Sue's SIP Journal

Back in San Salvador
Hi everyone. I am back in San Salvador for a reunion with the group. This week has been tremendous for me. I have really come a long way with my Spanish and my communicating skills! Of course, by no means is my Spanish correct even 50% of the time but people understand me and that is rewarding. We got back into the community on Friday morning, last week. Most of the weekend is uneventful if nothing is planned in the town and that is how last weekend was. On July 4th I got to eat watermelon and listen to fireworks, just like probably most of you did! How, you ask? Well, every Sunday we get fresh watermelon so that was no big deal. And there is a Peace Corps worker in the community where Alice lives and he got fireworks and set them off. So, I had a mini-4th of July. In a country that has strong anti-Bush and anti-dependency feelings, it is a little strange to have a celebration of independence for the United States.

On Monday, I did the school-thing with the Kinder in the morning, at lunch-time spread fertilizer for the milpa (the growing corn) and then in the afternoon taught English to the 6th grade.

On Tuesday, I went to work with the men and women from Monseñor Romero on the water project and we were able to lay quite a bit of the pipe and cover the trenches back up. We had a lot of rain the past few days so it was extremely muddy and everyone was commenting on my nice orange boots (it was really mud because I had no shoes on!)It was good to see the results of my hard work with the ground covered back up again and feel that I had accomplished something. I taught English in the afternoon to the 5th grade.

On Wednesday, it was back in the Kinder for me and then in the afternoon I got to observe a computer class for the high school with Alice, another Crispaz volunteer in the community. They were learning Excel and Alice and I got to help out a bit with the class. Alice and I have split the English and Computer classes so that we only overlap once. In the beginning it was really helpful to have Alice in the classes because she speaks much better Spanish than I do, but now that I am a little more comfortable, we have split up so that we can feel a little more accomplished in what we are doing.

Friday was a huge day for me. In the morning we went to Suchitoto with the Kinder and the Prep (the class that Alice helps with in the mornings) and it was like a state-wide field day for the 4 and 5 year olds from all of the schools. I saw the school from Copapyo (where we went in January) and I saw the man that talked to us with the really curly long hair (don´t know if any of you other El Salvador people will remember). We had a great time and the kids won 2 soccer games. It was really fun. When I got back to Monseñor, we headed to San Martin, to buy gifts for the next day´s activities and to do a little shopping for the family. I had a great walk down to the bus stop with the ladies in my family and we talked about quite a bit. I felt really comfortable because for me, joking around is natural and it has been pretty difficult for me to joke around in Spanish! So I was able to make some jokes and make the ladies smile. It made me feel really good.

Saturday was also pretty big because I attended a fundraiser in the field in Ungo for the 9th grade. I don´t know the official name of the game but basically men on horseback make the horses run back and forth under this rope with little rings attached to it with tape. The object is to spear a ring with a pen-shaped object and get a gift from the "god-mothers" (all the ladies in the town get dressed up and have gifts for the men on horses who manage to snag a ring). Well there were eight horses and thirty-five women! It was pretty funny. Alicia was number thirteen and it was great because the cousin of my family, who had only gotten on the horse moments before, won her gift! Miguel was the only person that I knew on the horses so it was really fitting that he would get Alicia´s gift. I was number twenty-three and I didn´t know the guy who got my gift but was told later that his name was Francisco (sort of fitting too!) Anyway, it was funny because everyone in the town was yelling our names because we are practically famous in the town and when it was my turn, they were all yelling, SUSIE!!!! Also, some of the men got hugs from the women, others got kisses from the little girls who were participating. So I went for the safe hug when I handed Cisco my gift and he stole a kiss on my neck! I had asked Alice to take a picture of me with the horse and I am pretty sure that she clicked it just as I turned around with a funny face because I was embarassed that he kissed me! It was a pretty hilarious situation and I feel like I lack the words to describe how mortifying and embarassing it was! Next was the dance, where no one danced! What happens is, is that they have a dance in a building of the school. The school doesn´t have proper windows, just fencing from halfway up to the ceiling. So everyone can hear the music and see the dancers without paying to get in...and the dancers don´t dance because everyone is staring at them! So, it is kind of weird being like one of ten dancers because everyone is staring at you. But it is really nothing new, we get stared at everywhere we go!

Another really good thing that happened to me on Saturday was that my family and I talked in the night about what would happen when I left. They told me how sad they would be because I am really part of the family and how Guidelia, the mother, wanted to come to the airport with me to wish me off. This was a huge thing for me because up until this point, I had thought that she didn´t like me. It has been a little strange in my household, being from the US with a family that is strong in the FMLN. There are some tensions when we talk about politics, for sure! But I came away from the conversation with such a warmth for the family because they had verbalized their feelings for me in such a frank, honest way, that I felt really a part of their family.

Things have gone so well and I can´t wait to see what the next week will bring. It is a little strange because I am going to be leaving the country for my brother´s wedding and that puts a little divide between us. But I am excited to return tomorrow, teach English and Computers and hopefully work more with the Water Project.

Peace, sue

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