Huisisilapa
We arriv
ed in Tacuba last night after an amazing day in paradise... as a treat (after living in a small village with no bathrooms or clean water for a còuple days) our profesor arranged for us to spend the day at this amazing beach house. We had to take a two hour bus ride and then walk or ride in the Land Rover the rest of the way down the beach. The house was the second to last one on this spit and was stunning! Hammocks, beach, a lagoon out back, swimming, beautiful black\white sand beaches, amazingness. It was such a treat. I even dare to say that I got a little tan!
Going back a few days.... we left San Salvador the morning of the 21st and dro
ve to Huisisilapa, a small community of about 150 families. We arrived exhausted and were immediately placed with our host siblings (people about our age), introduced to the host families and then had the day to hang out with them. It was amazing how much Spanish you can lose in a week - I had been doing fine until we went to San Salvador and didn´t have to speak it much, but thankfully it started to click again by our second day in Huisi. I lived in this little house with 13 other people, including 5 adorable little girls under the age of 9. Let´s just say it was a busy and tiring few days! We hung out with the communities, had parties, helped paint their electricity poles with murals, hiked to a finca and learned how to harvest sugarcan, swam in the really dirty river, played soccer, and spent a lot of time with our host families. It wa
s really incredible. I was so overwhelmed the first 24 hours because of the language barrier and lack of any privacy (my host sister refused to let me by myself at all!), but the last two days got better and I felt more settled. Huisi has the most adorable little kids and we just played and played and played. I also have a four-year old boyfriend now, Josue.... :) Our last night we had a little dance and he was laying in a hammock, being really shy and I finally got him to come dance with me (which was really just him standing their smiling and holding my hands. He is the cutest little thing!
Much of the Huisi community was involved in the war of the 80s. My host dad was a guerilla and they knew 45 people who were killed during all the violence. So crazy.
Huisi is a fairly poor community and on our last night there, we got to give our families some of our stuff. I gave me host sister some things and then gave the mom some of my medicines... it turns out that she has some similar conditions to what I have and does not have any medicine to help... it was so cool to speak in Spanish, understand that, and have the resources to be able to help just a little bit. I also had two host brothers, both teenagers and extremely sweet. One of them is an incredible student and is working so hard in school - every time I saw him, he was doing homework, reading, or studying. When we visited the UN in San Salvador, they had given us huge books on the employment situation in El Salvador and then one day in Huisi, Carlos (my host brother) and I had an awesome conversation
about just that. It was really neat to be able to give him that book and encourage him in his studies. He was thrilled that it was all in Spanish and said it was exactly what he was studying at school, except they didn´t have any books. It was incredible to see how God lined everything up for me to be with this family. My host mom gave me an incredibely beautiful table tablecloth that was made by one of her daughters... such a generous gift and it pretty much made me cry.
A bunch of our group has gotten really sick in the last few days... two people overnight in the hospital, four others just to the clinic to get shots... some sort of bacterial infection that isn´t allowing any of them to keep anything down. Thankfully, with the meds the hospitals have here, they are able to start getting better quicker. Two of our guys had to stay in San Salvador for an extra two d
ays just to get well, and another person stayed in the hospital last night. It´s a bit weird to not be the one needing medical attention while traveling, but I´m really thankful I have been fairly healthy! Prayers for our sickies would be so great, if you think of it.
This morning most of our group went to El Imposible, a hike with 7 waterfall jumps. I was bummed to not be able to go, but I didn´t want to do nine hours of plane travel in a full body cast... jumping 20 feet from a waterfall would equal multiple dislocations! So Breanne and I stayed back and had a lazy morning, laying in hammocks, catching up on homework and listening to music. We just
walked into town behind this beautiful parade - about 20 trucks decorated with fruit and flowers, each one with a full band and people throwing candy. It was a procession to celebrate the harvest, an event that I guess happens each year. It was so beautiful to walk down cobble stone streets to the music from the trucks, getting caught in the middle of piles of kids diving for candy and walking with the crowd to follow the parade. Needless to say, we stood out a bit as the tall, white, females...
Elections
For El Salvador´s elections, we got to be registered International Observers... incredible experience. We started at 5am and finished around 6pm, traveled all over the west part of the country, witnessed fraud and had some amazing talks with people. In Cuscatlan, a lady from the FMLN office found me and my friend (we had to wear special t-shirts to identify us as accedited) and spend an hour and half walking around the town showing us buses that she claimed ARENA had brought in full of people from Honduras and Guatemala to vote... supposedly ARENA (current party in power) was giving people 20 bucks to come for the day. We also went to the FMLN offices and has a discussion with the head of their party and talked to people in town. Given that these reports were coming from someone of the opposite party, it had to be taken with a grain of salt. But it was so frustrating to see this and watch and observe and know that if even a small part of what she was saying was true, there was fraud.
At the end of the day, we returned to the place we started and watched the counting of the ballots - also really intriguing. There was a guy at my table trying to scam the system and it was really interesting to watch it unfold.
All in all, it was an incredible and frustrating day. I was reading through Psalms the next day and came across Psalm 10, which talks about injustice and pretty much described exactly what we had seen and been a part of.
Public Buses and Living History
Today we broke up into groups of three and headed out into the city for a day-long scavenger hunt of sorts... we had to take city buses and ask locals for directions, going all over and hitting up as many museums, palaces, gardens, and cathedrals as we could. We also had to do an interview of an informal sector vendor (the people who sell stuff in the markets, on the street corners, ect.). I was with my friends Aly and Theran and after leaving at 8:30am this morning, here´s what our day turned out to be:
7 different buses
1 taxi
25 people on the streets, buses, and musuem guides who helped us whenever we asked
2 museums
1 cathedral
1 palace
1 shopping mall
1 knife pulled out in a taxi!
Don´t worry, the guy in the taxi was someone we were interviewing and he was describing to us what had happened all the times he had been attacked by passengers... it was quite a scare for just a second, but thankfully I could understand his story and understood why he brought it out. My friend in the front seat didn´t understand Spanish though, so he thought he had a near death experience! A good little adventure in the end.
All of the places we went to today were incredible, but I don´t have time to describe it all. By far my favorite part was the National Palace though. We asked a lady who worked there to give us a little tour and she ended up taking us into rooms that were not open to the public and then sharing her story from the war and her thoughts on the upcoming election. We sat in the courtyard of this beautiful colonial palace and talked in hushed voices, hearing firsthand stories and encounters from this amazing woman. She told us she could lose her job if anyone heard what she was telling us. Incredible. Everyone here has a story.
Last little thing... the first place we went to today was El Museo de La Palabra y Imagen, a musuem dedicated to the history of the war and the country. We saw pictures and heard radio broadcasts from the secret underground radio that was in work during the war. We got talking to a lady there and she showed us a picture of the guy who started the entire radio network and then told us he had founded the musuem and was actually working today! So we got to see him and tried to talk to him, but he was busy with meetings. Pretty cool though, to see living history everywhere we look.
Okay, off to hang out with the group and then sleep!
San Salvador!
We got up at the crack of dawn yesterday morning to take the bus from Suchitoto into San Salvador... driving here is an adventure in itself, more like a rollar coaster than anything else! We arrived in San Salvador and headed straight for the Legislative offices where we had three hours of briefings and tours. It was crazy to see how each of the political parties has offices there and the difference in money supply between the different parties - it was quite obvious which ones were the wealth and poor.
In the afternoon, we headed to our guest house (which is great - i share a room with four other girls and we have our own bathroom! all our meals and other living space is communal) and had lunch, then 4 plus hours of election training. The country´s elections are coming up this Sunday and we are going to be accredited international observers, traveling around to observe different locations of voting and writing up a report on what we observe. We even get tee shirts and ID badges!
We finally had some down time last night and I settled myself into the hammock that is on the back courtyard patio for a nap and reading time. I am reading a great book (thanks Drea!) called
Walking on Water by Madeline L´Engle. It´s about art and faith, which has been so great because there is so much art down here and I have been loving photographing everything. It was so refreshing to have a couple hours to just take care of myself. We don´t get much time to rest and relax, so I´m taking advantage of it whenever I can.
Today we woke up early and headed to the US Embassy for briefings. It took us about 45 minutes just to get through various security checkpoints. We got to speak with 4 different people from different departments of the Embassy and hear what they do, as well as ask questions. They were very welcoming and detailed in their answers, something that has been a rare occasion here. I have noticed that almost anyone we talk to that is related somehow to a political party or the government will not give a straight answer. The best interviews and chats we´ve had have been with street vendors and people who are more straightforward with their opinions.
After that, we went straight to the UN offices here and had a briefing about Human Development and Employment here in El Salvador. It was AMAZING! I loved every minute of it and found it so intriguing. It has been really interesting to observe the mo
tivation (or lack thereof) here for economic development and then to hear actual research and views of this from an economist was incredible. About 15-20% of the country´s GDP comes from remittances (money sent from the States or other countries back to family in El Salvador) and I think it plays a large part in how much people work here. When we were in Suchitoto, I noticed that businesses would close and open as they please, sometimes staying closed during the busiest times of tourist travels, on Saturday afternoon. I have been trying to figure this out, especially since everyone we have talked to has says that development is needed here, yet the things I have seen don´t seem to match up. Not sure if this makes any sense, but there seems to be a lack of motivation to work when receiving remittances, so instead of having enough money to survive and save and invest, the remittances are used as the source of income.
We also spent
the afternoon at UCA, a big private university here. We walked through campus and saw where six priests were shot at the end of the civil war, not even twenty years ago. They have photo albums full of the crime scene photos, including very graphic pictures of the bodies and disfigurations from the torture. It was hard. But it also made it very real. They have cases full of their belongings, their clothes that they were murdered in, and much more. We also had a lecture given by Dr. Sajid Herrar, which covered the last 300 years of history and was amazing. It is so fun to be able to understand a college lecture in only Spanish. We have an translator, but I am now to the point where I can understand most of what is being said and only need a few of the details filled in for me! As for speaking.... well, that´s a different story!
And tonight, 4 guys from Whitworth came to our guesthouse because they are in Central America for the month traveling and also helping with the elections. And two of them are my friends Jeff and Richie, who I work with at school! It was so good to see them! And now I´m off to try and get some sleep.... Peace.
Guerillas, Waterfalls, & Laundry
Oh Suchitoto is so beautful! We have been spending all of our mornings in language school and then doing different activities in afternoon. A couple days ago we took a big truck out into the country, down this old stone road to a farm. They cleared the cows out of one of the pastures and we played softball, attempting to understand the differences in rules and avoid stepping in the hundreds of piles of cow dung! They also had a newborn cow that was only a day old and we got to pet some of the other animals too. The trucks here are incredible - I wish I could travel like this all the time! You all pile in the back and stand, holding onto these rickety metal railings and each other! On our way back from the farm, my friend Iveth and I stood up on the front of the truck because their was a ledge on the back part of the cab, so we had all the wind in our face and were way above the traffic and ground - it felt incredible!
Later that day we had dance lessons at the school and then went to a local bar and then the discoteca! So loud, so fun, kind of awkward - the discoteca had mirrors on one wall and all the locals were doing their dancing\grinding while staring at themselves - yeah, a little awkward. But all of our groups (us students and our local teachers\friends) just had a great time getting sweaty and showing off our moves, or attempts at them!
Yesterday we went to El Bosque de Cinquerra, which is an ecological and historical reserve about 45 minute
s outside of Suchitoto. Our guide was a guerilla in the war for 12 years and he took us hiking in the mountains to see their old campsites, kitchens, lookouts and everything. We learned about how they got supplies and disarmed unexploded bombs, only to rebuild them and send them back to the army as a ´gift´ of sorts... he was really funny and an incredible living history and testament to what this country has been through - really hard to comprehend the reality of it though, even though we see the impact of the war everywhere, from tourism to houses, to the economy.
After the hardest part of the hike (it was pretty brutal going up, but great coming down), we ended up at this incredible waterfall and pool area.... thei
r was a dam that they had built in order to create this pool and their was a stone patio of sorts all around it and trees that sat out over the river that we hung out on. We climbed up the waterfall and pools and found another waterfall that we stood under and took pictures and showers of sorts! I can´t even begin to describe it, but trust me, it was beautiful! Our teachers came with us their and they had lugged in tons of fresh fruit and these amazing chicken sandwhiches, so we had a gourmet feast with huge containers full of freshly chopped strawberries, papayas, apples, pineapple, grapes, watermelon, & canteloupe. And swam a lot. It felt so good after sweating off half our body
weight on the hike.
Last night we
had a little bit of class and then all came to the Plaza and our restaurant to just hang out and have drinks. It was so beautiful and one of our first nights that we all just got to hang out together and with one of our teachers and his friend. After we went back to our house, my roomie Iveth showed me how to wash clothes and we spent about half an hour hand scrubbing our clothes on the stone wash basin. So fun, but tiring and I´m sure so much work for people to do all the time and for years on end. I also got to have an amazing conversation with my host mom and she invited me back to come stay with her again, for longer, at some point in the future. She was surprised the other night that I was able to understand her and speak back, and since then we have been able to communicate better, because I think she is eager for me to learn more. Living with her has been amazing - she is so beautiful and has had an interesting life, some of which we got to hear about the other night. She laughed at me yesterday because I asked to eat an orange, picked one from the tree and she peeled it for me... then on I sat in a rocking chair in the courtyard of the house and just loved life - she walked by and laughed when I said ´Esta es la vida buena´ and continued to come and laugh at me for quite awhile! Overall, this past week has been incredible and I am so thankful for the relationships we have formed here and for the welcoming culture.
OK, off to do some shopping :) before our papusa making lesson tonight... love to you all and thanks for your comments and updates. And Happy Birthday tomorrow Dad! Love you lots!
Suchitoto
Hola de la ciudad Suisichoto! We made it! I don't have much time to write, but I wanted to give a quick update... Today was our first day of language school (Escuela Parajo Flor) and it was incredible. I am in a class with one other person and our amazing maestra who is actually our age. We reviewed vocab and took a walk around the city and through city hall, the markets and the street and different barrios (sort of neighborhoods)... talking in Spanish the entire time! I am understanding way more than I thought I would, which is great, and am slowly getting back into the swing of speaking. Our language school is in an old outdoor courtyard/hacienda that has to be about 100 years old and all the little school rooms are outside in clearings and on the patios - with a view of the lake. So beautiful!
My host family and house are both incredible - I am living with my friend Iveth who is a native speaker, so it has been great to have her translate when I can't understand Morena, our host mom. Morena is an older lady and lives in a beautiful mansion of a house, with a large outdoor courtyard with mango, lemon, papaya and orange trees (which we are free to eat from whenever we want!) and each room is on the outside of the courtyard. Iveth and I share a room that is bigger than my dorm room and is beautiful - all the original windows and doors are in the house, so it is full of beautiful history. There is even a full kitchen and a full bath/shower, so we are definitely in a richer part of the community. Morena lives with her sister and a house helper/not sure what to call her! They do not provide meals for us because they do not cook consistent meals, so our language school arranged for us to eat at a restaurant just around the corner in the main plaza - which is also beautiful and so fun to be at night. The food has not been agreeing with me so far, so trying to find things to eat that I can actually keep down has been challenging. Today has been better though.
Okay, off for a boat tour of the lake here! Adios!
I'm Leaving... On A Jet Plane!
So I finally succumbed and made a blog... all you technically inclined people should be proud! This is mainly because of upcoming adventures, but also to post updates on where the next year takes me.
I'm heading off on a Jan Term adventure to El Salvador with a group of Whitworth students late Tuesday night and will use this blog to try and post a few updates while we are there... no promises though, as it will depend on how often we get internet access.
While we are in
El Salvador, we will be in two homestays, language school, studying the informal sector/market and helping to monitor the national elections. And probably some dancing, beach time, and delicious food. Adventures for sure!
I hope you all have a fabulous January - whether in snow or the 90's (just had to rub it in a little!). Adios!
ed in Tacuba last night after an amazing day in paradise... as a treat (after living in a small village with no bathrooms or clean water for a còuple days) our profesor arranged for us to spend the day at this amazing beach house. We had to take a two hour bus ride and then walk or ride in the Land Rover the rest of the way down the beach. The house was the second to last one on this spit and was stunning! Hammocks, beach, a lagoon out back, swimming, beautiful black\white sand beaches, amazingness. It was such a treat. I even dare to say that I got a little tan!
ve to Huisisilapa, a small community of about 150 families. We arrived exhausted and were immediately placed with our host siblings (people about our age), introduced to the host families and then had the day to hang out with them. It was amazing how much Spanish you can lose in a week - I had been doing fine until we went to San Salvador and didn´t have to speak it much, but thankfully it started to click again by our second day in Huisi. I lived in this little house with 13 other people, including 5 adorable little girls under the age of 9. Let´s just say it was a busy and tiring few days! We hung out with the communities, had parties, helped paint their electricity poles with murals, hiked to a finca and learned how to harvest sugarcan, swam in the really dirty river, played soccer, and spent a lot of time with our host families. It wa
s really incredible. I was so overwhelmed the first 24 hours because of the language barrier and lack of any privacy (my host sister refused to let me by myself at all!), but the last two days got better and I felt more settled. Huisi has the most adorable little kids and we just played and played and played. I also have a four-year old boyfriend now, Josue.... :) Our last night we had a little dance and he was laying in a hammock, being really shy and I finally got him to come dance with me (which was really just him standing their smiling and holding my hands. He is the cutest little thing! 
Much of the Huisi community was involved in the war of the 80s. My host dad was a guerilla and they knew 45 people who were killed during all the violence. So crazy.
about just that. It was really neat to be able to give him that book and encourage him in his studies. He was thrilled that it was all in Spanish and said it was exactly what he was studying at school, except they didn´t have any books. It was incredible to see how God lined everything up for me to be with this family. My host mom gave me an incredibely beautiful table tablecloth that was made by one of her daughters... such a generous gift and it pretty much made me cry.
ays just to get well, and another person stayed in the hospital last night. It´s a bit weird to not be the one needing medical attention while traveling, but I´m really thankful I have been fairly healthy! Prayers for our sickies would be so great, if you think of it.
walked into town behind this beautiful parade - about 20 trucks decorated with fruit and flowers, each one with a full band and people throwing candy. It was a procession to celebrate the harvest, an event that I guess happens each year. It was so beautiful to walk down cobble stone streets to the music from the trucks, getting caught in the middle of piles of kids diving for candy and walking with the crowd to follow the parade. Needless to say, we stood out a bit as the tall, white, females...
