A Day in the LIfe...

It's independence day in El Salvador and so even though it's Monday, there is no work, school, or anything. In fact, the only things I know of that are open are the pools and amusement parks in the city. However, since I am in the "campo" or in the country, there isn't much special happening. It is a day of rest, which really means that the one or two men who have contracted jobs don't have to work and there is no school, but everything else continues as normal. Nonetheless, I am determined to sleep late in honor of the day off! But by 6am, I have been wide awake for an hour, and I am the only one in bed except for Marielos (my 5 year old little sister that I share a room with). As I lay there thinking, I realize that it didn't rain lastnight - which I realize because the rains always bring a certain smell with them, a smell that isn't there this morning. This is the first night that I have been in the community that it hasn't rained. Normally, I bathe every morning with the rain water that we collect from the roof. My realization shocks me a little, and makes me dread (just a little) carrying my bath water to the house... maybe I won't bathe today??

The morning is very relaxed. I retained a little of my determination to sleep late and decided to stay in bed and read for a little while. However, by 6:30, Marielos is awake and she says she will only get up if I get up too. We both roll out of bed and stumble outside and find that Alicia and Ricardo have already gone to the Molino (which Ricardo is in charge of for the month) to grind the corn for tortillas and returned! Before Alicia starts making tortillas, I do a little more reading and play a game of cards with Marielos. This year I am going to learn to make tortillas and tamales so I take advantage of every opportunity to practice! Today goes better than most days; I manage to make one semi-round but edible tortilla to every 3 or 4 of Alicia's perfectly round tortillas.

After breakfast I am happy to hear Ricardo (host dad) announce we are all going to the river - to wash clothes and bathe! This means a lot less water to carry and some guaranteed fun with the kids at the river. I pack up some clothes to change into, my dirty clothes (to wash), and we head down. The path down to the river always makes me a little nervous, but I manage it without falling today - probably because it hasn't rained and the path wasn't full of mud! Since there are no meetings or anything big planned for today, we can take our time playing and enjoying the morning at the river. I explore up the river, venturing farther than I ever have. Nelson, a 9 year old neighbor, accompanies me on my exploring adventures. Then I return to the family and spend a while playing with Diego and Marielos so Ricardo can have a break and Alicia can get some washing done - she has to wash the whole family's clothes (and mine too if I don't stop her!) so she will be washing for 4+ hours. While I play with the kids, Ricardo explores further up the river. When he comes back, he carries several beautiful orchids that he later plants by our house. He loves to find the orchids and plant them at the house... I can't wait till they all flower because we have around 40 orchids all around our little house. Before heading back up, I ask Ricardo to bring me next time he goes looking for orchids. I want to bring one back for Anita, one of my bosses, because she loves flowers and she took care of me while I was sick and has been a lot of help to me lately.

I headed back up to the house a little earlier than everyone else in hopes of getting some work done before the kids come back. No school today means that Marielos thinks we should play all day! However, I find the house locked and I am without a key so I opt to take a nap in the hammock instead :)   Lunch is special today and we eat fresh Tilapia from the Tilapia ponds in the community. The family wanted to do something special for me since I have been sick and just started eating normal food again (first day in over a week!). After lunch I head over to the Restaurant (which also serves as the community gathering space and my favorite work space) to write up a few documents. I spend most of the afternoon there, only taking a break to walk to Don Goyo's cornfields to see the nearby construction. Some rich people have been buying up all the land around the community and building a golf course and fancy "country homes." The sight saddens my heart - it is not only more deforestation (for a stupid golf course that a ridiculously small percentage of the population can afford to use) but I also know what this means for the community. People worry that soon the same people are going to start buying up the community's land. They are paying good money for land and the people have a lot of land, which is in great condition and almost completely forested. You can't blame them for accepting an offer either. They are barely surviving and an opportunity at any large sum of money is almost impossible to turn down. If this happens, Los Naranjos will cease to exist. These people need some form of sustainable income that will alleviate a little of the huge economic pressures they face... and sooner rather than later would be better.

In the evening we have a "grupo de jovenes" meeting. FUNDAHMER works to create a "grupo de jovenes" or youth group in all their communities. Most people reading this are probably thinking "church youth group" but this is quite different but not completely different. It is something to get the youth (age 10 to 25) involved and thinking about their life, their community, and the reality they live. They do a variety of activities such as workshops, cultural events, political discussions, games, dances, art etc... I think it is a truly great thing and I love hanging out with all the youth and learning from their thoughts and questions. 

The meeting was supposed to start at 5pm, so of course it actually starts around 6pm. We start with 10 or 15 minutes of duck-duck-goose. I taught them this game last year and everyone (even the 20 year olds) love it! I have never had this much fun playing duck-duck-goose!  Then we talk for about 45 minutes - today was mostly planning - and we end, traditionally, with half an hour of dancing! At 7:45 I take a break to check the time and my heart skips a beat when I realize it's so late. I don't want to end the party, but I know I have to go. My family usually heads to bed at 8pm and I know they are waiting up for me (and keeping food warm for me). I run/walk back to my house, and Cesar, one of the youth leaders, walks me home. I find everyone in bed except for Ricardo. I feel bad that I didn't get to say goodnight to everyone (but I enjoyed the youth meeting so I only partially feel bad). I eat my semi-cold beans and rice mostly in silence, but I don't mind. It's been a good evening. It's a clear and beautiful night so I eat slowly enjoying the natural beauty of where I live... and enjoying the moonlight from the full moon which allows me to not eat in the dark. The battery for our solar panel died yesterday  so we use candles and flashlights now.

By 8:15 I am in bed... but I manage to read until 8:45... it is the end of a full and beautiful day in Los Naranjos. 

First Impressions (and my first week)

First impressions: 

1) I forgot how beautiful it is here.

Sometimes when I am walking to a neighbors house or to the restaurant, I just stop and stand completely still listening to the birds and observing my surroundings. I usually just stand for a few seconds or a minute so people don't think I am crazy, but I could stay like that, in marvel, for an hour or more. Everytime I look around me, I have to think how crazy and amazing it is that I actually live here. I hope I never lose that fascination and amusement...

I put up a bunch of pictures on a picasa web album, please check them out. Just click on the slideshow link or image on the right and it will take you right to the website. 

2) I also forgot how hot it is here.

I remember saying to my parents last year that the only time I am not sweating is when I am bathing. However, I must have blocked that little detail out of my memory, but it is true. I walk to the school and back (only a few hundred yards) and I am dripping in sweat!

My first week was kept busy with lots of eating and visiting - two very important things in Salvadoran life and in building relationships in the community. On that first day, at my welcome party in the community, I made the mistake of saying that I couldn't wait to eat tamales and Atole (this amazing drink made from fresh corn that is kind of like a sweet pudding but usually thin enough to drink). To my delight, someone sent fresh tamales and atole to my house the night I arrived. However, I have to pause here and make sure you understand how big of a deal this is, it takes at least half a day to make tamales and atole! But that first night was definitely not the end of my tamale eating. The next day I went to a traditional corn festival in a nearby community, where we stuffed ourselves with atole and corn on the cob... and of course someone invited me over to their house for dinner when I returned (a dinner of tamales). A tradition that continued almost every night I was in the community! THEN near the end of the week, someone sent over a bunch of fresh corn so we could make tamales at my house and I could see and participate in the whole process from cleaning the corn to cooking the tamales in a giant pot over the fire! The thing is that when you make tamales, you make A LOT of tamales so you can send them to family and friends... and of course eat tamales for 3 or 4 days. Needless to say I haven't eaten a single tamale since that first week in the community...

So, besides eating, what did I do with all my time?? What did I accomplish? 

I think that I did do a lot, but I have to say that most of what I did was be there and be a part of the community and the daily life. I got up at 5am and went with Alicia to the molino (where you grind corn to make tortillas) and said hey to all the other women and kids, sharing our daily plans... going into the city, going to the river to wash clothes, making tamales...etc. After the molino, I went with Ricardo or Alicia to help carry drinking/bathing water for the day, which takes a while... and is always interesting because the kids like to laugh at me attempting to carry the water jug on my head (sometimes successful, sometimes not so successful), not to mention that my water jug is about half the size of their water jug! I used to think I was in shape and fairly strong... 

A few evenings, I went to the school to teach computer classes (someone donated 3 computers to the school, but their is no one there that knows how to use a computer!!) so I think one of my goals is going to be to teach a few basic computer skills to the kids who are likely to advance on to high school. 

So that is what I did... I lived with Ricardo and Alicia and thier kids in Los Naranjos, and I think that is going to be the most important and essential part of what I accomplish this year. The project will only have successs if I know the people I am living and working with and if they trust me. Most importantly, this project, this year, is about the people, about creating a project that will contribute to a more just and sustainable livelihood for the people in Los Naranjos without sacrificing the environment and natural resources surrounding them.

But Ok, for all of you who want to know about all the technical stuff, I will share that as well. My goal for the week was to get a clear picture of what is going on in the community, to create a summary of all the projects currently going on, and visit each family to complete a brief survey with basic family and agricultural information. Thus, I spent a lot of time in meetings with project leaders, community leaders, and visiting each family. You may think it is ridiculous to visit every family, but it is not only necessary for the project, but a necessity out of respect for the community. And I think I did accomplish a lot that first week. I have a nice 4 page summary of the community, various committees within the community, and projects that the community is working on. Also, I know exactly who has a job and who does not and what each family is growing to eat and to sell. A random interesting fact about Los Naranjos is there are 18 different kinds of fruit trees growing in the community!

Bienvenidos a Los Naranjos

Finally, the day I had been anticipating since the day I landed in El Salvador - my first day in the community. We left the FUNDAHMER office in San Salvador around 9am (despite planning to leave at 8am) and arrived in the community a little after 10am. I savored the drive there, mentally recounting the last time I made this drive and the last time I was in the community - in March of this year, with a delegation group from my University but that stay was only for 2 days. However, even then I was wondering, when I would be able to return... but I knew I would be returning. And then there was my last day in the community last year...I remember saying goodbye, walking one last time across the soccer field and all the women coming up, many crying, saying goodbye. I struggled to find the right words to say, I wanted to promise I would come back, but I didn't want to be yet another "gringo" making empty promises. I knew I wanted to come back, but I admitted that it could be the last time I would see these people that meant so much to me. That day I left in August of 2007 was not so different from today, in August of 2008. As before, it was Armando and me in the little green pickup on a beautiful (but hot) Salvadoran morning, except then I was saying goodbye and now I am going to say good-morning... here I am to stay.

All the women, kids (and yes they let out school for an hour for my bienvenidos party), and men, who weren't away working, were gathered at the restaurant - aka, community meeting place (which is a new addition since last year!). Deicy, the president of the cooperative, gave a little opening speech, welcoming Armando and I, then the kids did several "artistic points" and for the last few dances they made me get up and dance with them! Only for the kids in Los Naranjos will I get up and show everyone my complete lack of latin rhythm. The kids love to dance and they seem to love it even more when I make my attempts at doing the meringue or salsa with them. After the dancing, Armando and I each made a short speech expressing gratitude for their hospitality and excitement for working with the community. The welcome party finished with a lunch for Armando and I of fresh Tilapia from the Tilapia ponds in the community. I am not going to lie, most of you know I don't like fish, and so I was not at all looking forward to this Tilapia lunch. But, surprisingly, it wasn't too bad. Fresh fish has a completely different taste than fish we buy at the grocery store; plus, you can make almost anything good fried! I figured I better start now liking the Tilapia because it is probably what I will be eating on every special occasion from now on in the community :)

Before saying goodbye, Armando and I walked around the community together, making a few house visits and he stopped for a long visit at my host family's house. While there, he put Marielos (my 5 year old little sister) in charge of taking care of me - which I must say she took very seriously!

I have to share a little more about my Salvadoran family... I live with Ricardo and Alicia and their two little kids, Marielos (5) and Diego (1 1/2). Alicia is 28 and Ricardo is 29; so they did not have kids until much later than most people in the community. A random interesting fact about my family is that Ricardo can cook AND make TORTILLAS! He is the first Salvadoran man that I have met who can make tortillas. One night him and I made the tortillas for dinner, and sometime he is going to cook for us. On another note, Diego is just one awesome kid. I don't think I have met another 1 1/2 year old that is as animated as Diego. Sometimes I like to just sit and watch him. 

I was a little worried about what family I was going to end up living with because it makes such a difference in your daily happiness, as well as your community involvement. I think it is perfect that I ended up with Ricardo and Alicia. Their amazing hospitality was obvious before I even spent a single night with them. Before Armando was allowed to leave their house, he had to carried 2 giant orchids with him that Ricardo had carried from the forest and planted at his house. The two that he gave to Armando, he could have sold for $5 or $6 each - the equivalent of a full days pay for each one! The thing that is even more amazing is this type of generosity is not uncommon here. 

My first few days in the community and with Ricardo and Alicia were a little awkward. However, I think this is unavoidable. Anytime you move in with a family (especially one that you hardly know) and move to a place like the "campo", there is going to be an acclimation period. Even though I had been in El Salvador for 2 weeks already, city life and community life are two very different experiences. Just getting used to living without running water, and electricity, and using a latrine is a big change. Then there is the change from living by yourself and on your own schedule to living with a family and adopting to a completely new daily rhythm. My first big shocker was going to bed at 8pm! By 8pm we are almost guaranteed to be in bed or in the process of getting ready for bed and by 8:30pm we are in bed with the lights out! In case you are wondering about the "lights out" part, we do have a solar panel (thanks to FUNDAHMER and Michael Jenkins) which powers one lightbulb. Also, I have to say that by the end of the week, I too was semi-tired by the time 8:30 rolled around...

This was my "team" at the organic agriculture workshop! Each team had to create a design for a family garden using the techniques we learned, such as crop rotation, association of crops, planting for calories and nutrition...etc. The photo below is me transplanting lettuce during the practical part of the workshop.

My Arrival (even though it's 3 weeks late)

"Why would you want to go to El Salvador?"

I was standing in line to check in at the Charlotte Airport and found myself behind a Salvadoran man returning to El Salvador after visiting family in the US. Because he didn't speak any English, his sister was standing in line with him trying to explain what to do once he got past security and to catch the connecting flight. When I realized we were both heading to El Salvador and thus had the same connecting flight, I volunteered to help and make sure he made it on the plane etc... The line to check in was rather long so we had a while to chat. His sister soon realized I wasn't going to El Salvador for vacation, and she seemed quite surprised by this discovery and so rather confusedly, she asked, "Why would you want to go to El Salvador?" Her question didn't necessarily surprise me, but it did make me uncomfortable in a way I don't know how to explain. Even though I found myself saying to her that I thought it was a beautiful country with a lot of truly great people, on the inside I was asking myself if I really knew what I was getting myself into this year. And the truth is, I don't.

My first day in El Salvador was fairly uneventful except for the fact that my luggage didn't arrive - along with 20 other people's. I think they just got tired of loading the plane and decided not to load the last half of the luggage. I ended up getting the luggage 2 1/2 days later so it wasn't too bad (luckily I packed some extra underwear and a t-shirt in my carry-on.) That afternoon my project mentor/boss and I went out for ice cream and I got some of my favorite coconut ice cream from my favorite ice cream store - right next to the office where I work when I am in the city. Last year, every Friday night when I came into the city from the community I would head straight over to get a large ice cream cone!

Even though I knew the Salvadoran culture is very relaxed, I still kind of expected to "jump right in" to the project. However, in case you haven't lived in El Salvador, things are laid back. For my first 3 days here, every morning people asked me if I got enough sleep (little did they know that I get more sleep in El Salvador than at home). And they acted surprised when I was at the office ready to go at 8am with everyone else the day after I arrived.

Despite my first week being very relaxed, I did jump right into everything the second week. On Friday of my first week, Don Armando (my boss/mentor) told me about an organic agriculture workshop going on Monday through Wednesday of the following week. A few other FUNDAHMER employees were going and he thought it would be good for me to attend as well. I agreed and so there I was at this conference with 5 other people I barely knew and 20 other Salvadorans I had never met. I, of course, was the only non-Salvadoran and thus the only non-native Spanish speaker, as well as one of the few women there. Plus, I was also the youngest and the only one without years of farming experience or years organizing farmers. To top things off, I didn't realize we were sleeping at the conference until 10 minutes before we left. As you can already tell, I was slightly overwhelmed. I do think the workshop is going to prove to be extremely helpful as we spent around 20 hours in the classroom and 15 hours in the "practical." And it was a good experience, but a hard experience. I will just say that I thought more than once about pretending to be sick so someone would come get me.

The first day at the workshop was the roughest...if anyone I knew even a little had asked me how I was doing, I probably would have burst into tears, but fortunately (or sadly) no one was there. The second day was better, even though I was exhausted because we got up to start working at 4am and we were meeting until 10pm at night. By the third day I was feeling a bit more confident and was even making a few jokes with some of the other people.

I got back from the conference on Wednesday night (of my 2nd week in El Salvador), spent all of Thursday in meetings (literally), and then left early Friday morning for the community. The meetings on Thursday were a bit long and tedious, but worthwhile. I felt better afterwards because we had more or less established an advisory committee for my project, as well as a few long and short term goals. One of the first things I was to do is a survey or diagnostic of the community to see what each family is growing to eat and to sell, and what kinds of potential various crops have. I am also going to include in the survey all the projects going on in the community, attempting to identify some difficulties and successes of each project. This will help me get a better idea of how the community works and various needs within the community.