English, Spanish and Broccoli

One of the new delights of my week is the time I spend teaching English to my colleagues at ADES.   The basic class has about 15 students, but in general only about 10 are able to make it on any given week.  This means that I set up extra meetings with people throughout the week to keep them up to date with their fellow students. Their dedication is impressive!   This week all the meeting rooms were in use and so we squeezed into my team's office and had our class.  They really like songs.  So this week there were two -- the alphabet song and BINGO (There was a farmer had a dog and BINGO was his name oh...)   The buildings are created to maximize air flow, so there are lots of windows and walls don't go up to the ceiling, so that sound travels.  We were quite loud in our singing.    I was okay with this  as the other team in the building was not in their office.  That is because they were all in the downstairs meeting room, with the agency Executive Director and representatives from a foundation that funds programs!  I am told they found the English class amusing.  Oops...But no one told me!!!!

My intermediate class has less fun because they are working hard on grammar.  The students in both this class and the advance class all complain about irregular verbs in the past tense.  So I went on line to find out what the fuss was about.   Did you know that there are 118 irregular verbs in the simple past tense?   Simple past tense is generally made by adding "ed" to a verb in the present tense.  In regular simple past there are 3 pronunciations - say - locked, warned, wanted -- one sounds more like a "t", one more like a "d" and one like "ed".  There is only one pattern for about 6 verbs in the irregular -- they are just all different - begin/began, bite/bit, break/broke, cost/cost (no change), think/thought, see/saw.  So the next time you see someone who has learned English as a Second Language, give them a big hug and let them know that you know how hard it was.  It is amazing to me that anyone learns English!

There is no doubt that my Spanish is improving bit by bit.  However, I finding the process excruciating slow.  This weekend I had the opportunity to go with a group of my colleagues to visit a pretty town called Suchitoto.  I was really excited because I really wanted to go there.  There is a spectacular cathedral, artisans, a market and a whole bunch of other interesting things to see and do.  The group I was with were excited to be "tourists" for the weekend.  However, I got caught up in assumptions and assumed that my idea of being a tourist and their idea of being a tourist were the same.  We drove through the tourist area and they pointed it out to me and we kept going!  For most of the time we hung out at an agency that hosts activist groups from other countries.  They have dorm type rooms which is were we stayed the night.  This once grand house also has a pool.  We spent a lot of time there and "bathed".  In Spanish you only use "swim" if you are actually "swimming", floating in a pool is "bathing".  This was very pleasant, just different than what I was looking forward to doing.   My colleagues have been working very, very hard as mid-year reporting is brutal here.  They all just needed a chance to relax.   They talked and joked and laughed.  I understood little and felt very lonely.  I missed all you at home.  I missed the easy conversation and the laughing.   After dinner we went to a disco.  Yes, I looked for an opportunity to go back to "opt out", but there really wasn't one.  So, this group of ADES staff successfully got me not only to a disco, but dancing for several hours.  I also consumed a few "adult beverages".   Just to be clear there are no photos! The next morning we ate breakfast at a quirky cafe in the town square.  I opted to skip breakfast (because I wanted to be a tourist, I felt fine!) and take photos of the cathedral and do a bit of browsing of the shops and artisans.  

The loneliness persisted and I had a hard day "communication wise" yesterday.  I went home last night and just wanted to be alone and to feel sorry for myself.  However, you can't do that when you live in community.  I went home and a few of my housemates were working on dinner.  I went to my room and pulled out my book with special notes from people from home.  One of the notes led me to Psalm 118 which is a lot about hardship makes us stronger but God doesn't send us to death.  I also read a part from my "special book"  from a friend that reminded me to take things one day at a time.  Good advice, I was pretty sure I'd make it through today okay...it is another year of being that lonely that I'm not sure I can do.  Then this very wise 22 year old house mate came into my room and asked me what was up.  I actually tried to tell him a little bit and I know that what I said in Spanish  didn't make any sense.  In exasperation I ended  and with and that is the problem, I can't explain the problem in Spanish!  His response was interesting.  He was not comforting at all and in fact really told me off...but he was very right.  I didn't understand everything but I actually understood a fair amount. He told me that: 

*You can only climb a ladder one rung at a time.  

*That I am too intelligent to let language become this big of a problem

*My response is a decision that I make

*Canadians have access to lots of things but we lack "heart" which I took to mean fortitude

*That I need to have more patience -- which is something I am getting very tired of hearing.  I made some gesture and he told me I needed to be quiet and let him finish!

Then it was time for dinner.  Alex and another house mate Vicenta had been to the grocery store earlier to get supplies for the week. She asked me where I was in the afternoon because she had looked for me.  She knows I like to go to the grocery store.    Then I looked at the table and we had broccoli for dinner, which is available here but is not popular.  Vicenta told me that at the grocery store Alex saw the broccoli and said Lynn likes it, so they bought it for dinner last night.  In four months, we've never had broccoli.  It was mentioned once and I remarked on how much I like it, but that was it.    Then another piece fell into place...there is no aspect of my life that is the same here...literally...So I may miss friendships like the ones I have in Canada, but I do have friends here.  Like everything here,  it just looks very different.   In one afternoon, Vicenta had looked for me to include me in an activity she knows I like, Alex bought a food because he knows it is a favorite of mine and Vinicio gave me advice that I needed to hear, although it was not what I wanted to hear.   These are all things friends do.  

You know when you are at the gym and your head says you have done enough of that exercise and you want to stop.  But the person you are with says to do more.  Somehow you do and it doesn't kill you but if you'd been on your own, you would have stopped.  This is kind of the same.  Probably yesterday if someone had handed me a plane ticket, I'd have gone --- saying and believing that I had reached my limit of endurance.  Yet God reassured me both spiritually and literally that I am not alone and that I can endure and survive.  I was also reminded that I can also thrive and be happy, but that is my choice.

Leading the English class in the song BINGO

In one area I visited this week, they are building a new bridge, so in the interim all the vehicles drive across the river. 

Group in Suchitoto - Me, Jenny, Jamie, Digna and Vinicio (in green).  Jonathan (Jenny's son took the photo).  We were later joined by 2 others, making us a group of 8.

The Green March

On Thursday, June 2nd the "Green March" was held in Ilobasco, the 2nd largest city in the Department (Province) of Cabañas, El Salvador.  Early in the morning people starting being picked up along designated routes in the rural areas and villages.  Everyone then assembled at one of 3 designated areas.  We travelled in a caravan to Ilobasco.  There was great line of trucks with people standing in the back, buses, pick-up trucks and a few private vehicles.  Once we arrived in Ilobasco, we piled out of our vehicles and were organized into two lines.  Banners and signs were distributed.  We were led by a vehicle with an exterior sound system and another pick-up truck brought up the end.  We walked until we were on the main street.  I’m sure that there were several hundred people.  Speakers explained why El Salvador needs a law to prohibit mineral mining.  The signs and banners were powerful.  There is one sign in particular that I find both incredibly impactful and disturbing at the same time – the sign says “Our Martyrs for the Environment” and has pictures of the 3 people from this area who have been murdered because they were involved in organizing there communities against the Pacific Rim mine opening in San Isidro.  On this sign is also a photo of a fetus in a womb.  Alicia Dora Sorto was 8 months pregnant and carrying her two year old son when she was shot and killed.  Her two year old survived his wounds, but her unborn child (who was named Emanuel meaning God with us) is considered the 4^th martyr.  People passed out printed material to passers- by.  I remain deeply moved by the determination and passion of the Salvadorian people to stop Canadian Mining Companies from beginning operations.  The participants included men, women, children in arms, children walking, teens, and seniors. 

My immigration status as a tourist prohibits me from participating in “internal political struggles” and as a result I was an International Observer.  This actually gave me the opportunity to move through the whole demonstration, taking pictures and seeing what was happening in different areas.  In the process I met two other foreigners, both Americans who were also “International Observers” – one a young woman is in El Salvador with the Peace Corps.  Her host family includes one of the women who I wrote about last week, who helped us invite people to the march.  The other was an American man who came to El Salvador to do volunteer work, fell in love and married a Salvadorian woman. They live in the United States but return with their child every year.   The threat of mining is very concerning to his wife’s family and so he was asked if he wanted to attend the rally. 

On a logistical level I am always amazed at how well these events are staged.  Partly I think that it is because from an observer’s point of view it is hard to pinpoint the event leader.  Rather it is more like an organism with several moving parts with everyone knowing their role.  While a group at the “head” of the demonstration were speaking there was a group at the “back” who handed out bags of water (think of half a milk bag) and later food to the crowd.  In the end garbage was collected, people walked back to their vehicles and the road was re-opened to traffic.  Incredible!

On Sunday I had the opportunity to attend Iglesia Bautista Emanuel (IBE), the other United Church of Canada (UCC) partner in El Salvador.  This Sunday marked the 47^th Anniversary of the Church and so it was a real honour to be able to attend as a representative of the United Church of Canada.  As I understand it, the UCC became involved with (IBE) during the war and has continued to support the social justice work of this brave church.  Of course, the hospitality and warmth of the Church members both in helping me to get there (as it is very far away from where I live) and to welcome to the church was great.  On a personal note, it has been a long time since I have attended a Protestant Church.  I was very grateful for the opportunity to worship in a style that was somewhat familiar.  Two of the hymns I knew in English and there was bulletin with the words printed in Spanish.  What a gift it was to be able to sing a hymn in Church.  This is actually one of the “things” that I miss the most about being here.   

I’ll write more about my English classes (yes plural) in another blog.  However, let me say that I really enjoyed being able to “give back” in a small way to my colleagues here at ADES.  This week was been a lot of fun as we have all practiced greetings and introductions together.  I am amazed at how brave my colleagues are at practicing in front of each other and me.  This week we are learning the alphabet and numbers.  Yes, rest assured I am teaching them that the final letter of the alphabet is “zed” and not “zee”…this is after all a class of Canadian English!  

People from one of villages arriving in a truck for the march.

"People can live  without gold, but not without water"

"The women of Cabanas say no to gold mining"

"The poor farms of Cabanas demand a law that prohibits metal mining"

This is the sign with the 4 environmental martyrs.

La Gente (The People)

Late last week I became aware of a "Green March" being organized for this Thursday, June 2nd.  The purpose of the march is to ask the government of El Salvador to pass a law prohibiting mineral mining.  At the moment there is a moratorium on issuing extraction permits, but there is no guarantee that this will last forever.  There is great pressure on this tiny county to cave in to the interests of the Global Business Community.  This is not a march of the "professionals in agencies" this is a march of the people (la gente).

For the past two days I have traveled with two colleagues through a lot of rural areas inviting people to participate in the march.  The contrast in lifestyles between me and the people we have met is striking.  Many of the houses are constructed of small pieces of wood, about two inches apart and the spaces are stuffed with rocks and dirt.  There is little running water and little electricity.  Many are quite a distance off the road.   This of course means that any consumer goods including water need to hauled up and down the paths, across the brooks and over the rocks.  These houses make where I am living look like palaces.

More than the contrast in lifestyles what really struck me is the difference in "life".  We appeared unannounced at peoples doorstep.  One day 2 community leaders joined us. They just put aside whatever they might have had planned for that day to help us find other leaders.  Each of these people agreed to let other people know about the march and the logistics.  This was Monday and the march is on Thursday.   Can you remember the last time when you were able to spontaneously rearrange your schedule to spend 2 or 3 days of the week on something that was less than a serious crisis???

On Monday, the day when Lilian and Julia joined us, we all decided that were hungry as it was past noon and we hadn't eaten.  We were in a very rural area and no one wanted to drive to the small city to find food, as it was way out of the way.  Julia just started shouting out the window of the truck at women who were making tortillas at their houses to inquire if they were for sale.  She quickly found a positive response and all five of us piled out of our vehicle.  In the end we had a wonderful lunch of tortillas, cheese and chicken soup.  The woman very reluctantly took money from my colleague in order to pay for lunch.  Once again, when was the last time that any of us spontaneously fed 5 strangers????

Today, Tuesday, we were again connecting with community leaders in another rural area.  I visited the poorest homes I have ever seen.  At our 2nd stop, part of the one room house was a little store and there were a variety of types of "pan dulces", basically any kind of bakery good.  One of people of our team was hungry as he hadn't eaten breakfast and he started looking at the baked goods.  Before long we each received a sweet roll and a glass of orange pop.  Isobel would not accept payment for our snack.  While she did not join us, she was going to invite all of her community to the march on Thursday.    At our next stop, we were fed tamales (which has become one of my new favorite foods).  I made a comment in to my colleagues about how much I liked tamales and they explained that the woman at the house.  When we ready to leave, she gave us more tamales to take with us.  The level of generosity and of commitment to making their country better is just amazing to me.  In Canada we understand that looking after the basics of life is a full time job for people who are poor.  Here despite how physically demanding, time consuming and overwhelming life is, there is a group of people who also want to help to create a better future for their children and their grandchildren.   It is all just incredible to me.

On a personal note, I have been asked to teach an English class to the staff of ADES.  It is quickly becoming apparent that there will likely be 2-3 classes - a very large intro class and small intermediate and advanced classes.  Learning English costs money here and everyone is excited about the possibility of learning for free.  Signs were posted last Friday and every day I am being introduced to more people who are "kind of " connected to ADES who want to come to my class.  I am very excited about being able to do something helpful and I am also excited about being able to lead a group.  I am also deeply humbled about how much trust people are placing in me.  ADES hopes that I will offer these lessons for a year and significantly improve the level of English of their staff.  Please think about me on Friday morning from 11-12 your time, as I leading the first class!!!

Two boys lead us along a path as we go to the houses of various Community Leaders.

This is a very popular refreshment - shaved ice with fresh lime juice, salt and chili sauce.  I skip the chili sauce!

Me riding a bike in the "Parque de la Familia" .  I spent a very pleasant Sunday afternoon in this park with Jenny and her family.  

Accompanying not Accomplishing

Despite the title of today's blog, I want to start off with accomplishments...As part of my responsibilities as an "Overseas Personnel" of the United Church of Canada, I am requested to annually write 4 "Letters for Overseas".  This is a way to share with a broader audience within the Church about my experiences in El Salvador.  I am deeply honoured that my first letter is currently posted on the front page of the United Church web site (www.united-church.ca).  Please take a look, read it and share the information.  People in El Salvador desperately need Canadians to know about the mining issues here and to be talking about them in Canada.  These are not only issues here.  The front page of the Toronto Star today (May 25th) has a story about the horrific impact of Barrack Gold in Tanzania.  The vast majority of the mining companies around the world are Canadian, a fact I was not aware of prepare for my work here.

The situation for staff at Radio Victoria has worsened.  Death threats continue to be received and there are lots of other actions taking place with the aim of intimidating and creating fear.  After living with this for several weeks peoples nerves are becoming raw.  There is a international campaign underway to both solidify international support and to raise money for increased security measures and to relocate one family temporarily to another country.  For more information read the English language blog - Voices from El Salvador (http://voiceselsalvador.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/radio-victoria-needs-your-help/).  Despite all of this the mostly youth and young adults who work at Radio Victoria are continuing on their same path, staying true to their beliefs and their principles.

This week I had the opportunity to attend a forum with Supreme Court Justice Dr. Florentin Melendez, who is an expert in the Constitution of El Salvador.  The Supreme Court of El Salvador has 15 Justices who work in 4 areas - criminal, civil, administrative and constitutional law.   The 4 Justices in the "sala de constitutional" are very well known in El Salvador because it is clear that their allegiance is to the Law.  They have made a number of rulings that have upset a number of powerful people.   There is a campaign in progress that says "I support the Magistrates in the Constitutional Area of the Supreme Court" as part of a process to keep them safe.  Dr.  Melendez spent his Saturday morning explaining the human rights enshrined in the Constitution to a group of about 200 people from rural villages.  His presentation, was clear, simple and understandable explaining to very poor farmers what their rights are.  I found the whole situation fascinating.  Again, I was deeply impacted by the passion, knowledge and commitment of Dr. Melendez in the face of many, many challenges.

This is part of what it means to accompany.  I am "tagging along", learning a lot and then sharing it with you.  I am not "doing" much but I sure am learning.   Many people will not have the opportunity to live in El Salvador and so part of my job of accompanying is helping you to know the people, places and issues here.  My colleagues at ADES are thrilled about my "Letter from Overseas" being posted on the UCC.  It is important to them to know that people around the world are learning about the mining challenges here.  This sharing about El Salvador with people from Canada is part of accompanying.  However, part of accompanying is also part sharing with people in El Salvador about the culture of Canada.  A very small example, I received peanut butter in a care package from home.  I have been enjoying peanut butter toast for breakfast for the past two weeks.  Every day I ask my house mates if they want to try some.   One day Alex, said yes.  He ate  his toast and said, so would you eat anything else after this?  In El Salvador, breakfast is the "full-meal deal" - eggs, beans, cheese, tortilla or bread, cream and coffee.  Toast hardly seems like a  meal.  This too is accompanying.

This past week was a week of many "firsts":
*I rode in the back of a pick-up truck...not very far, not very fast and I sat down, I refused to sit on the side as many people do here.  It was very pleasant.  It was dark, the stars were lovely and there was a beautiful breeze. Apparently people here like the back for all these reasons and at the same time they know that it is not my culture to ride in the back, so I always get offered cabin seating.  I just wanted to have this experience.

*I rode on a motorcycle...It was a small motorcycle and once again, not far and not fast.  Yes I was scared and no there is not a picture!

*I stayed in the house in Guacotecti alone for one night.  I was glad that two of my colleagues were in the house next door.  I felt safe, but I am always glad to know that there is someone else around in case of a big insect or animal or house issues!

*I went to the Immigration Office and received my first Visa extension.  As of Friday, I will have been in El Salvador for 90 days and that was the expiration of my first Visa!  I have to say, I was treated much better by the Salvadorenos  than the Canadian Embassy treated the woman who wanted to a visa to participate in a United Church Conference in Canada.

What I know, what I think I know and what I don't know

Several weeks ago I asked you about what are the 10 "staples" that you always had in your kitchen cupboard.  Thank you to all of you who took the time to respond.  What I learned is that there is a vast variety of foods that people like to eat in Canada and in general most of us have more than 10 staple foods.  The top foods that were several on people's lists are:
*tomatoes (canned or fresh)
*rice
*fruit (apples were popular)
*milk
*bread
*cereal
*chicken
*vegetables (carrots, onions and celery were popular)
*peanut butter
*potatoes

Only one person admitted to having "beef" in the fridge, while someone else listed "vodka and beer" and in response to things found frequently in your kitchen, one person listed their husband!

Some of my week day house mates discussed my Salvadoreno list at length and decided that  I left off avocados, mangos, and limes.  They also thought that tamales (ground corn meal surrounding a filling such as chicken or potatoes, steamed in a palm leaf...yummy) and pupusas (fried patties of ground rice or corn patties stuffed with a variety of fillings --my new favourite is grated zucchini and cheese, but beans and cheese are the most popular -- topped with something like an oil/vinegar coleslaw and tomato sauce) needed to be mentioned in any discussion of Salvadoreno cuisine.

Okay, so this is a bit embarrassing to talk about, but I'm going to talk about it anyway because from this I have learned some important things.  I have been having huge hair issues since I got to El Salvador.  Particularly in rural El Salvador where I spend the week, there is really only one hair style for women, pulled back in a pony tail or a bun of some type.  I have been trying to grow my hair so that it would be long enough.  I thought that having "longer hair"would help me to fit in here.  Finally last week it was long enough for a teeny, tiny pony tail.     In all seriousness it looked stupid.  As well as trying to "fit in" my other reason for not wanting to get my hair cut was fear that it would look even worse   Since women in general don't have short hair, in my vanity and arrogance, I was concerned that a hair stylist here wouldn't know what to do with my hair and with my limited Spanish I'd end up with a really awful hair cut.

On Saturday I was at the big mall in El Salvador and it was really hot and my hair was sticking out everywhere and I just decided I needed to do something about it.  I got brave and walked into a hair place.  My stylist opened up a magazine to a really great hair cut for me and we were off.  On Monday I arrived at the office and everyone noticed my new short hair and were very positive about it.  By the end of the day my  female house mates told me that everyone thought I looked very "guapa" (pretty) and much younger.  Turns out having "Salvadorena" hair is not one of the ways I need to show respect for the culture here.

I have to laugh it all because I was trying so hard to "adapt" to the Salvadorian way of doing things and in this case it didn't matter at all.  It led me to thinking about how many times in my life I do things because I think it is what other people want.  I remember being very surprised when I quietly brought up the subject with my Mom once of not coming home for a "minor" vacation day (it might have been Victoria Day).  Turns out she was glad not to feel obligated to cook a big meal.  We were both locked in our expectations of what we thought the other person wanted.  Interesting...

One of the things that I clearly know nothing about is water.  Until this year it is fair to say that I have given it very little thought.  However, that is all changing.  I think about whether when we turn on the tap in Guaco there will be water to fill the pila.  Since that one Monday night a few weeks ago where there was limited water, there has been enough water at that house.  We are having some problems with the water pump at the house in San Salvador. This meant that on Saturday we had no running water (another reason my hair was awful!).  Hopefully this will soon be fixed.   Even when there is water, there is no "hot" water.  There is only one tap on sinks and the water is tepid to cold (the only place I have found in the country with hot water is the Hilton hotel).

This week I have been spending time with the "water" team.  They are working on a project with "Engineers without Boarders" to bring potable water to rural areas here.  The project is in the planning stages and members of the water team are working with communities to understand their needs, determine the options and eventually to create a strategy.  Water issues are complicated here because there is very little uncontaminated surface or ground water.  In addition to pumping water places it all has to be filtered as well.  The technical aspects of all of this are so beyond my realm at the moment, but the process of engaging communities is fascinating.  Once again, I am in awe of the skill level of the staff here.  I am learning a lot about community development and engagement.   I am looking forward to being able to share some of this with my colleagues when I return to Canada.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts about the staff at Radio Victoria who received threats.  Although there is still fear and security precautions are place, everyone continues to be safe.   This is part to a strong response from the international community, including the United Church of Canada.  Many groups, organizations and individuals contacted authorities in the Salvadoreno government.  A strong international response helps to keep people safe here.  Thank you for being  apart of that response.

 There is a process going on called a Strategic Environmental Assessment which is being conducted by the Ministry of the Economy.  This process will look at the environmental impact of mining and make a recommendation at to whether mining should be allowed here.  Not surprisingly there are huge issues with who is and who isn't allowed to provide information to the consultants, what the scope is and in fact if there is any legitimacy at all to the process.  It appears to me (even with limited Spanish and limited knowledge of process here) that Ministry of the Economy would really like this document to support mining.   This issue will continue to unfold here...it is far from over.

Martha and I enjoy peanut butter toast ( peanut butter was part of the care packages that I have received from home).  Martha is also working on English and so appreciated the easy reading books in English that were sent by friends and family.

Hilda (in purple) and Francisca (in brown) are two of the staff  leading the planning workshop on water .  In this case, the workshop was held on the road and everyone had to pick up their chairs when people riding horses needed to pass through or for the occasional car.  

Santa Marta, Santa Ana and Radio Victoria

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in my life!  Interesting...while there was no "kitch" for Easter, thre is all saved for Mother's Day!  There are more red hearts and little "I love you balloons" than I have ever seen for Valentine's Day anywhere.  This is a serious event here and in fact, it is a National Holiday - celebrated annually on May 10th.

This week I had the opportunity to job shadow/observe  and support the work of the Formal Education Team.  This group of former teachers and a former principal of the school in Santa Marta work with the staff, students, parents and the community in order to address gaps the education system.  They are working on revising the Ministry of Education curriculum to include a number of additional topics, increasing the capacity of teachers, developing the early childhood education system for children pre-natal – 3 years old and working to develop the capacity of parents and the community.    Part of this work includes adult literacy learning circles.    The Ministry of Education provides only part of the funding for the core needs of the school and so money for additional teachers, programs, materials and for the “ADES Formal Education Team”  all come from the International Community. 

            The Santa Marta school is large for a rural school.  It has about 600 students who attend for ½ a day of classes, either from 7:30-12:00 or from 1:00-5:30.  The school has classes for children from Grades 1-Grade 11 (the end of High School).  Each classroom is home to a morning and afternoon class.  Some teachers teach full days and others teach part time (one section).   In addition to the classrooms, there is a small library with few age appropriate books, a computer lab with internet that was funded by the International Community, a science lab with very limited equipment and a multipurpose room for assemblies.   For physical education, the students use the “gancha” a dirt field used for soccer that is adjacent to the school.

            This week I spent three days at the school observing and helping with Grade 1,2, and 3 classes , attending a professional development workshop for teachers,  and helping to plan and deliver a special activity on values for the primary students.    What an experience…both really positive and very challenging.  On the positive side, I saw very passionate and engaged teachers who are working very hard with very limited resources.   The kids were great.  I was a big hit and mostly they weren’t shy about trying to talk to me in either Spanish or English.  They had a lot of fun running up to me and saying “hello” and running away saying “goodbye”.   I even received a few drawings from the kids!

            I met a young girl named “Lupe” in one of the classes.  Lupe very easily becomes upset and then she becomes the classic “mean girl”.  She has the most ferocious “angry look” I have ever seen and then she becomes very aggressive with whomever or whatever has upset her.    However, when you look at “Lupe” you notice that both she and her clothes are dirty and her hair, while long, is not tied back in a ponytail.  Here it is a sign that things are very wrong at home, as cleanliness is so highly valued here.  At one point, “Lupe” came and showed me a healing over small cut on her very dirty hand.  I took out my bottle of hand sanitizer and cleaned her hand a bit and then asked if she wanted some “special cream” (hand lotion).  I rubbed that on.   She then showed me another healing over small cut on her finger.  We did the same process.   She looked up and smiled at me and from that day on, whenever she saw me she smiled.   The poverty in the students is apparent.  I have never seen children with the level of severe oral hygiene problems as I saw in the Santa Marta school children.  I was deeply saddened by the state of one child’s shoes (so tattered they could barely be called shoes), until I noticed one child with bare feet. 

            In order to address some of this, one of classes I attended starts the day with songs about brushing your teeth three times a day and follow up with the importance of washing your hands to keep your stomach healthy.   Students who are healthy enough to be at school are celebrated and good wishes are sent to the students who are sick. 

            During my 3 days in Santa Marta, I spend the nights at home of Nora, one of the members of the education team who lives in Santa Marta.  She is single and lives with her mom, brother Carlos (14),  her sister and her niece Estefany (5).   Everyone was very kind and I had a great time.  Carlos liked to practice English with me.  Estefany is a bright and precocious girl who talked non-stop to me in simple, clear Spanish the whole time I was there.    

            I spent the weekend with my Guaco house mate Soto and his family in Santa Ana, an area about 2.5 hours from the ADES office.  Once again, I had a great time meeting his family and spending time with his extended family.  Soto’s mother helped me with my Spanish pronunciation by reading with me in Spanish.  She explained that she never went to school until she moved  for a few years to Los Angeles in 2000.  She then learned how to read and write in English and then with the encouragement of her teacher, learned how to read in Spanish.  Highly impressive for a woman who would have been in her 60’s at that point!  She was very proud to introduce me to her other 6 children and to her many grandchildren who attended a family luncheon on Sunday.    Many of her grandchildren are now attending University in various programs. 

            Clearly this was a very interesting and engaging week for me.  At the same time it was very difficult for people at ADES.  This week 3 staff – who work as journalists at the local community radio station (a program of ADES)  received multiple death threats because of their work in promoting anti-mining and environmental work.  In response, the anti-mining and environmental sector organized a press conference at the front of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s office in order to demand both protection for those who were threatened and a thorough investigation into the “intellectual authors” of the threats, assaults and murders of people doing this work in this area of El Salvador. 

            I continue to be deeply impressed and impacted by the dedication that people have to their work despite overwhelming challenges and risks.   These threats don’t stop the work and in fact in some ways fuel it as people become even more determined.  At the same time people have been murdered over these issues and so these threats are treated very seriously.   A number of steps have been taken to protect those threatened and to date everyone remains safe.

            One of the things that I am learning is that in response to fear, people can become isolated and rush to “protect their own” or they turn to their community and work together to form a clear, thoughtful and cohesive response.  This week I wanted to let you, my community, know about what is happening here.    Please pray for the continued safety of the staff at Radio Victoria and of those working in the anti-mining and environmental sector.   The impact of Canadian mining companies abroad is serious and significant and for me it is now very, very personal.

            Please be assured that I am very safe and I am being well looked after by my Salvadoreño/a hosts.  The United Church of Canada is also aware of this week’s events and have been in touch to ensure my safety.   If you have any questions or concerns about these issues or my safety please comment on my blog or send me an e-mail.

Part of Santa Marta School

A teacher addressing the students at the beginning of the "Activity  to Promote Values"

Students playing a co-operative game.

Soto and his wife  Mirdala (middle), son Rodrigo and me (left), Reina (Mirdala's sister), and Cesar and Martin (Soto and Mirdala's sons).

Wow, a Harper Majority and Other Things

I'm in a bit of shock...I knew it could happen, but really hoped it wouldn't.  This morning I came into the office, turned on my computer and learned about the election results in Canada.  I feel a lot like I did when Mike Harris won his second term as a hard line majority Conservative Government in Ontario.  I just know that this is not a good result for the people that I work with in Canada.  There is not going to be more support or care for people who are vulnerable, poor or marginalized in our country.  It is probably fair to say that there is not going to be any increases in foreign aid money -- at least the kind of foreign aid that I would be interested in supporting.  I don't really know what else to say about this...

I thought for today's blog, I'd forgo a theme and just share little bits and pieces about life here.  This month I am going to working with the team that works with the formal education system and the team that works on water issues.  After my first meeting with the education team yesterday, there are many important issues that will be topics of serious blogs ahead so I thought I'd keep this one a little bit lighter!

Cross decorated with fruit, vegetables, flowers and paper decorations for the Day of the Cross.

Today, May 3rd is the Dia de la Cruz.  This is a day that marks the end of the harvest season, just before the start of the rainy season.  This is a specially constructed cross at our office.  As I walked around Guacotecti on  my lunch break, I saw a lot of other similarly decorated crosses.  I am told that we will also be celebrating by eating beans for dinner tonight.  I don't yet know why that is the traditional food for today.

As you know, I am working hard to learn Spanish, to adapt to a new culture and to learn about life in a much more rural setting than I have ever experienced and sometimes there are bumps in the road.  About a month ago I attended a meeting of the "economia local" team as they were brainstorming some ideas for their next work plan.  One of the ideas is the creation of a "demonstration project" where they were grow many different types of produce.  It became clear to me that this team had a huge fascination with apples as beside every product (carrots, pineapples, onion etc.) was a notation about apples.  While they are eaten here, apples are not grown here.  I thought that the team was going to start an apple farm but needed to grow other things while the apple trees took time to mature into fruit bearing trees.  I learned this week that "manzana" the word for apple, is also an term of land measurement slightly smaller than an acre.  Turns out the team has no plans for apples but rather was estimating the amount of land they needed!  Oops sometimes when you think you understand, you don't!

In much of El Salvador, animals (mostly cows and chickens) just roam.  My question was this, how does a person keep track of their livestock?  Apparently,  it is instinctive for the animals to return to their home every night.  Like us they look  for their own bed...who knew??? The livestock herds are small enough that the individual homeowner knows all of his or her stock.  Also,  on the livestock theme, people here are concerned about the steroids and other chemicals in their meat, so if you come to El Salvador, you want to eat "Pollo India" a type of chicken that is raised without drugs.

At first I really wondered about the use of the "pila" (the cement holding basin for water).  If you can just turn on the tap and re-fill the "pila" why fill it all?  The answer is this, there is not always water.  Often at our house in Guacotecti, there is only running water one or two days per week.  With the pila filled we can easily wash ourselves, the dishes and do other cleaning.   You can pour water down the toilet and it flushes without there actually being water and pressure...once again something new for me.  We have bottled water for drinking.  Last Monday the pila got filled up.  There was not water the rest of the week and with 6 of us in the house, we used about 3/4 of the water in the pila last week.  Yesterday I turned the tap on and there was only a very small flow of water coming out.

Probably left up to me, I'd have spent night looking at the pila and the tap trying to will more water to come out at a faster rate.  Instead, my house mates made a fabulous dinner  of cream of carrot and other vegetable soup with a bit of curry, scrambled eggs with chopped up green beans and fried plantains with cinnamon.  Of all the great food I have had here, I think Alex's fried plantains last night was the most delicious food I have ever eaten!  Then we played cards.   

As you may recall, I am the only person in my household who showers in the evening, everyone else showers in the morning.  Last night I started asking questions about whether the process for bathing changes when there is not a lot  of water as I didn't want to overuse a scarce resource.  It became clear that while everyone in the house was aware of the situation, I was the only one who was actually concerned about it.  The answer came back that, was that there is some water coming out of the tap so it will probably all be okay.  I bathed quickly last night and we went to bed with the tap on.   After more than 12 hours of filling, the pila is now about 1/2 full.  I am sure that there is a valuable life and theological lesson in this about what we chose to worry about and what we trust will all work out.   Here, so far, mostly things do work out and when it doesn't people deal with it.

A cow and her calves wandering the streets near my house in Guacotecti.

A chicken on the road near the ADES office.