Obama in El Salvador!

This morning (Tuesday) as I sit an write this blog, much of the country is preparing for the arrival of US President Obama.  It is very big news in this very tiny country in Central America.  There are serious and important issues for President Obama and Salvadorian President Maurico Funes to talk about.  For example, El Salvador has a population of about 7 million people, and additional 2 million Salvadorians live in the US.  I have not been able to find a figure about how many Salvadorians there are in Canada.  The largest component of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in El Salvador, and estimated to total about 3.65 billion dollars annually, is the money sent to family members from family members in other countries.  Considering that 35% of Salvadorians live below the poverty line set in this country, it is fair to say that this money keeps people alive here!  However, it is estimated that at least 10% of the Salvadorians in the US are illegal immigrants.  From 1991-2012 the Temporary Protected Status agreement allows Salvadorians in the US illegally to stay.  The current agreement expires in March, 2012 and it is important to the Salvadorian economy that these people stay in the US and continue to work and send back money.  Obama is expected asked President Fuenes to do more to stem the flow of illegal immigrants to the US and President Funes is expected to reiterate his position that the most effective way to do this is to create a thriving economy in El Salvador.

Also, likely on the list of conversation topics between the Presidents is the flow of illegal drugs into the United States from Central American countries including El Salvador.  Much of this business is organized by cartels and gangs in El Salvador, called "maras". It is interesting to note that the "maras" weren't an issue here until the brutal civil war from 1980-1992. At this time, almost the entire Salvadorian economy was owned and controlled by 14 families.  Peasant farmers tired to working land and having nothing to show for it, challenged the government and formed a armed resistance.  The United States backed the right-wing government that used Death Squads and perpetrated horrific Human Rights abuses.  In the late 1970's and 1980's the Americans were so concerned about the development of another communist state (like Cuba) in their backyard that supporting a government like this in El Salvador seemed like the better option.  At the height of the war, 1987, America spent over $1.5 million dollars per day on this war.  During the war, many Salvadorians fled to the United States and in particular Los Angeles, where many were recruited by the gangs.  After the war, they returned to El Salvador and reorganized the drug trade with the United States.  Another interesting facet of all of this, is that the US deports about 21 000 Salvadorians annually, many because they have committed criminal offenses.  Of course, it is likely that many of these people, once repatriated to El Salvador continue working in the "maras" but from the other side!

Also on the agenda is expected to be the  Central American Security Initiative that will enhance law enforcement agencies  ability track money and drugs through various countries.  It is hoped that this will be largely funded by the United States.  There are some interesting initiatives happening in this area.  For example the Government of El Salvador has been working with Columbia to implement a technology that blocks electronic signals around prisons.  This has led to a 9% decrease in the murder rate here.  Apparently a lot of organized crime was happening from jail!

During his visit here, President Obama will visit the grave of Archbishop Oscar Romero.  This Thursday marks the 31st anniversary of his assignation .  His death on March 24, 1980 plunged the country into  Civil War.  Some people view this visit as an atrocity, since it has been documented that the Archbishop was assignated by Salvadorian soldiers who trained at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia.   Archbishop Romero, seen as one of the leaders in Liberation Theology, spoke about the importance of solidarity with the poor.  His work and legacy are worthy of several blogs on their own, so I won't write a lot about him at the moment, but if you are not familiar with his writings it is well worth your time to spend some time on the internet reading his work.  In the late 1970's Romero wrote a letter to then President Jimmy Carter asking him to stop the US aid to the Government of El Salvador.  Obviously, that didn't happen.

Many expectations and much anticipation...we'll have to see what if anything comes from this visit!

On a lighter note, a few of you have asked me to post a picture with me it...so here you go.  This was taken in Santa Marta two weeks ago.   Also, one of my colleagues, here, a young man named Alonzo really wanted to be in my blog.  So here is Alonzo with Helen, one of the 23 children of the woman who runs the restaurant we all go to for lunch! Finally, one day we came back from lunch and found a goat tied to a tree beside the staircase we use to the get the 2nd floor of the building in which I work.  Turns out the goat was more afraid of us than we were of it!

Buildings Part II

Wow, what a week this has been.  I have been to a local school as part of a group presenting on the importance of International Women's Day.  I went to a youth festival where youth who are part of a program that provides training in theatre, dance and juggling performed and I went to a women's festival to celebrate International Women'd Day.  I also had my first bout of gastro-intestinal issues and spent one day in bed and one day recouperating.

There is so much that I am learning about and thinking about every day it is very hard to narrow down my thoughts for the blog this week.  In general, as I am in my third week, life is settling down into a bit of a routine and I am learning to do more and more basic tasks.  This week, when I was sick, it was  bit of issue that I didn't have a working cell phone and it caused some additional stress for those who are helping me.  In order to prevent this from happening again,  on the weekend Jenny, Jonathan and I went to a mall and I bought a cell phone...which interestingly I couldn't have done without Jenny or Jonathan.  Everyone in El Salvador has ID called a DUI which is needed for a number of financial transactions of which buying a cell phone is one.  Jonathan programmed in all the cell numbers for the people who are important parts of my Salvadorian life and in the list put in "mi numero" (my number) so that I would always be able to find it!  Of course, he laughed through the whole process, but nonetheless everyone is happy to know that I am know reachable...sort of because I don't think I'd recognize my ring at the moment!

This week, I have also been to Santa Marta, the most rural part of the area that ADES serves and is the primary focus of the work of ADES.  Santa Marta is also the poorest area that I have seen.  I will write a lot more about Santa Marta in the upcoming weeks because it is a very interesting place.  About half of my work team lives there.  There is a lot that has been done right there in terms of development and it is a community where everyone seems to be engaged in the process.  But there are a number of serious challenges including water, nutrition and violence against women.  Certainly by comparison, my life in Guacotecti (Guaco) is luxurious.

Life in Guaco...
Guaco is a small village of about 1000 people that contains a few very, very small stores a couple of restaurants and a Catholic Church.  Our house is on the edge and so while we are in a "neighbourhood" sort of, it is all undeveloped land behind us.  As I mentioned there are 4 of us who share the house, although there are 6 bedrooms.  One bedroom appears to be a storage area of sorts and the extra bedroom is occasionally used by people who are working very late and can't get back to their homes in other cities or towns.

The front of the house, reminds me of a cottage.  It is one big room with a cooking area with a fridge and stove, a sitting area and a large kitchen table.  There is also an attached garage which is used occasionally when one of the roommates brings home a car from the office.  (ADES has a fleet of vehicles as no one has a personal car and there are always groups of people and equipment that need to be transported).  From this area you go through another door and you are in the back part of the house.  One one side is 4 bedrooms (mine is the 3rd one down) and on the other side is a bedroom, the wet area and another bedroom. In the photo, taken facing the kitchen area, my door and window (which are both metal and close securely) is the one at the front of the photo.  As you will notice, the house is nicely painted and tiled.   The middle is open to the sky.  In the picture of the wet area, you will notice two stalls...one is a regular toilet (for which I am very grateful) and the other is a shower stall.  Although there is a shower head, it doesn't work.  Adjacent to the shower staff is a cement holding tank.  There is a tap that fills this with non-potable water.  The water looks very clean and is cool but not cold.  The shower stall is open to the holding tank and so when I shower, I dip a plastic basin into the water in the holding area and shower that way.  I like to shower in the evening as I am often a bit dusty and sweaty and I find the water cool and refreshing.   My housemates all shower in the morning, but I find the water a bit cold at that time of day, so I just wet my hair! Since I have not yet mastered cooking, I wash a lot of the dishes.  This is done by putting water the in the red and blue buckets on the ground.  One is for washing and one is for rinsing.  There is a dish rack on the far left of the picture.  The washing water is emptied down the storm drain in the area between the bedrooms and wet area.  Handwashing is done by dipping the basin into the holding tank, washing your hands and then emptying the basin down the drain in the shower.  I brush my teeth by spitting into the toilet, but my roommates generally prefer using the storm drain.  The fact that there is a sewer system makes this house very high end for this area!

Buildings in My Life - Part I

Happy International Women's Day - Tuesday March 8th!  I am part of a team that works with groups of women in order to improve their lives and promote their rights.  So as you can imagine, this is a really big day here.  All morning staff are coming in to our office to offer congratulations and their are lots of hugs!  I may need to import this custom for National Housing Day!  There is a week of events.  I'll write more about all of this next week.

So I have been in El Salvador for slightly more than a week and things are poco a poco (little by little) becoming clearer to me. Every day brings new experiences and new knowledge.  It is all very, very good and as I keep saying everyone is very kind and very nice.  I believe that there is yoga at lunch today.  I'll let you know more about that next week as well!

On Thursday and Friday of  last week we had an all ADES staff event called campamento.  In Spanish this means "camp".  As some of you know, I am not really an outdoorsy kind of gal and I was a bit concerned about these two days.  However, it turned out to be a wonderfully fun and enjoyable event.  When we arrived at the Boy Scout camp, in the mountains of El Salvador, we were divided into teams.  Each team then had to pitch tents.  It appeared that even with detailed instructions of one of the Scout Leaders, my team had significant difficulties in pitching our tents.  As I watched this unfold, I settled down and knew that I was on exactly the right team!  Interestingly, I was likely the only person out of the nearly 60 people there that did not have a cell phone.  I think this will soon be rectified as Jenny does not want me to be out and about by myself without one!  Even in the mountains of El Salvador everyone was texting and calling...incredible to me!

During one of the activities we were blindfolded.  In the beginning we did activities in a line with our hands on the shoulders of the person ahead of us.  Then we were separated and I began to feel a bit anxious because I didn't understand the instructions in Spanish and I couldn't watch and follow my teammates.  Then someone came to me and whispered in broken English what I was to do.  That is actually about how things are going here...when I start to feel really anxious someone speaks to me or something changes and it is all okay.

At a couple of points during the campamento I stopped and looked at the mountains, trees,  and the sun and thought, wow,  I am really in El Salvador, doing team building exercises with a really fun, kind and passionate group of people.  How cool is that!  At night I looked up at the stars and as one of my friends reminded me this week, I thought about all of you looking at the same stars from Canada!

I have been reminded that as part of my "privilege" of travelling with a Canadian passport, I can travel.  When I arrived in El Salvador, I was vague on the details of who I was going to be staying with and why.  The man at Immigration just stamped my passport and said okay.  There are a number of people at ADES who have tried to visit Canada, but the Canadian government won't issue them a Visa and apparently it is an expensive process.  I need to learn more about this and I'm sure that I'll write more about in future blogs.

So I thought that I'd share with you a little bit about my surroundings.  During the weekends I stay in a small townhouse in a gated complex in San Martin, one of 9 municipios that comprise the city of San Salvador.  In many ways the townhouse and the complex looks similar to those in Canada, except their are a few difference.  For example, the windows have louvered glass with pretty iron work grills, but no screens.  So far that has not been an issue as there are relatively few bugs.  Also the house is made of concrete blocks and so it is hard to put things on the walls.  There are no closets in the bedrooms, or cupboards under the sink in the bathroom or in the kitchen.  This leads to very creative storage solutions.  Jenny has a washing machine (a big luxury) that is located on the small patio in the backyard.  Clothes are hung on a line to dry.  I think some of you likely knew this but I had a revelation...I suddenly understood the ironing...when clothes are hung on line and then folded the wrinkles don't hang out!  Today for the first time in 20 years I ironed my t-shirt before going to work!

Attached are three photos...one of the exterior of the townhouse, one of my bedroom and one of my "Salvadorian Family" - Nelson (Jenny's Boyfriend), Jenny and Jonathan (Jenny's son).

Biendvenidos a El Salvador

What a week this has been!  Everything is good, but I have to say I have run the gamet of emotions -- sad to be leaving my new friends in Mexico, excited and worried about El Salvador -- then arriving in El Salvador and starting "work" -- which have both been great and overwhelming all at the same time.  The bottom line is I am good.  My accommodations are clean and bug free.  I have been well fed and the people are very, very nice.  However, everything is very, very different.  I do think that the baby analogy is a good one, that you think you know what is coming, but one day the baby is born and your life changes in ways you couldn't begin to understand.  That is kind of what this week has been like for me.  But let me start at the beginning.  

I had a really nice last week at CETLALIC, my language school.  I continued to have private classes, but there were a total of 4 students, so I had some people to hang out with on breaks.  Also one of the new students spoke almost no Spanish, so I helped him a little bit with understanding Cuernavaca and the general process of things.  It was so nice to feel helpful!  On Friday, they had a little going away party for me and they gave me a diploma.  It is really cute!  

Saying goodbye to my host family was hard.  They have been so good to me and I think I "clicked" with them.  I made a prayer shawl for Angeles my host mother as a thank you present for all of the time and care she gave me during my five weeks with them.  Mary, my minister joined (via SKYPE) with  Agustina a teacher at my school and I for a very brief, international bilingual prayer shawl blessing ceremony.  It was really cool!  With the help of one of my maestras, I wrote a thank you note to Angeles to express my thanks for all of the kindness and care she showed me over the past 5 weeks.   I also received some very special gifts.   Veronica (Angeles and Fernando's daughter) made me a special kind of salsa that I fell in love with in Mexico, to take with me to El Salvador.  Angeles gave me a little coin purse that was made by the inmates at the Penal.  Finally, Bryan (the 18 year old grandson who lived at the house) gave me a "nino de Shrek" (baby Shrek). Bryan is a very nice guy, but reserved and quiet. Angeles explained how pleasantly shocked she was that Bryan wanted to get me a present.  I only had a Canadian pencil for him because I didn't expect that we would exchanging gifts!   Before I was picked up and taken to the airport, I went for a short walk to the store with Obed, a very wise and mature 8 year old.  He just looked at me and said, quiere respirar el calle -  I turned and looked at him and he said in perfect English, you want to breathe in the street for one last time!  I swear this kid has the soul of an 80 year old! 

The directors of my language school and their 10 year old son drove me to the airport in Mexico City.  They very kindly came in to the airport and made sure that I was in the right line and knew where to go before they took off.  I really appreciated the extra care as the whole airport in Spanish experience felt a bit confusing.  All was fine! Then it was off to El Salvador.

Jenny, my host for the next year and a half, and Daisy and Lionel met me at the airport.  It was almost a two hour drive to Jenny's house in a suburb of San Salvador.  Along the way we stopped for pupusas--the national food of El Salvador.  Everyone was between 35-40 and I have to admit it was lovely to be around people my age for a while.  I will stay with Jenny and her 21 year son Jonathon at their house in San Salvador on weekends.  The house is very nice and luxurious compared to the casa in Mexico.  There is even a washing machine!  The three bedroom townhouse is small, very modern, but in many ways still very, very modest.   It actually reminds of a small subsidized housing townhouse.  It is in a gated community and so is quite safe.   There are some real safety issues in San Salvador.  I know only a bit about this and will probably blog more about this later.  Jenny speaks some English so we make a sort of Spanglish in order to communicate.   

During the week, I'll share a house with Jenny, Alex and Soto -- Alex and Soto are men.  The house is in Guacotecti, a very small village about a 15 minute walk from the office.  My room here is much larger than in San Salvador and has more furnishings.  My room has the first three pronged outlets I have seen in either El Salvador or Mexico.  However, it other ways it is very different from home.  I'm going to keep you in suspense because I can't quickly describe the ways in which it is different.  You really to see pictures and I'm not organized to that this week, so soon you will hear more about the house in Guancotecti.  However, I do really need to say that Jenny, Alex and Soto have all be awesome and welcoming.  There are a number of people who work at ADES and spend the week near the office and then commute home on the weekends.  It seems to be a way of life.  Of course because everyone has family elsewhere they try to live cheaply during the week, so that they can bring more money home to their families.  Soto gets the groceries every Monday.  I will need to contribute $5-8 dollars weekly for my meals here.  Breakfast and dinner at this house have been quite similar, scrambled eggs with vegetables, beans, tortillas and cheese.  Jenny, Alex and Soto have each a made meal.  I don't feel quite up for that yet, but I have mastered dish washing here...which is quite different than at home!

Work...well after two days I can say that I know that ADES does a lot of really great stuff, but I am still quite vague on a lot of it!  I am assigned to the "Area de Organizacion" which works with groups of women and groups of youth doing different things.  The fact that my Spanish is very basic has bothered me a lot this week, but not anyone much here.  They are all very kind are very pleased that I am going to be with them for a year+.  They keep telling me that my Spanish will come.  Many people have kindly told me that Heather (the last person from the United Church to be assigned to ADES) spoke little Spanish when she came and she made a very significant contribution to the agency later in her placement.  Her legacy is thought of very highly here.  I hope that eventually I will be able to be useful!

In the "it's a small world category" there is an older man in the office next to my team.  He lived on Regina Street in Waterloo for a number of years before he and his wife split and he returned to El Salvador!  Also, btw, Justin Beber is huge here and the fact that I lived about 30 minutes from his city makes me almost famous here!  

One of the expressions that they use here a lot is "poco a poco"  -- little by little.  I think that is good advice!  Today I knew more than I knew yesterday.  For example, I'm not just sure how the agency supply of toilet paper works.  There was toilet paper in the washroom on Monday and by the end of the day it was all used.  It seems that all of my team mates have a "stash" in their desk.  I know now where my team supply is located!

  

Basically I just sit in places and people come and get me and tell me it is time to go somewhere.  Yesterday, I thought I was going for lunch, (there is a woman who sells lunches for a very modest price at our office).   I didn't find her, but instead got told I was going with one of my teammates to a meeting in the community and so off I went.  We did stop for lunch along the way.  Coming back my colleague did not want to come back to ADES because she lives really near to where we were.  However, getting back meant two buses and no one was sure that I would handle the transfer correctly.  So the next thing I know a pick up truck pulled up in front of the building where we were and I was to get in.  I don't know who Jose is or why he came to collect me, but he delivered me safe and sound.  He seems to be a friend of ADES as people said, how did you get back and I said Jose, and they all said, oh Jose like they know him!  Apparently Jose has both a pick-up truck and a motorcycle so I am very grateful that he came in the truck!

There is so much more to tell, but I have time.  I hope the snow is melting and thanks everyone for your support.

A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Let me start off by apologizing for posting this late.  I have had a hard time deciding what to write about this week.  There is just so much that I could say about my time in Mexico and deciding what would make it into the blog has been a difficult decision for me.  At the time that I am writing this,  I'm still not sure, so I thought I'd just start it and see what happens.  

Accompaniment is a term about which I am learning that I have much to learn.  According to United Church staff, my time in El Salvador is to be a mission of accompaniment and not accomplishment.  When I first got told that, I thought it was bit "airy fairy" and "rose coloured glassish".  I understand that it is part of the movement "to be" rather than "to do".  As someone who has spent a lot of time "doing" I found this a bit daunting, a bit odd and incredibly refreshing all at the same time.  However, I was game to give it a try.  Interestingly during my time in Mexico, two different people, who have both done a lot social justice work throughout Central America and Mexico, spoke to me about the importance of "acompanar" the Spanish equivalent of the English verb "to accompany".  The idea is that simply act of being together and accompanying one other is transformative for both.  Certainly this time spent in Mexico with people sharing their everyday life and experiences has been transformative for me and I hope it has been transformative for others around me.  My host mother Angeles asked me to thank my friends, family and church for sharing "Lynn" with her and her family for the past five weeks.  She believes that God chose for us to be together during this time.  It is hard for me to find fault with that logic.  Being able to learn about and watch Angeles' and her husband Fernando's deep and persistent commitment to living out liberation theology has been an amazing experience for me.  It inspires me to continue to work hard at learning Spanish because I know there is so much more they could and would teach and share with me if I had the language capacity.  I expect that I write more about accompaniment as I continue to explore its meaning in El Salvador.

As many of you know, I have really struggled with the term "missionary".  While I have no doubt that I have been called by God to serve and that the United Church of Canada is my employer and facilitator of this experience, I struggle with all of the historical legacy attached to this term.  I am very clear that my "mission" has absolutely nothing to do with coverting people to my set of religious beliefs.   Clearly,  I have very strongly held set of beliefs, but I don't think that everyone has to think the same way I do.  However, I do find people with a strong belief about the supreme importance of conversion to be very frustrating --- deep down I do want everyone to agree with me about that point!  On the other hand, using the term missionary let's people know that I am open to discussing issues of faith and spirituality.  This has lead to some really interesting discussions.  Angeles for example finds it astounding that I as a non-Catholic would attend her Church.  I think it is her way of living out ecumenism, that at every service I have attended she has asked me to participate in some way.  Twice I processed with the wine and water.  I was very honoured to have been asked to help with the service and to assist in a small way with communion.  I also thought it was a really good metaphor in reverse.  For many, many years missionaries with good intentions came to countries like Mexico to "save souls".  However, at the same time, there was a clear cultural bias against non-Europeans.  In Mexican churches, the Spanish sat in the main and beautiful chamber with the indigenous converts sat in a smaller, darker much less ornate area.  So I have enjoyed the irony of being asked to present the gifts of water and wine and knowing that I am not welcome to partake of the elements of communion!   (For your information, the Catholic and Protestant churches have some different beliefs around communion and so non-Catholics are not allowed to partake of communion in Catholic churches, while the Protestant churches are generally more open on this issue).

Totally changing the subject, some of you have asked about drugs and violence in Mexico.  Firstly let me say that I am not an expert on this topic.  While I have learned a lot about this in the past five weeks, there is absolutely a lot more to know than I will explore here and there are much more authoritative sources.  On a personal note,  I have had no safety concerns while I have been here, nor have I seen any "sketchy" or concerning situations.  There is a much greater police and military presence than I am used to seeing.  I have not been bother or harassed by anyone.  Having said all that, the "narco trafficking and narco violence" as it is called here, is a very real and persist ant problem.  However, it is also a very complex problem.  I am told that in certain areas of Mexico, the local farmers make a lot more money growing marijuana than any other crop.  For a subsistence farmer who can't feed his family growing other crops, it is not hard to imagine why they switch  to growing marijuana.  Also, Mexico is the pipeline supplier of drugs into Canada and United States.  Both of our countries want Mexico to  do something about this problem.  At the same time it is important to remember that our countries have not be particularly successful in decreasing the consumption of drugs by its residents which drives the need for production and delivery.  Also, the violence here is often carried out using guns brought in from the USA.  It is a very real problem, but it is a very complex issue.

Finally, I'd like to say something about the economy.  The minimum wage in Mexico is $55 peso per 8 hour day.  the rate of exchange is roughly 11-12 pesos to one dollar.  This makes the minimum wage equivalent to about $5 per day in Canada.  I am told that the average wage is higher than this at about 2500 pesos per month.  While things cost a lot less here, that not nearly enough for people to survive.  In Cuernavaca, there are many people who have moved to the city, away from family and therefore have to pay rent.  Once again, I am told the lowest rent possible for a small family is about 1000 pesos/month.  There are very few social programs.  While theoretically school is free, all students wear uniforms, pay a yearly registration fee and must provide there own school supplies.  It is a very sobering thought that I am receiving from the United Church, a stipend  so low by Canadian standards that it can't be considered a wage  that is significantly higher than the average Mexican family income. In addition to  my stipend, my housing costs are paid.  

Without getting into all of the boring details, earlier this week, I felt very overwhelmed and anxious about going to El Salvador on Saturday.  Everything seems to be on track and there was nothing specific that upset me, rather it was just worrying about the unknown.  So I pulled out my "special book" and read a few entries.  They were indescribably helpful and reassuring.  My anxiety quickly subsided.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to share with me in my book.  

I look forward to writing to you from El  Salvador.

Water, Electricity, Traffic, Health and El Salvador

Today I want to share with you a little bit about a few things...water, electricity, traffic, public health, and an update on El Salvador.  Yep, this is going to be a bit of a heavy blog, but I will add some funny and interesting stories as we go along.  As you can imagine, water is an important resource here is Mexico.  There certainly is not as much of it running from taps and into appliance such as washing machines and dishwashers as I am used to at home.   As the sanitation system is fragile, nothing additional is put down the toilet.  All toilet paper goes in the garbage can.  I found this a hard habit to get used in the beginning and toilet paper was dropped in the bowl before I remembered that it doesn't belong there!    There is potable (safe for drinking) water in Cuernavaca, but most people prefer to use bottled water.  There is bottled water for drinking at both my home and my school.   There is running water in the bathroom, but no running water in the kitchen.  Dishes here are washed with lots of soap in cold water.   While this is very different and not up to Canadian Public Health standards, I have had no gastro-intestinal distress, so the soap must kill the bacteria.   Dishes are washed in what I would call a "laundry sink" on the back patio using water from a rain barrel.  Most people do laundry by hand and everyone has several clothes lines upon which to hang clothes for drying.  For people like me there are "wash and folds" where I drop off my dirty clothes and they are washed and dried in machines and I pick them up folded.   Everything here is ironed.  I am sure that my housekeeping skills are considered lacking because I wear t-shirts with wrinkles and my jeans don't have have clear crease line down the front.   Oh, by the way, even in prison, almost everyone's pants were ironed as were their shirts!  Considering everyone looks after their own clothing, I find this remarkable.

This leads to the next topic, electricity.  The word that most of us ex-patriots use to describe the electricity system, is fragile.  3-pronged outlets are exceeding rare.  Most people use an adaptor, which converts a three-pronged plug into a two pronged plug.  This is how I recharge my computer at my host families house.  However, the electrical supply is not completely stable and the lights dim and strengthen every few minutes.  There have two brief power outages since I've been here.  Also, for computers, one really has to use a surge protector because you never can be sure of what is in the lines.  As most of the houses are built stone and concrete it is difficult (and likely expensive) to add outlets.  In my house, other than a ceiling light, many rooms don't have an outlet.  My bedroom has one - double outlet.  I have my electric alarm clock plugged in and a lamp.  I unplug the lamp when I am recharging my computer.  Power lines are routinely tapped into by squatters and others.   My house mother cooks on essentially a two burner gas hot plate.  There is no oven in my home.  Of course, there is no microwave.  But this is okay, because a lot of microwave food comes from the freezer and there is only a small freezer section inside the refrigerator (circa a 1950's type fridge).

Traffic in Cuernavaca is like nothing I have ever seen.  Many roads merge into to each other and there are few traffic lights.  There are a number of traffic police, who provide directional assistance at busy intersections during the rush hours.  Cars routinely come within, literally, an inch or two of each other.   However, it all moves in a fairly smooth way.  I have only seen a couple of very minor car accidents.   It is also very clear that cars rule and that pedestrians come second.  It is the pedestrian's job not to impede traffic.  I am getting a bit bolder when crossing the street, realizing  that cars really don't want to hit me.  However, I generally just step beside someone who looks Mexican and cross the street when they cross the street.  Also in order to prevent speeding there are speed bumps on most streets at frequent intervals.  I have learned that it is best to stand up to indicated that your bus stop is next until the bus crosses over the last speed bump before your stop!

This Saturday, I had the opportunity to again go with my hosts to the Mexican Prison.  This time I was more relaxed as I knew what to expect and I can speak a bit more Spanish.  The inmates really look forward to the meal, mass and fellowship of this time of the week.  I had conversations with several inmates.  A couple in particular sought me out when they learned that I spoke English.  One man had spent several years in the US and asked me not to speak Spanish with him, as he has so little opportunity to practice English.  Another man explained in very good English that his brother lives in Montreal and he would really like  to go to live with him.  Both men told me that they are innocent and should not be in prison.  The cynical part of me recalled that this is usually what people in Canadian jails say too.  However, in talking with several Mexicans, they believe that many people are innocent who are in jail.  Apparently it fairly common for people to be in jail for years without there being a conviction of guilt or a sentence.  My maestra (teacher) told me of a horrific situation where a person she knows spent 10 years in  jail without charges.  One day, guards came and got the person, took them to the front door of the jail and said, sorry we now know you are innocent.  Go and get on with your life.  Apparently under Mexican law, this person has no recourse for the 10 years spent in prison.  

The meal served at the prison is prepared off site by volunteers and brought to the jail, literally in garbage pails in the back of a cube van during the hottest time of the day.   All the food is room temperature...hot is not hot and cold is not cold.  Inmates form a line and volunteers put food on to or into whatever container, plastic bag, plate,or for those with nothing a tortilla.  The food is served by the volunteers after we have shaken everyone's hand.  There is no hand washing/sanitizing for either us or the inmates.  Some of the food is served with utensils, other times the volunteers just use their hands to scoop the food.  As part of the process, we volunteers quickly eat as well.  For me this week it was a tortilla that someone handed me and I chose to just have the carrot salad in it.  I was struck by how many Canadian health code violations there likely were in this situation.  However, even with my fragile Canadian digestive tract, I had no ill effects.   I like to hope that God blesses this work and somehow manages to keep the bacteria counts down.  Similarly, Cuernavacians really seem to like mayonnaise.  It is on all kinds things sold on the street such as hotdogs and corn on the cob.  People from Canada and the US cringe at the thought of putting mayonnaise that has been sitting out all day on food, but here it is common place.  I am told that most people here don't refrigerate mayonnaise after it is opened.    

An interesting fact --- Mexicans consider North America to be Canada, USA and Mexico and South America to be south of Panama.  Central America is considered essentially its own continent.  However, Latin America includes Mexico, Cuba, Central America and South America.  Although no one took offense, it was explained to me that calling Mexico, Central America is akin to calling a Canadian and American!

This week I have learned that I will be going to the small town of Santa Marta, El Salvador.  This is where a lot of the work of ADES (the Cooperative with whom I will be working) actually happens.  I will be renting a room in an apartment that is shared by other ADES staffers.  I think that this is a good arrangement and I am pleased to have a bit more information about the next stage of my journey.  It is amazing to me that in a little over a week (Feb 26th), I'll be flying to El Salvador.  I have enjoyed the Mexican part of my journey.  I am looking forward to settling into my final destination, and I am worried about what it will all be like and whether in fact I will be of any use to the Salvadorians.  I have learned a lot of Spanish, but I have a long way to go before I am fluent enough to really do any work like I used to doing.  However, I have found that even with my limited Spanish,  I am able to make people laugh occasionally, and I really enjoy this.  

I have attached a photo of Angeles, Bryan (18) and Fernando my Mexican host family, who have been so kind and helpful.

A Day in Mexico

I thought it might be interesting to share with you a "day in the life" of Lynn in Mexico.  Please remember that that this is only my experience in one place in the vast country of Mexico.  We got told in our training that we need to keep reminding ourselves and our friends not to generalize! 


  So on weekdays, I get up around 7 am.  I have a very short, but hot/warm shower.  I was very pleased to hear that daily showers are the custom here!  I then come back to my room and make my bed, get dressed and tidy up.  I would anyway, but certainly this is a house where order and cleanliness are important.  According to the cultural information from my school, this is typical.   I then have breakfast which is made by host mother Angeles.  Typically it includes fresh squeezed orange juice, fruit or yogurt and something hot.  The "something hot" can be soup, tortillas, eggs or just about anything.  While this is certainly a different group of foods than I normally eat for breakfast, they are usually very tasty.  I am slowly convincing Angeles that a cold breakfast with cereal is good too.  Here cereal (such as  corn flakes or rice krispies) are more regularly eaten for the last meal of the day around 9pm.  

I usually leave the house between 8 and 8:15.  It is a bit cool in the mornings so I usually wear a light jean jacket or cardigan over my t-shirt.  My ensemble is complete with jeans and running shoes.  It is about a 10 minute walk downhill to the bus.  The buses honestly seem to run every 5 minutes, so scheduling is not a problem.  Buses cost the equivalent of about 55 cents and they are generally comfortable and clean.  The bus ride to my stop is usually 10-15 minutes depending on traffic.  Then there is a 10 minute walk downhill to my school - this includes stopping at a little store to buy my morning coca-cola light!

Classes start at school at 9am and run until noon.  Each week the morning maestra (teacher) changes, but you have the same class and teacher for 3 hours for each of the five days (in a week).  There is a 10 minute break from 9:50-10:00 and  another one from 10:50-11:00.  Typically the first hour is discussion of what you did the night before (a good exercise to get your brain working on using past tenses) and then moves on taking up the tarea (homework) from the night before.  The maestra moves around the table and reads over your shoulder correcting your written work as we go.   It is all done in a friendly and helpful way and so surprisingly does not feel intimidating.   When the tarea is completed, we move onto the new lesson for the day.  The really cool thing about CETLALIC, my language school, is its social justice focus.  Even the example sentences for the grammar points are often linked to womens issues, poverty or gay and lesbian issues.  This is such a great fit for me.  At noon, there is a slightly longer 20 minute break and that is when most of eat the lunch that our host Mothers packed.  Typically this is a sandwich and a piece of fruit.  

On Monday, Wednesday and Thursday there is "conversation" from 12:20-2:00 with a different maestro/a than in the morning.  As this sounds, this is an opportunity to converse on a wide range of topics.  Often students bring questions about mundane issues such as where to buy a particular object or how to get your cell phone to work.  We have also discussed more significant issues such as drug trafficking, the basics of the Mexican Government system and the need to preserve global resources (land and water).  On Monday following the discussion, is an orientation for new students.  If you aren't new, this means it is a short day and you are done at 2pm.  On Tuesday from 12:20-2:00 there is a presentation on some aspect of culture.  On Wednesday, there is a video from 2-3 following practicum.  Last week it was particularly interesting on the Zapitista movement in Chiapas.  Thursday from 12:20-2:00 is "field trip" day.  Last week this got rearranged a bit so that we could visit a really big local festival on Wednesday in honour of Carolina of the Candeloria.  She is a Catholic Saint (I think, I am still a bit confused), but everyone goes to mass and brings dolls in baskets and flowers.  This is a symbolic representation of Jesus being presented in the Temple.  Interestingly, it is the local tradition that Christmas decorations stay up on this day.  So it was not until Thursday this week that all the Christmas trees and other decorations were taken down!  Friday after conversation is the despidida (farewell).  There is cake and students who are leaving are presented with a diploma.  Then everyone including the maestro/as go around the circle and talk about their week.  I find this really hard to do - to share what I want to say in Spanish!  Last week was easier than the first, and I expect next week will be slightly easier again.  

The main meal of the day is served between 2-3, so after school is a walk uphill to the bus, a slightly less pleasant bus ride as all the high schools get about the same time and the bus is usually packed, and a walk uphill to my casa (home).  By this time in the day, it is usually a very sun and warm 25 degrees, so my jacket is tucked away in my backpack.  This meal can vary a lot too, but often is tortillas stuffed with something, and rice or beans, sometimes some raw vegetables.  After this meal, I sometimes go and use the internet in a small store that has 6-8 computers (at the bottom of the hill) or various other errands.  It gets dark around 7pm and I don't like to be wandering around in the dark by myself.  My barrio (neighbour) is very alive and well lite, so I don't mind walking from the business section at the bottom of the hill back to my house in the dark.  It reminds me somewhat of a Toronto neighbourhood with a main street with little shops and then houses behind.   

The 7pm until bedtime can be a bit boring.  I do my homework and work on other Spanish stuff usually for an hour, have some personal devotion and reflection time and write in my journal.  I read, craft and do other little projects, but on nights where I come home directly from school and don't go out, the evenings can be a bit long.  However, the neighbourhood kids often play on the street until 9ish. Many of them are finding me interesting and I have had some particulaly interesting conversations with a few of them.  They like to ask me the English words for stuff and really enjoy teaching me the Spanish words for things.  Angeles has a church meeting every night, but usually comes to my room for a chat when she returns.  By then find my brain so tired that it is difficult to sort out anything much except the schedule for the next day.   The only TV in the house is in my host parents bedroom.  I don't feel very comfortable watching it there, also it is all in Spanish and usually by that time of the night by brain is very Spanish tired.  There are also two more meals, one around 6pm and one around 9pm.  I typically pass on both.  Sometimes I'll have a little snack in the evening such as fruit or a cookie (I must confess, I have fallen in love with oreos because they are the only thing I have found that tastes like home).  I find that my diet has switched almost completely from mostly meat and veggies with some fruit, a few carbs and little dairy to mostly carbs (tortillas and white bread), dairy (everything has cheese and sour cream on it) with some fruit, a few veggies and almost no  meat.  I am getting used to this and my digestive system seems to making the necessary adjustments.     Sometimes  I go out with other students after school and do things, but even then, I am usually home by 9pm.   The buses stop run at 9 and then you have to take a cab, which gets a bit complicated because after 9pm it is recommended that you don't flag a cab down,but rather call and request one.  This means you have to have a phone and know where you are, which can be a bit confusing at times.  However, this works well if you are at a restaurant or at someone's home, as the Cuernavacians are typically very kind and helpful.   I have learned this week how to charge my computer battery at my house, which means that I can play music and computer games as well.  Next week I'll talk more about the general customs and lifestyle, so you will understand more about why charging my computer has been such a challenge.  

Thanks to all of you who are following my adventures.  I miss you all, but I am having an amazing experience.  I can hardly wait until the day when my Spanish is good enough to have a real conversation about real issues my Central American friends.  They are amazing, bright and passionate people, a lot like my friends in Canada.

For your info, I am attaching a picture of my bedroom and of the terrace where I spend most of my evenings.