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!
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