Daysi

She's the youngest daughter of quite a big family and has thus been given the role of caring for her ailing mother and father. She's seen the likes of her community and has ardenty tried to better her situation, and that of others. She's worked hard all of her life- she not only went to high school, (a rarity here) she graduated a year early. She worked as a health promoter- one who makes house visits from dawn to dusk, hiking around these montsrous peaks, most days without lunch. Her mother has hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, and is practically house-ridden. Her father, while very friendly and gentle, suffers dementia and cannot help domestically very much. Her own health, perhaps genetically, has been in jeopardy with panging chest pains from hiking so much. So, she had to give up work as the promoter. She always looks for new and better opportunities and sought training to become and educator for illiterate adults here. Under request from the people here, she started giving free classes to teach reading. At three o'clock everyday, she waits patiently at the casa comunal to give her classes. Sometimes people come, maybe 3 or 4. Many times, perhaps from sheer embarrassment, they don't.
Many of her sibling have left for the states and she'd like to go some day. But she is needed here and knows she has to better her English. So she's looking for a course to learn computation and English. She's 20 years old, and unlike most of the young ladies her age, she remains single and childess and is is no rush to do either any time soon.
When I see Daysi, I see an incredibly bright, tenacious, caring, patient, beautiful woman caged by circumstance. She wants so much to be something more, something better than expected. But there seem more forces holding her back.
I first met Daysi dirning the census. Actually, I first visited her house when she was not there, and questioned her father, Don Floro. And while enjoyed his colorful stories and charming kindess (he showed me a bettle scar from the war right away), I realized soon that he was in no way capable to answer the census. So on my second visit there, I met Daysi; who, with her excelling education not only gave me accurate responses, but she also knew more than ANYONE else about HIV and other health related questions. When I asked if she'd ever had an AIDS test, she confessed she didn't, but really, had no need to (if you know what that means). I wanted to give her a hug right away. You go girl!
That first visit, I stayed for nearly 2 hours talking with her. I almost cried when she opened up about her situation. I felt utterly clueless with what I could do to help.
One of my favorite things about Daysi is that we can actually talk. It may sound mean... but truth be told, most of my conversations with the gente here don't reach much depth. I've had the same chats about the weather and chores too many times. But with Daysi, we can have more substantial conversations without the awkward silences or hackneyed conversations. She really is one of my closest friends here, probably my best, and I want so much to help her.
She asked for help with her classes. It's maddening. And delicate. How do you make people come who don't want to. I hope with some new collaboration and pleading we might be able to get a few more regulars... but in truth this seems like something that slowly fizzles out. I guess when you've been used to not reading your whole life it's a hard decision and a huge effort to change. But if no one comes, Daysi will have to stop and there goes another job.
So today, I thought I'd share a little about one of my favorite people here, Daysi. She really is amazing, and she could be so much more if only she were given the right chance. She deserves it.

Dasyi and me at a Fiesta Rosa (or quinceñera) I attended.

Anything new with me you might ask? Well, a stint that has the potential to be quite an obstacle has arisen. Due to 3 cases of swine flu in Morazon (my department, or state) school has been suspended. It's a pending suspension that tentively will stop August 2nd (our summer break begins in November). But it could last longer, being in that this damn virus is only growing.
It is scary to be sure. But I'm also bummed. I was just getting started with the school! And now all of that footing is going out the window for the time being.
I guess this will give me the chance to focus on other areas, but the school really is a great resource for me, and I don't anticipate such an easy entrance in other fields.
In other news. Mike, the volunteer who called Los Cimientos home before me, is visiting. For the months after his service ended he backpacked through South American and worked his way back up here. It seems like quite a fabulous trip actually. He hiked through patagonia and visited a dozen countries and spontaneously traveled around practially the whole continent.
But now he's stopping by for about a week. It's nice to see him, I like taking advantage of his knowledge... and bogging him down with a million questions about his experience. But I'm also a little nervous. I guess I really value his opinion and now that he's here seeing what I'm doing in his old site... UNDER PRESSURE.
Also, this past weekend I went to a quinceñera, or as they call it a Fiesta Rosa. What an ordeal it was. So much effort was put into it. And I have to say I don't think I've ever seen an uglier pink dress.
Here are some pics... I'll preface them with saying that Salvadorans don't smile in pictures. Don't ask me why.


I thought all of these boys were adorable, they were fooling around the whole time, not really knowing what to do. I'm not exactly sure why they get so many little ones . But these kids at least had the role of holding the train of the Quince's dress while she walked.

The guest of honor, Elizabeth, her cousin at her side, presenting her to society. And 2 younger relatives in front playing the roles of mini-me's.
Some of the cutiest girls in my sight, I believe at least. The one on the right I think will be a real beauty.

Exploring

I´ve done quite a bit of exploring around my new home and I thought I´d shed some light...


A cascade that's recently formed with the rainy season. I've seen it from afar and hope to hike out to it soon.


Called ¨quebradas¨ (¨breaks¨), the many creeks freely flow over the main road. Sometimes they´re pretty hard to cross by car. Come October, when it constantly rains, there might not be any crossing at all.

Another quebrada, it´s getting harder and harder to cross with dry feet.

View from the top of our volcano of the San Vicente volcano out west. I climbed that beast... Hoo Rah.

I had the troops line up to try and show how steep some of the hills are. This still doensn´t do it justice. Trust me, some of these hills are brutal. From front to back, Franklin, Sulma, Melli, Jesica, and Betty.

This is one of the many creeks formed by natural springs that lead to a bigger river. Right down from our backyard. I would have loved to come here as a kid, and show my excitement in this picture. Betty in front, however, thinks I´m weird.

This is what I´d say a typical house looks like in Los Cimientos. Sticks and mud... or ¨bahareque¨ as they call it down here. The walls actually protect better than you might think, but the bugs are everywhere and you´re constantly dirty.

Questionnews

Bryn sent me a really cute email with some interesting questions that I thought I’d steal for this entry. And I suppose I’ll attach some news conmigo.

1) Where do I bathe and how often?
I bathe outside in our pila. It’s an outdoor cement sink where we do all of our washing (dishes, clothes, bodies, etc.). The water comes pretty consistently from that hose which is a lot nicer than what most people have (2 times a week sometimes for only 15 minutes). The hose is connected directly from a natural spring, so this is where I get my drinking water too.
I shower everyday here, in the afternoon when it’s hottest. It’s not very private, so I usually bathe with spandex and a tank top on. It hasn’t been too huge a sacrifice yet… I don’t beg for hot showers, but I probably will after a few more months.

This is the Pila, let your imagination run wild.

1) What am I eating?
Breakfast usually consists of some combination of eggs, beans, cheese, rice, potatoes, sometimes some pasta, ALWAYS served with a tortilla. Fruits and veggies are few and far between but usually consist of onion, green beans, carrots, mangoes, and bananas.
Lunch, almost always a cup of noodles and a tortilla.
Dinner, some other combination of the same foods from breakfast… oh, and a tortilla.

2) What do I miss?
I miss so much… it’s really hard to pinpoint. It varies.
Of course I miss my friends and family. Especially when something silly or fun or exciting happens and I want to tell them immediately. I miss the food… not so much any kind of food in particular, but more the option for an array of food and the ability to make my own.
I miss a lot of things American… movies, cities, parks, running outdoors, museums TODO.

3) What do I love most?
Again… it’s hard to only choose one. If pressed, I’d broadly say the people. But more specifically, the implicit acceptance and hospitality these people offer. I’ve had some of the greatest conversations with complete strangers, and I couldn’t do that in the same way in the states. Maybe my relationships here don’t have the same depth my relationships at home have… but the kindness these people show right off the bat is heartwarming.

4) What does it smell like?
I guess thicker and warmer. If you’re near the sugarcane fields, then incredibly sweet. After it rains however, some funky smells can arise since we have no sewage system and the streets are cluttered with litter.

5) When do I go to bed and wake up?
Mari, Sulma and Jesica usually mosey into bed pre 9ish. I usually am in bed around that time, and read or watch a movie for a while, but I don´t make it too late.
I usually wake up around 6ish. On days that I go to Gotera, such as today... it´s a 4amer. But many times even though I wake up early, I don´t get out of bed for quite a while.

6) What do I hate?
Difficult to say, it depends on my mood. I guess I´d say culturally, the Machismo. It´s pretty painful to see sometimes how subordinate the women are. And I have very little patience when a man tries to undermine me. That and the piropos (catcalls) drive me nuts. The stuff they whisper sometimes when I walk by can be pretty disgusting. It´s so stupid.

7) What is my favorite Spanish curse word?
I´d have to say ¨Pu chica¨which isn´t really a swear word. It´s literally like saying ¨Oooooh, guuuuuuurl!¨ But it can have the connotation of ¨Holy shit!¨

8) Are there any boys/hombres/guapos?
Not really my type. But they´re getting more and more guapo the longer I´m alone. They´re short and skiiiiiiny... but damn, some of them are super ripped from working out on the field all day. Their arms are yoked and veiny.

9) Is their any night life/local music scene.
Absolutely not. Not in the canton (countryside) at least. There´s nothing outside after sundown. And as for music, some guys get together sometimes and play religious music... not much of a dance party though.

10) Are there any unsual animals?
A lot of funky bugs. I´ve found a few scorpions in my room too. Some of the weirdest looking dogs you´ve ever seeen roam around here as well. I guess that´s what happens when you scrape the bottom of the doggy gene pool. They all seem to have a little bit of dachschund in them, and most are really ugly.

11) Do I siesta?
No. It doesn´t get too hot where I´m at, but they don´t usually siesta in other parts either. I guess it´s a European thing.

And now for something completely different...

To celebrate the 4th of July almost every white person (all of the volunteers) in El Salvador went to the capital to unleash the beasts. There are 4 different types of volunteers here, Municipal Development, Youth Development, AgroForestry/Environmental Education, and Rural Health and Sanitation (yours truly). We had a soccer tournament between the different programs, and guess who won? It was quite fun… I got to meet a ton of new volunteers and get to know others better. We’re all over the place, in every corner of this tiny country.

Here we are, the campeones. Not sure I can remember all their names, but they´re all Rural Healthers.

Afterward we… ahem… celebrated. No there were no fireworks, but I don’t think we really minded. I was bummed to be missing one of my favorite days of the years at home, but maybe I can visit for the next one.
And what am I doing in site you ask? As of now… I’m helping the English teacher Nuria with her classes. The poor thing, she works very hard, but doesn’t know the language herself, and no one can pronounce anything. I’m creating some of my own lesson plans that pertain to hers and teaching them to 7th, 8th and 9th grade.
I’ve also begun a program called Como Planear Mi Vida, once a week lessons I give to 7th grade all about the future and communication and self esteem and sexual reproduction and everything nice. I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty excited for the Sex-Ed. Who wouldn’t have fun teaching a bunch of Spanish speaking teenagers how to correctly use a condom?
It’s been a good start… but I can tell right away I’m going to have to try a million different methods for teaching and maintain an endless patience. There’s a funny double edged sword Salvos have. They’re practical and unsentimental in many ways where we’d be lost in our neurosis. Ask them who is your ideal mate and they’d probably say, ‘someone who loves me’. But they can also be very unimaginative and painfully shy where we’d foam at the mouth. Ask them where would you travel if you could travel anywhere in the world and they’d probably say ‘El Salvador.’ They’re not rewarded for creativity or spontaneity, and I’m hoping with these classes, I can extract a little of both.