Sorry mom. I know you were really pushing for a more creative entry title this time, but I kind of like the idea of consistent titles. At least for now.
It's been a while since I blogged last, so before I write any thoughts I'm going to brainstorm on what I've been up to for the last 3 months. I tried the same technique in the last entry, but got distracted and only wrote about my first bullet-point. I guess we'll just have to see how things go.
1) About 6 weeks ago Jeremiah and Rebekah came to visit. I've got to say, it was probably one of the best weeks we've ever spent together. We started out the week at a small town in the west. We hiked some beautiful waterfalls, ate our first rabbit, and then made our way to the beach. It was relaxing.
Jeremiah got engaged not long after I left, and he'll be married before I'm finished with my service. Outside of his wedding next June, this was our only chance to catch-up face to face. I'm glad to feel like we took advantage of the trip.
The three of us made our way to an ancient Mayan temple in the west after the beach. Unfortunately the park is closed for maintenance on Mondays... but... fortunately, the three of us possess a certain gringo charm (and a willingness to pay security guards) and we were allowed to enter as the park's only guests that day. The temple was super-duper cool.
Next we ventured to the north to the artisan capital of the country. A young artist 50 years ago developed a style of painting, and taught youth in the town to replicate his style. Today more than 70% of the towns economy is based in arts and crafts. Beka and Jer brought home a hoard of painted treasures. It was a bit rainy, but on our drive out we got a full view of the mountains we were passing through. The northern section of El Salvador is remarkably beautiful.
Our next and final destination was my site. I borrowed some beds from a neighbor and we all bunked up together in my little room. They met the my neighbors, hung out with my friends, ate all kinds of food, and found out just why I hate (with all my heart) chickens and roosters.
We went to a sugar cane mill and Jeremiah learned how to wrap sugar cane concentrate in corn husk and strips of banana tree trunk. An elderly woman died in town, and the three of us were invited to make tamales with the women in the town to provide refreshments during the wake. My community was incredibly proud of my siblings visit, and they were super impressed with how interested they were in the community life. I can't say just how good it was to see them. Six weeks later, I'm still feeling great about the trip. I tell Beka that she should come live with me for a few months. If any of you feel like reminding her of how fun it would be, you have my full support.
I went to drop them off at the airport and bussed my way to a church in San Salvador. I hung out and worked with a group of Trinity students teaching Salvadoran students and youth leaders. It was a great opportunity to see good friends, and it fun doing translation work. I still feel like my Spanish is coming along, and it's nice to feel the progress now and then. We visited a church in the south, we gave some workshops to youth leaders, and we hung out in a school that is on the church's premises. I hope I get the opportunity to help out next year as well.
After that, I finally made it back to my site for while and worked on my projects for a while. Here is an update on my projects:
Water in Las Joyas- We finished! We built a small dam around the natural spring so that the water collects and flows down to the school down the mountain. The fathers of the school children got together and re-built the base that the water tank sits on, preventing the tank from sagging and breaking over time. We hit plenty of roadblocks that delayed the project, but I'm proud of the work that was done.
Creative Business class- A close second place for my favorite project. I have 7 high school girls in my class. The other 15 students have all dropped out, leaving me with dynamic and interested students who are ready to be entrepreneurs. 4 of the 7 girls arrive from a village 2 hours north (as about as far north in El Salvador without being in Honduras) to receive the class. They also receive computer classes as a part of their program in school, but their dedication constantly impresses me. In a place where education is not to be taken for granted, I admire these young ladies that pursue it so enthusiastically.
School Choir-This is my clear favorite as far as projects go. I look forward to it every week. The first week that I held choir practice, I had people asking me "what did you do in school? I saw a slew of kids singing "la la la la la" in the street after school." We practice things like recognizing which note is higher, and singing scales. I have high hopes for the choir because the kids are so enthusiastic about it.
Re-organizing the town council- not my favorite, but I have a lot of hope for it being a positive and sustainable impact on the community. We're talking about how to deal with community money transparently, how to take care of the land around natural spring where we get our water, and how to organize ourselves in a way that allows everyone to have a voice in community affairs.
Painting light posts with youth- On Monday I'm getting together with a group of young people in my site to wash the light posts in town and then white-wash the light them. On Tuesday we'll be painting typical Salvadoran designs and pictures on the posts. I think it will be a nice visible sign to the community that shows that the youth are interested in being involved and that they have things to contribute.
Teaching English- I still teach English once a week at a small school on the way to Las Joyas. The kids are smart and they really enjoy learning new words. One hour per week isn't enough to teach very quickly, but it's fun for all involved and it prepares them for high school where they will be expected to have a basic understanding of the language.
Right now I'm in San Salvador at a small hostel. I've had meetings about a scholarship program that I help to manage for young women. We have a leadership camp coming up for the scholarship recipients at the end of April. We'll be teaching time management, talking about healthy relationship building, practicing money management, and giving self esteem workshops. The camp is designed to support the girls as they study, and to prepare them to be strong leaders when they return to their communities. I like the work a lot.
There are other smaller projects going on and in the works, but these are most of what I'm up to. I spend most of my day hanging out in the school helping with computer classes and occasionally helping teachers learn more about using computers to teach.
I like being a youth development volunteer. I like that my primary focus is on youth and on teachers. The longer I'm here the more I find myself thinking about the sustainability of my work. It's terrible to think that any progress made in these two years can easily be erased slowly by backsliding and resistant cultural habits. However, it's easier for me to believe that I can impact children in ways that will affect the way that they live their lives in the future. I feel like my energies are directed in the right direction as a youth volunteer.
I would really like to continue this reflection, but I've stayed up too late as it is. I would love to get an email from anyone that follows my blog, it's always so nice to hear from friends. my email address is jesse.a.flanagan at gmail (trying to keep internet bots from sending me emails. They are not my friends and I don't want to hear from them).
Thanks for keeping in touch! Write if you can!
Jesse
