YLA El Salvador Mission Trip Day 6 & 7

Thurs.. Aug. 11 (Clearing ground space for gardens/farming in la Anemona & Trip to Suchitoto)

9:00- 12:00- The kids finally got there taste of manual labor in El Salvador, clearing land of grass and routes with the community of Anemona to prepare it for gardening.  It was pretty hot with the sun blazing down but I have to say it was kinda of awesome working hard and seeing a field covered in grass and weeds transformed into a field ready for tilling and farming.

2:00-7:00- Suchitoto walking tour- learned about the history of the town (and old colonial city) and the architecture and visited some artisan  shops, including a workshop for crafts made with indigo (anil is Spanish).

Now were headed back to San Salvador, where we will hopefully have some delicious papusas for dinner.

Fri. Aug 12- Day at the beach (El Zonte) and trip to the Ministry of Health

So I’m writing this Thursday night so everything I say is what I suspect will happen but knowing El Salvador there is likely to be a few changes.  I want to write about Friday now because I am uncertain when the next time is that I will have internet access and I wouldn’t want to keep you all handing since I am coming to the end of my time in El Salvador before I head to Guatemala for medical Spanish language lessons on Saturday.

So, the plan for tomorrow is that the group (YLA and mentors minus me) will head to El Zonte, a fabulous beach, for a day of reflection and probably a bit of fun.  I am headed off to the Ministry of Health of El Salvador with the one of the lawyers that works with Cristosal to present my Nurse Practitioner credentials (several license with apostille) to try and obtain an El Salvadorian nursing license (should be an interesting experience).  If all goes well, the hope is that I will be done by the afternoon and can head to the beach with Noah (the director of Cristosal) to join the rest of the group.  Then I will join the group for reflection time and fun in the sun (maybe some surfing) and come Saturday, the group will head to the airport, where they will leave me and then hopefully I will get an opportunity to check out some possible living options for when I come back in September prior to catching a bus to Guatemala city at 1:00pm

Well, that’s about it for now; I’m pretty sure I will most likely sign off from blog updates until I return to El Salvador in Sep. (most likely around 9/20).  I will post my pictures when I get back to the US (in about a week), which you can check out on the picasa stream and please feel free to make any comments you wish.  I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little bit more about El Salvador over this last week, I know I did.

Paz y Amor, Erika

YLA El Salvador Mission Trip Day 5 cont.

Poema de Amor/Love Poem (Los Guanacos) by Roque Dalton (SV= Spanish Version, EV= English Version) (this is a bitter sweet song about the stereotypes that are often given to El Salvadoreans but with the reminder that they are really our brothers and sisters; please excuse the strong language)

Verse 1:

SV- Los que ampliaron el Canal de Panama (y fueron clasificados como “silver roll” y no como “gold roll”

EV- Those that widened the Panama Canal (and were graded “silver roll” and not “gold roll”), Those that repaired the Pacific fleet in the bases of California

Verse 2:

SV- Los que se pudrieron en las carceles de Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua por ladrones, por contrabandistas, por estafadores, por hambrientos,

los siempre sospechosos de todo (“me permit remitirle al interfecto por esquinero sospecho soy con el agravante de ser salvadoreno”),

EV- Those that rotted in the jails of Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua, for being thieves, for being contrabandists, for being scammers, for being hungry,

they are always suspected of everything (“Let me sentence the deceased for being a suspicious loiterer, and worse still Salvadoran”)

Verse 3:

SV- las que llenaron los bares y los burdeles de todos los puertos y las capitals de la zona (“La gruta azul”, “El Calzoncito”, “Happyland”),

los sembradores de maiz en plena selva extranjera,

EV- Those that filled the bars and bordellos of all the ports and capital of the region (La gruta azul, El calzoncito, Happyland)

the planters of corn in foreign jungles,

Verse 4:

SV- los reyes de la pagina roja,

los que nunca sabe nadie de donde son,

EV- the kings of the red pages

the ones that nobody ever knows where theyare from

Verse 5:

SV- los mejores artesanos del mundo,

los que fueron cosidos a balazos al cruzar la frontera,

EV- the best artisans in the world,

those that were sown with bullets when they cross the border

Verse 6:

SV- los que murieron de paludismo o de los picadas del scorpion o la barba amarilla en el infierno de las banereras,

los que lloran borrachos por el himno nacional bajo el ciclon del Pacifico o la nieve del norte,

EV- Those that died of malaria or scorpion bites or pit vipers in the banana tree hell,

those that cry drunk at the national anthem in pacific cyclones or the snows of the north,

Verse 7:

SV- los arrimados, los mendigos, los marihuaneros, los guanacos hijos de la gran puta,

los que apenitas pudieron regresar, los que tuvieron un poco mas de suerte,

EV- Those up against the wall, the beggers, the pot smokers, los guanacos sons of bitches,

those that barely made it back, those that had a little more luck,

Verse 8:

SV- los eternos indocumentados, los hacelotodo, los vendelotodo, los comelototdo, los primeros en sacar el chuchillo,

los tristes mas tristes del mundo,

EV- The eternally undocumented, the do it alls, the sell it alls, the eat it alls, the first to take out a knife,

the sad ones, the sadest in the world

Verse 9:

SV- mis compatriots, mis hermanos.

EV- My countrymen, my brothers.    

YLA El Salvador Mission Trip Day 5

Wed. Aug 10 (Service Project: JUL from La Primera Via Anglicana, El Pital, Lourdes cont.)-

Today was a great day of getting to know the JUL group.  We started off by making friendship bracelets.  I totally used to make these when I was younger but somehow I have lost my sweet skills.  One of the young El Salvadorian boys made me a very neat and perfect friendship bracelet and the bracelet I was able to give him (made by hand of course by me) was more of a mix of knots, backwards friendship bracelet knots, mixing up the order of colors, and braids but he was still very appreciative.  It was a great way to start a day of friendship building and as you will see from my pictures there was a lot of mixing of cultures and it was crazy how quickly the El Salvadorian youth and women picked up the whole friendship bracelet thing.  After friendship bracelets we had a snack break and ate papusas (I don’t think I will ever get tired of this food- it’s just so delicious).  Then we transferred onto El Salvadorian crafts and learned about the piñatas, hammocks, cards, and jewelry that many of the community members make and sell (usually meaning that most of the community really has 3-4 jobs to be able to sustain a very modest lifestyle).

Next we all piled into our bus and headed to the Ruins of San Andres.  I wish I had more to say about the ruins (which were very pretty and the museum was very informative about Mayan culture) but what really made this place special was the crazy teambuilding games that we played.  As the Bostonians with much experience at an Episcopal camp, we shared one of our tame games called “Eye contact tag” in which you stand in a circle, start looking down and then all look up on the count of three and stare at someone; if you make eye contact with someone when you look up then you’re out.  We played this twice and then moved on to an El Salvadorian game called “Arranca”- Pull out the onion.  Now this was an intense game- basically one person was assigned to be the “onion peeler” (cebollero)- whom was our lovely 16year old teenager who is 6’2” (he’s a pretty strong guy).  Then everybody else lined up clasping their hands around the stomach of the person in front of them with the very first person holding onto a tree.  So the goal of the game was for the “cebollero” to peel off the people in the chain one by one (or a group if possible) by pulling on the last person in the line.  Now, us North American mentors were a bit skeptical, seeing as we just had lunch and it seemed like there was going to be a lot of pulling and probably a lot of falling but no one wants to turn down the opportunity to participate in an activity of a different culture so we went along with it and it was hilarious.  I have to say there is just no better way to get to know someone fast then by holding onto them for dear life so you won’t get pulled off of the line of people.  Eventually the “cebollero” was able to peel everybody off, and by the end of it everybody had their fair share of dirt covering their legs and body after falling to the ground like a piece of onion being peeled off.

Next we frolicked around the ruins a bit, took some pictures and did some Yoga with our group of 25.  If any of you watch Yoga movies, you should keep your eyes out for “Yoga in the Ruins of San Andres”; I’m pretty sure we were living the Yoga dream.

One of the YLAers is a gymnast and pulled out a round off back handspring on the grass, which just tugged on my past gymnast soul  and I broke down and joined her for a dual round off back handspring and I’m happy to report that I did not fall on my head.

And then the day with YUL was over, we rode back to El Pital and had to say good bye.  So you may be asking, where was the “Service Project” of this time with JUL, which is a very good question and a question that all of our YLAers are struggling with right now.  At least twice a day someone will ask, when are we going to do the manual labor- the hard work (what happened to building houses and bridges).  Yet, they are doing hard work and are just starting to realize this.  Building relationships, standing by people in solidarity in God’s kingdom is not easy when the people you are working with are struggling day today just to buy the necessities to keep their children and themselves fed, clothed and with a roof over their heads; and not to mention all of the violence that has surrounded their lives with the civil war and know an overwhelming presence of gang violence.  What JUL wanted from us, was that we would listen to their story and that we would witness the good and courageous work that they are doing and join them within the Anglican communion.  The presence of the Episcopal church in El Pital is very small and to see that there are communities that have similar beliefs, hopes, and visions all over the world (in our case specifically Boston) is inspiring to the small Episcopal community of El Pital (at least that’s what they tell us).

So I realize that this is quite a jumble of dates, times, stories, and theological reflection but I hope you’ve been able to follow most of it.  My hope had been to write something daily but seems like that’s just not going to be my style so I hope my three day in one works.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get one or two more blogs in during the remaining two days that we have but I have to say time if flying fast.

Addition from tonight’s activities:  We had a traditional music performance tonight and I plan to post the lyrics from one of the songs “Poema de Amor/Love Poem (Los Guanacos)”, which I feel gives a good snap shot of El Salvador life.  As soon as I write down the lyrics I will post it (probably tomorrow) – it’s like a to be continued……

YLA El Salvador Mission Trip Day 3 & 4

So I'm a bit behind so hear we go:

Mon. Aug 8 (Historic Sites of San Salvador)

7:30: Breakfast at the Casa de Alexa Guesthouse

9-12: Historic Sites of San Salvador

The Divine Providence Hospital (Hospitalito)- This is the place where Oscar Romero lived as archbishop.  He was invited to live in a large estate by the church but refused choosing to live simply and among his people; so the nuns at the Hospitalito offered him a room at the back of the chapel and eventually a very modest house within the grounds.  The Hospitolito is a hospital for terminal cancer patients and is run by nuns.  The Hospitalito is also the place that Oscar Romero was assassinated while giving mass (a sniper came into the grounds in a car and through the open doors at the back of the church shot Oscar Romero while he was standing in the front behind the altar finishing his sermon).  This is always a very powerful place to visit, given how important the life and death of Oscar Romero is within the history of El Salvador. 

University of Central America (UCA)- Museum recalling the massacre of the Jesuits and many others along with more information on Monsenior Romero.  A place that I have been many times and is thriving with the energy and power that is liberation theology.

12:30: Lunch at Comedor  Nelly’s (chicken lasagna, casamiento (rice and bean mixture- marriage of rice and beans, and guacamole)

1:30-5:00:More Historic Sites of San Salvador

 Catedral de San Salvador- Crypt in the basement of the cathedral (the area where the popular mass is held and the tomb of Romero)

Artisan Market

Visited the National University of El Salvador and learned about the various murals throughout (in the art school, law school, ect.).  One of the murals we saw was completed by an art teacher who had been killed one week prior by gang violence

6:00: Dinner

7:00- 9:00: Salsa Lesson (salsa, cumbia, bachata, merengue)- absolutely hilarious watching some people learn how to Latin dance.  There was a lot of spinning, slipping, and running into walls.  I loved it.  The YLA also tried to teach the “cotton eyed joe” without music (hilarious).

Tue. Aug 9 (Service Project: JUL from La Primera Via Anglicana, El Pital, Lourdes)-   El Pital is the community in which I will likely be performing a community health assessment and working as a community health coordinator (pictures of the clinic will be posted once I get back to the US).

The day basically consisted of major relationship building with a group of El Salvadorian youth that ranges from 13-28.  The concept of youth is quite interesting in El Salvador as it has a huge age range (seeing as it seems to go up to 30) and also consists of women and men with children.  I feel like in the US, if you have children you are usually considered an adult but that does not seem to be the case in El Salvador.

As the service project with JUL is a big part of the mission trip I want to give some information about JUL provided by Cristosal:  JUL is a group of women working towards “Women’s Empowerment for the Prevention of Violence:  This project seeks to accompany fourteen (now ten) young women in the cultivation of skills, confidence, resources, and social networks necessary to affect permanent sociocultural changes in the community.  The girls will establish permanent programs for development in art, spirituality, and recreational activities that will be shadowed by workshops in the civic, personal, and professional formation.  This training and personal development process will be paralleled by a project for economic development.  The young women will demonstrate their leadership in opening and management of a library café.  The girls will work with other community members to rehabilitate the abandoned community house and convert it into a center for the formation of community identity through art, dialogue, and educational programs (and we got a chance to see the rehabilitated community house which is beaming with colors and decorated with ribbons and piñatas).

For a snack the community shared a delicious food with us called Rigua de Elote (basically a sweet tortilla made of corn with cheese and cream).

For the evening we had two speakers that spoke about refugees and human rights in El Salvador; both very heavy topics and worth saying more about but I’m sure I will have an opportunity to say more about these topics when I come back in a month and a half.

YLA El Salvador Mission Trip Day 2

Today was an amazing day; so many relationships made and so many stories shared.  I think I’m going to start putting a little break down of each day with times and all to start of my blog s for the rest of the week.  I just feel like there is so much stuff  jammed into each day, I may just touch on a few things but it’s probably still nice to have a background of everything.

Sun, Aug 2 (Celebrate Mass & Community Visit to La Anemona, II & VI in San Martin)

8:00AM- Breakfast at the Casa de Alexa Guesthouse (desayuno tipico- eggs, beans, plantains, bread, pineapple, melon juice)

10:00- Church in La Primera Via Anglicana, El Pital, Loudres (as the priest of this parish was on a religious retreat, our amazing Kit- priest and leader extraordinaire- gave the sermon and celebrated the Eucharist just 30min after she was asked to do so)

1:00-5:00- Meet with La Anemona (Listen to community members’ testimonies & visit community destroyed in Tropical Storm Ida)

This is where I could say so much but I don’t know where to start.  The community of La Anemona is an amazing community that was displaced from their homes on Nov. 6-7, 2009, when their homes were literally washed down the mountain from Hurricane Ida.  Then as a community they made the decision to move as a whole about a ½ mile down the road where they became squatters (leaving the land the owned behind).  Over the last two years they have worked with Cristosal to get both water and electricity to their new community but they are still working (writing letters, petitioning) to gain rights to own the land they live on.  Today, when we visited this community, several of the youth from Anemona took us on a walking tour of the area they left behind (a small road surrounded by many abandoned houses and an amazing view of the lake and surrounding mountains but a very dangerous place to live; now with sharp drop offs and crop lands destroyed by the mudslides- the crazy mix of beauty, poverty, and danger that I feel is prevalent all over El Salvador still continues to awe me).

After walking with the youth, it was soccer time and my turn to try to teach several little girls how to throw and catch a Frisbee without throwing the Frisbee into the many people and houses that crowded the busy streets (it was a pretty fantastic time all around; got a nice soccer ball to the face followed by a pretty sweet header on my part I must say  it was such a blast watching these 9-13 year old girls learn the wonders of throwing and catching a Frisbee). 

I want to say more about Anemona but I’m finding myself without more words to describe what I experienced and felt today so I guess I will just have to cut it short.

And now I am back at Case de Alexa, full and ready for bed after a delicious dinner of papusas (a traditional El Salvadorian dinner and one of my favorite foods ever).  Good night!

In El Salvador for a week with some awesome Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) youth

So, I find myself in El Salvador aprox 1mo and 1/2 prior to the time that I will come back and stay for a year.  Lucky me, this is my 7th consecutive summer bringing a great group of kids (the YLA) to a place that I have learned to love.  We will be here for a week and our fantastic hosts (Cristosal- whom is the organization I will be working with for my year of medical mission work) have planed an amazing intenarary full of learning about El Salvadorian history (the recent civil war, liberation theology, Oscar Romero, ect.) and plenty of community development and relationship building with some amazing women in El Pital (the community I will be voluntering in when I return in September).

For me, my morning started at 5AM when I woke up and took the shuttle bus with my fellow mentors (best people ever) to the American terminal.  Flew through Miami with the chatter and excitement of 9 teenagers to keep me entertained and arrived in El Salvador around 2pm.  From the airpot we went to the "Museo de La Palabra y La Imagen", a musem that strives to remind people of the recent strife (with the civil war starting in 1980) that the El Salvadorean people went through, in hopes that this recent history will not be forgoten but rembered and effect change towards a more just El Salvador.  There is plenty more to say about the museum but with the 2 hour time change, I am writing this at 12:30AM US time and I'm ready to fall asleep.

After the museum we arrived at Casa de Alexa, which will be our humbel abode for the next 5 nights.  It's really a great place.  Dinner was superb (beef with mushrooms, rice, salad, and home made juice) and now it's bed time.

Hopefully I will have more to say tomorrow.  Sorry for the spelling errors (tried to do spell check and the computer wants to spell check in Spanish, which just turns everything yellow)