, and soy milk and headed toward Zona 3 (Angelica lives in Zona 1). I felt like we were in a movie, as we walked  through the streets people seemed to immerge from their houses with soccer balls, guitars, and food and joined us in our walk. Everyone in the community seems to know Angelica, probably because they are all related in some way, and they all wanted to spend the day with us. We spent the morning playing soccer barefoot in a field surrounded by cows and pigs. After that we returned to one community members house for some elote (kind of like corn on the cob) and juice. We then headed over to Ana’s house for lunch and some guitar playing provided by Luis who works at Angelica’s with us. After spending the rest of the afternoon hanging out we headed back to Angelica’s to cook up some lasagna at Angelica’s request only to learn Salvadorans really aren’t the biggest fans. Sunday morning we got up early again to go to church in the town before heading back to Angelica’s for some lunch before heading back home to Casa Romero.

Best Praxis Site (With Angelica, Ana, and Brianna)

75 degrees = winter weather in El Salvador

Mounting the pick up!

Tepecoyo at night

I had so much fun this weekend and I really felt at home. At times it was hard to accept how generous Angelica and her family is when by US standards they have very little. I never went hungry (and was actually always stuffed), I’m 99% sure someone gave up their bed so we could have a place to sleep, I was offered a seat by an 80 something year old woman, and Carlos (Angelica’s husband) constructed curtains and rods so the sun wouldn’t wake us up in the morning. I know I can sometimes be lazy but I don’t like to be waited on especially at a place where I’m supposed to be helping out. But as Angelica put it as we were leaving, “ahora somos famila” (now we are family). The truth is Angelica and her family know a lot more about life in El Salvador than I ever will; despite being short and having brown hair I still stick out as a foreigner, and sometimes I struggle to hold my own in a conversation. We didn’t spend the weekend at our praxis sites to cook more food for the comedor or to teach more English classes. We were there to learn, we were there to see what its like to live as an El Salvadoran, to see the struggles they encounter every day but to also see the joy they have and the fun they experience. I think a lot of us struggle with the mentality that we are here to help, to make life better for the Salvadorans, but we cannot do this. We are here to listen, to learn, to love, and to fight so that their lives are not forgotten.

This weekend was so much and very eye opening. It was almost hard coming home to Romero; to a house with frosted flakes, indoor plumbing, and solid walls. Life here is different, it’s hard to explain, and it’s hard to think about coming home. But for now I don’t want to this about those things…I’m just living life, day by day, taking it all in, and loving it.