¡Hola Amigos!
I bet you’re all wondering what life is like in Casa Romero (my house), so I’ll try to explain. I live with 11 other American students, 2 bacarios (Salvadorian scholarship students), and one community coordinator (same thing as an RA). Houses in El Salvador are very open, so we have a patio in the middle of the house with a hammock. We have a small kitchen where the Casa cooks prepare our meals. On Friday nights and on the weekends we are responsible for finding our own food since the cooks don’t work weekends. We have a long dinning room table, but we prefer to eat in chair on the patio since the weather is so nice. We have a garage (but not one you park cars in), two social areas, and a front yard where we hang clothes to dry. Our bathroom consists of three toilets, three sinks, and three shower stalls. My house has hot water, but the students in the other houses only have cold water so our showers are quite popular. There is a laundry room with two big pilas (sinks) to wash clothes in. (See pictures)
I did laundry for the first time the other day. It took my two hours to clean all my clothes and towels. I soaked all my clothes in detergent over night, and then in the morning I had to scrub them. Scrubbing takes a while if your clothes are really dirty (which mine were from all the dirt and dust). The hardest part is rinsing the clothes. I thought I rinsed thoroughly, but after my clothes had dried so shirts were sticky. After that washing experience I really appreciate washers and dryers.
On Tuesdays we all spend an hour having a cleaning party. This way the house chores are done quickly and everyone helps out. Tuesday is also spirituality night, where we reflect on our praxis sites and life in general. Thursday nights are community nights, where we all get together as a house and discuss house rules and then have fun by playing games or watching movies. As a house we decided to speak only Spanish until 8pm everyday except Mondays and Wednesdays (these are praxis days and since we’ll be speaking Spanish all day it’s a nice break to come back to the house and relax by speaking English). So far people are having trouble with this rule, but the bacarios are helping us out. They are very patient and teach us new Spanish words. It’s great to have native speakers in the house to help us learn. One of the bacarios in Casa Romero (Efrain) loves singing and playing the guitar, so he’s teaching us popular Salvadorian songs.
Paz,
Stephanie
Monday, January 22, 2007
Mis Clases Comenzar
¡Hola Amigos!
Classes have finally begun. This semester I’ll be taking Salvadorian Literature, Theologies of Liberation, Sociology, Spanish, and the Praxis Seminar. I’m very excited about all these classes. The Literature and Sociology classes are taught all in Spanish so they will be challenging. All the teachers do speak English, though, so if I don’t understand something they can explain the lecture after class. I think my Sociology and Theology classes will be particularly interesting. Sociology will focus on how Salvadorian newspapers skew the news and how this affects the people. Theology will be interesting just because the teacher, a nun (Sr. Peggy) from the Bronx, is crazy. She is very energetic, which is good since the class is 3 hours. Pretty much the class focuses on religion in the lives of Salvadorians. All the classes revolve around El Salvador’s recent civil war.
Paz,
Stephanie
Classes have finally begun. This semester I’ll be taking Salvadorian Literature, Theologies of Liberation, Sociology, Spanish, and the Praxis Seminar. I’m very excited about all these classes. The Literature and Sociology classes are taught all in Spanish so they will be challenging. All the teachers do speak English, though, so if I don’t understand something they can explain the lecture after class. I think my Sociology and Theology classes will be particularly interesting. Sociology will focus on how Salvadorian newspapers skew the news and how this affects the people. Theology will be interesting just because the teacher, a nun (Sr. Peggy) from the Bronx, is crazy. She is very energetic, which is good since the class is 3 hours. Pretty much the class focuses on religion in the lives of Salvadorians. All the classes revolve around El Salvador’s recent civil war.
Paz,
Stephanie
My Praxis and the Martyrs
¡Hola Amigos!
Monday was very exciting for me because we went to visit my praxis site in Mariona. But before we went to Mariona we stopped at San Ramon to visit the school, health center, and soy project. The school is for children ages 10 and under. Connected with the school is a health center that has a dentist office, psychologist, pharmacy, massage room, and HIV/AIDS prevention center. We then walked down the street to visit with community members of San Ramon who talked about El Pueblo de Dios en Camino, a special community centered church that broke off from the Catholic Church. The people of San Ramon wanted the whole community to be involved with worship and the conservative Catholic Church did not allow this so the people formed their own church, but still refer to themselves as Catholic. We ate lunch at the Comedor (soup kitchen) in San Ramon. This kitchen is special because of the soy project. A Maryknoll nun has created a program where soy milk is made and for $2 a month, children in the community can have two glasses of soy milk each day as well as a small portion of food. At the comedor I was introduced to the Salvadorian quesadilla, which is a cream cheese and flour mixture. Pretty much it’s a sweet bread that I now love, and the women who worked at the comedor gave me the left over bread to take with me.
After lunch we headed to Mariona where is finally got to meet my community. I will be working closely with two women, Oti and Elizabeth, and a guy everyone calls Lolo. My praxis partners (Anthony and Jen) and I felt very at home in the community. We will be working in a cooperative named after Sr. Silvia who was martyred. The cooperative works to empower women by giving them the opportunity to earn money by making handcrafts. I will get the chance to learn how to sew and embroider. We will also be teaching ESL classes and making home visits to get a better understanding of the realidad, or reality of the Salvadorian people.
During our visit to Mariona we were all given some type of tortilla and vegetable mixture and hot chocolate (which didn’t really do too much to cool me off as I sat in the 90 degree heat, but it was much better than American hot chocolate). We were also given the opportunity to buy crafts from the women’s cooperative. Then someone found a guitar and we sang and danced until a dance troop showed up to dance in celebration of the signing of the peace treaty in 1992. (See pictures). My community was so hospitable and I can’t wait until the semester begins so I can get to know the people there better.
Tuesday was the anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty, so we went to visit the sights where the 4 church women were killed and where Romero was killed. In the morning after watching “Roses in December,” we went to Santiago Nonualco where the bodies of Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, Jean Donovan, and Maura Clarke were found December 2, 1983. There was a chapel built in memory of the women and rocks surrounded by a flower garden marked the grave site where the women were first found. (See pictures).
In the afternoon we went to the Divina Providencia to visit the church where Romero was killed, the hospital he lived at for a whiled, and his house. (See pictures).The whole experience was very moving and a woman who was very close to Romero’s family spoke about his final days.
That night, Dean Brackley, S.J., who is one of the Casa Program founders spoke to us. He was a teacher a Fordham and volunteered to come to El Salvador to replace the 6 Jesuits that were murdered at the UCA. He gave us some valuable advice about our time in El Salvador. After he left, an impromptu dance party broke out and drums were made out of empty water jugs and a dish rack. Tomorrow we will continue with the praxis site visits. Until next time…
Paz,
Stephanie
Monday was very exciting for me because we went to visit my praxis site in Mariona. But before we went to Mariona we stopped at San Ramon to visit the school, health center, and soy project. The school is for children ages 10 and under. Connected with the school is a health center that has a dentist office, psychologist, pharmacy, massage room, and HIV/AIDS prevention center. We then walked down the street to visit with community members of San Ramon who talked about El Pueblo de Dios en Camino, a special community centered church that broke off from the Catholic Church. The people of San Ramon wanted the whole community to be involved with worship and the conservative Catholic Church did not allow this so the people formed their own church, but still refer to themselves as Catholic. We ate lunch at the Comedor (soup kitchen) in San Ramon. This kitchen is special because of the soy project. A Maryknoll nun has created a program where soy milk is made and for $2 a month, children in the community can have two glasses of soy milk each day as well as a small portion of food. At the comedor I was introduced to the Salvadorian quesadilla, which is a cream cheese and flour mixture. Pretty much it’s a sweet bread that I now love, and the women who worked at the comedor gave me the left over bread to take with me.
After lunch we headed to Mariona where is finally got to meet my community. I will be working closely with two women, Oti and Elizabeth, and a guy everyone calls Lolo. My praxis partners (Anthony and Jen) and I felt very at home in the community. We will be working in a cooperative named after Sr. Silvia who was martyred. The cooperative works to empower women by giving them the opportunity to earn money by making handcrafts. I will get the chance to learn how to sew and embroider. We will also be teaching ESL classes and making home visits to get a better understanding of the realidad, or reality of the Salvadorian people.
During our visit to Mariona we were all given some type of tortilla and vegetable mixture and hot chocolate (which didn’t really do too much to cool me off as I sat in the 90 degree heat, but it was much better than American hot chocolate). We were also given the opportunity to buy crafts from the women’s cooperative. Then someone found a guitar and we sang and danced until a dance troop showed up to dance in celebration of the signing of the peace treaty in 1992. (See pictures). My community was so hospitable and I can’t wait until the semester begins so I can get to know the people there better.
Tuesday was the anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty, so we went to visit the sights where the 4 church women were killed and where Romero was killed. In the morning after watching “Roses in December,” we went to Santiago Nonualco where the bodies of Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, Jean Donovan, and Maura Clarke were found December 2, 1983. There was a chapel built in memory of the women and rocks surrounded by a flower garden marked the grave site where the women were first found. (See pictures).
In the afternoon we went to the Divina Providencia to visit the church where Romero was killed, the hospital he lived at for a whiled, and his house. (See pictures).The whole experience was very moving and a woman who was very close to Romero’s family spoke about his final days.
That night, Dean Brackley, S.J., who is one of the Casa Program founders spoke to us. He was a teacher a Fordham and volunteered to come to El Salvador to replace the 6 Jesuits that were murdered at the UCA. He gave us some valuable advice about our time in El Salvador. After he left, an impromptu dance party broke out and drums were made out of empty water jugs and a dish rack. Tomorrow we will continue with the praxis site visits. Until next time…
Paz,
Stephanie
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
La Primera Semana
¡Hola Amigos!
As of today (Wednesday), I’ve been in El Salvador for a full week. Things that have stood out to me so far are how much esperanza (hope) the people of El Salvador have and how willing they are to share their story. At first I thought the Salvadorians wouldn’t be receptive to us gringos coming into their country thinking we could make a difference. This is not true. Salvadorians I have talked to all express that our presence gives them hope that their story will be spread to others and change will come. Also, the Salvadorians are very optimistic. Though so many bad things have happened in the past, they have great hope for the future. Salvadorian society is also based on respect and generosity. The people are always willing to share their time, food, and homes, no matter how little they have. Also, a little fun fact, Salvadorians do not like spicy food. Good news for my stomach.
So, on this one week anniversary, we continued our praxis site visits. We went to La Chacra to visit Fe y Alegria, a school for children up to the 9th grade, and the parish of Maria Madre de los Pobres, where we talked with Padre Luís. Then we went to Amatepec to meet with Rev. Amy at the Episcopal Church. After lunch we went to Colon, an area affected by the earthquake. Since hundreds of homes were destroyed in the earthquake, most families in Colon live in tin huts.
When we were at Amatepec, Rev. Amy said something that really made me think about why I’m in El Salvador. She said when people come to El Salvador they come to help or make life better for the people. What stood out during her talk was when she said, “We paint a mural and in three years it needs to be painted again.” When we come to El Salvador as students, though, we have accomplished something that lasts a lifetime— we’ve gained knowledge. This knowledge is much more valuable than any mural. A mural only masks the problems for a few years while knowledge can be used to educate others and ultimately bring about real change. I’m here to learn, not to solve problems. I’m here to listen to the Salvadorian people and experience their realidad.
Paz,
Stephanie
PS- Sorry about the photos, it takes a while to upload things here. Hopefully you all can enjoy them soon.
As of today (Wednesday), I’ve been in El Salvador for a full week. Things that have stood out to me so far are how much esperanza (hope) the people of El Salvador have and how willing they are to share their story. At first I thought the Salvadorians wouldn’t be receptive to us gringos coming into their country thinking we could make a difference. This is not true. Salvadorians I have talked to all express that our presence gives them hope that their story will be spread to others and change will come. Also, the Salvadorians are very optimistic. Though so many bad things have happened in the past, they have great hope for the future. Salvadorian society is also based on respect and generosity. The people are always willing to share their time, food, and homes, no matter how little they have. Also, a little fun fact, Salvadorians do not like spicy food. Good news for my stomach.
So, on this one week anniversary, we continued our praxis site visits. We went to La Chacra to visit Fe y Alegria, a school for children up to the 9th grade, and the parish of Maria Madre de los Pobres, where we talked with Padre Luís. Then we went to Amatepec to meet with Rev. Amy at the Episcopal Church. After lunch we went to Colon, an area affected by the earthquake. Since hundreds of homes were destroyed in the earthquake, most families in Colon live in tin huts.
When we were at Amatepec, Rev. Amy said something that really made me think about why I’m in El Salvador. She said when people come to El Salvador they come to help or make life better for the people. What stood out during her talk was when she said, “We paint a mural and in three years it needs to be painted again.” When we come to El Salvador as students, though, we have accomplished something that lasts a lifetime— we’ve gained knowledge. This knowledge is much more valuable than any mural. A mural only masks the problems for a few years while knowledge can be used to educate others and ultimately bring about real change. I’m here to learn, not to solve problems. I’m here to listen to the Salvadorian people and experience their realidad.
Paz,
Stephanie
PS- Sorry about the photos, it takes a while to upload things here. Hopefully you all can enjoy them soon.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Bienvenidos a El Salvador
¡Hola Amigos!
I know you all have been anxious to hear from me, so here is a summary of my first few days in El Salvador. Let me say first how beautiful El Salvador is. As I was flying into the airport (which is a legitimate airport for those of you who thought it would be a shack with a dirt runway) I was in awe of the beautiful mountains and ocean. It shocks me how a country that appears to be a paradise can have so many problems.
After purchasing a Visa, the three other Casa students I was traveling with met up with a Casa Community Coordinator and were taken to the actual Casa (located outside of San Salvador in Antiguo Cuscatlan). There are three “casas” or houses and I’m in Casa Romero (the big house). Casa Romero is mostly singles, but I have a roommate, Katie, from Boston College. The cool thing about my casa is that we have an outdoor patio in the middle of the house. The weather here has been pretty mild and the bugs aren’t too bad (yet) so we spend a lot of time sitting out on the patio. (See Pictures)The one thing that will take some getting used to the bathroom situation. I’m lucky that my casa is the only one with hot water, but the bathrooms are coed. It’s a little weird showering next to a guy or going to the bathroom next to a guy. The bathroom has already been the source of a lot of jokes so I can’t wait until the stomach issues begin.
The Casa is about a 15-20 min. walk from the UCA where I will be taking classes. The UCA campus is beautiful and looks like a tropical rainforest. On our first day of orientation we were taken on a tour of the UCA. We visited the site of the murder of the six Jesuit priests, the housekeeper, and her daughter. There is a rose garden planted in their memory. We went through the Romero exhibit on the campus which had pictures and different artifacts from Romero’s life and the lives of the six Jesuits. We also stopped by the UCA chapel which has very unique Stations of the Cross that depict the suffering of the Salvadorian people. (See pictures)
On Friday we went to dinner at a pupusaria to experience our first pupusas (a traditional Salvadorian food which is like a tortilla with beans and cheese inside). Pupusas are now my favorite meal and they are gentle on the stomach. For dessert we had coco bananas (frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and nuts). We also walked around and saw a great view of San Salvador at night. (See pictures).
Saturday we began our praxis site visits. Before school begins we will visit all the praxis sights as a large group to get a feel for each of the different communities. First we went to Tepecoyo and Jayaque. In Tepecoyo we celebrated to grand opening of a new commuter lab that Casa students will be helping out with by teach computer classes to the youth. In Jayaque we ate lunch at the Matín Barío dental clinic and had cake and a piñata to celebrate the birthday of one of the Casa students. After lunch we went on a tour of Jayaque and surrounding villages in the back of two pick up trucks. It was amazing. The scenery was beautiful and the ride was so much fun (kind of like a rollercoaster because the roads are paved with rocks). Along the way we stopped at a coffee farm to learn more about the coffee business. (See pictures).
Sunday was a free day. We woke up early and went to mass at a little church down the street. The priest was really nice to us and speaks English. He gave us prayer sheets so we could follow along in Spanish. After mass I went with a group of 8 other people to the beach. It was gorgeous. (See pictures) That night we all went out to dinner for one of the student’s birthday.
I have to admit it’s a big cultural sock living here, but the other students are awesome and I can’t wait for the semester to being. We have orientation until the 20th and classes officially begin on Monday the 22nd. Monday we’re going to visit Mariona, which is my praxis site so I’m quite excited. Hopefully I’ll have another update by the end of the week. Until then…
Paz,
Stephanie (or Estefania as the Salvadorians call me)
I know you all have been anxious to hear from me, so here is a summary of my first few days in El Salvador. Let me say first how beautiful El Salvador is. As I was flying into the airport (which is a legitimate airport for those of you who thought it would be a shack with a dirt runway) I was in awe of the beautiful mountains and ocean. It shocks me how a country that appears to be a paradise can have so many problems.
After purchasing a Visa, the three other Casa students I was traveling with met up with a Casa Community Coordinator and were taken to the actual Casa (located outside of San Salvador in Antiguo Cuscatlan). There are three “casas” or houses and I’m in Casa Romero (the big house). Casa Romero is mostly singles, but I have a roommate, Katie, from Boston College. The cool thing about my casa is that we have an outdoor patio in the middle of the house. The weather here has been pretty mild and the bugs aren’t too bad (yet) so we spend a lot of time sitting out on the patio. (See Pictures)The one thing that will take some getting used to the bathroom situation. I’m lucky that my casa is the only one with hot water, but the bathrooms are coed. It’s a little weird showering next to a guy or going to the bathroom next to a guy. The bathroom has already been the source of a lot of jokes so I can’t wait until the stomach issues begin.
The Casa is about a 15-20 min. walk from the UCA where I will be taking classes. The UCA campus is beautiful and looks like a tropical rainforest. On our first day of orientation we were taken on a tour of the UCA. We visited the site of the murder of the six Jesuit priests, the housekeeper, and her daughter. There is a rose garden planted in their memory. We went through the Romero exhibit on the campus which had pictures and different artifacts from Romero’s life and the lives of the six Jesuits. We also stopped by the UCA chapel which has very unique Stations of the Cross that depict the suffering of the Salvadorian people. (See pictures)
On Friday we went to dinner at a pupusaria to experience our first pupusas (a traditional Salvadorian food which is like a tortilla with beans and cheese inside). Pupusas are now my favorite meal and they are gentle on the stomach. For dessert we had coco bananas (frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and nuts). We also walked around and saw a great view of San Salvador at night. (See pictures).
Saturday we began our praxis site visits. Before school begins we will visit all the praxis sights as a large group to get a feel for each of the different communities. First we went to Tepecoyo and Jayaque. In Tepecoyo we celebrated to grand opening of a new commuter lab that Casa students will be helping out with by teach computer classes to the youth. In Jayaque we ate lunch at the Matín Barío dental clinic and had cake and a piñata to celebrate the birthday of one of the Casa students. After lunch we went on a tour of Jayaque and surrounding villages in the back of two pick up trucks. It was amazing. The scenery was beautiful and the ride was so much fun (kind of like a rollercoaster because the roads are paved with rocks). Along the way we stopped at a coffee farm to learn more about the coffee business. (See pictures).
Sunday was a free day. We woke up early and went to mass at a little church down the street. The priest was really nice to us and speaks English. He gave us prayer sheets so we could follow along in Spanish. After mass I went with a group of 8 other people to the beach. It was gorgeous. (See pictures) That night we all went out to dinner for one of the student’s birthday.
I have to admit it’s a big cultural sock living here, but the other students are awesome and I can’t wait for the semester to being. We have orientation until the 20th and classes officially begin on Monday the 22nd. Monday we’re going to visit Mariona, which is my praxis site so I’m quite excited. Hopefully I’ll have another update by the end of the week. Until then…
Paz,
Stephanie (or Estefania as the Salvadorians call me)
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