Cristosal Delegations and Travel

Phew!  I can finally take a breath and when I take that breath I realize I only have four more weeks back in El Salvador until I head back to the states.  I have to say I’m quite full of a mix of emotions, excitement, sadness, confusion, anticipation, you name it.

So what have I been up to these last three weeks since my last post, well my parents came, first to spend a few days with me in Suchitoto and then they joined a delegation from St. Paul’s Newburyport, where I helped out as an assistant delegation leader and translator.  It feel so lucky that my parents got the chance to know El Salvador and really understand why, despite the danger, I have fallen in love with the country and felt the need to establish routes here and volunteer my medical skills this past year.  Check out the photo album “Mis padres en El Salvador”, where you can re-live our adventures through the Guazapa Mountains, the waterfall, lake, and city sights of Suchitoto and the national park and historical revolutionary town of Cinquera.  Also, check out the photo album “St. Paul’s and San Francisco de Asis” where you can see pictures from various historical sights that we visited and photos from the commuter skills class that the St. Paul’s group (including my parents) conducted in El Pital.

Then came my week with YLA as an YLA mentor and a Cristosal delegations assistant leader.  I have to say it was an amazing week, the kids really helped me connect with my youthful energy and it was fantastic watching them learn and grow alongside youth from El Salvador.  They also managed to help me catch up with US pop culture, introducing me to “Call Me Maybe” and the British boy band “One Direction”.  I have also posted a extensive photo album from this week, called “YLA 2012” and I want to point out again that the youth kept a blog during their week in El Salvador and I really think it’s worth it to hear their stories.  Check out their blog at: http://www.diomassyouth.org/apps/blog/.

And then I was off to Utila, Honduras for “Augustinas” (the vacation week in El Salvador when everything is closed and most Salvadorans head to the beach).  Utila, is one of the Bay Islands off of Honduras and one of the best and cheapest places to get a scuba certification, so that’s what I did.  It was one of the first times that I traveled completely on my own and it was great!  Check out my photos in the album “Utila”.

While your checking out my new photos, you may also notice that there is a new album called “La Libertad con los jóvenes de El Pital”.  These photos are from a few months ago when I treated Yesenia, Lupita, and Otoniel (youth from El Pital) to a day at the beach (La Libertad Pier, El Tunco beach, and El Zonte beach) and a night in the city (two experiences that were completely new for Yesenia and very infrequent for Lupita and Otoniel) for my birthday.  I find it amazing and sad, that Yesenia who is almost 28 has lived her whole life in El Salvador and never had the chance to experience the beautiful beaches that her country has to enjoy.  I felt honored to be able open this opportunity to the three youth of El Pital and I know that for all of us it was a very special day and for me a great way to spend my birthday in El Salvador.