Mariona

¡Hola Amigos!
So far I’ve spent 4 days in Mariona, my praxis site. Monday I woke up early, nervous about what my first praxis day would be like. On the bus ride (we nicknamed the bus the “Golden Bullet”) to Mariona I was anxious. I had no idea what to expect- would I like my community, would the people of Mariona like me, would I be able to understand what people were saying, would they be able to understand me. As soon as we arrived at Oti’s house, and were greeted by her and Lolo, a sense of calm immediately washed over me. Oti and Lolo couldn’t have made me feel more welcome. I was in awe at how generous everyone was. Oti put clean sheets on her bed so I could take a nap, on one house visit a lady sent her son out with what little money she had to buy coke for us, and the women at the cooperative were generous with their time as they patiently taught us how to sew.

On Wednesday Oti took us on house visits. This day was very challenging for me and I spent most of my day feeling confused since I couldn’t understand what the women were saying. Then I felt embarrassed that I had been so warmly welcomed into these women’s homes and they were sharing meaningful stories with us and all I could do was sit and smile like an idiot. I did feel a little better when my partners (Jennifer and Anthony) told me they couldn’t understand much either. Despite my frustration, Wednesday was very eye opening for me. I saw how the majority of people in Mariona live, I learned about their religious views, and their family structure. Most of the homes we visited had grandparents caring for grandchildren since the parents of the children were in the U.S. Despite the lack of parents, children seemed very well cared for. The grandparents never complained about having to care for the children while the parents were away. Children seemed loved. They were never scolded or yelled at no matter how badly they behaved. There was some talk about the gangs and women working in factories, but no in depth discussion about the two. As for religion, most of the women we visited expressed that they feel closest to the church of the martyrs not the conservative Catholic Church. This is interesting since the martyrs were Catholic, yet the people have so many negative things to say about the Catholic Church and yet they themselves remain Catholic. Another thing that struck me on Wednesday was how every house we went to, no matter how small, had a big TV and computer. Not to judge because I don’t know the whole situation, but I found it interesting since the money spent on the TV and computer could have been used for food and the children’s education.

The following Monday we spent the morning in the cooperative. I was so excited to learn how to sew. As we sat sewing, I discovered that I know more Spanish than I thought. We were listening to American music and the women were asking me to translate the songs. It felt great to finally be able to communicate. In the afternoon we taught children English. I felt very impatient with the kids for being slow learners, but I had to stop and remember my struggle to learn Spanish and how patient everyone in Mariona is with me when I try to speak.

Wednesday Oti took us to the local parish where we played with the kids. We first visited 4-6 year olds. Kids are not my specialty and as soon as I walked in the door I was immediately surrounded by kids. As Anthony and Jen were standing laughing in the doorway, I became a human jungle-gym. For about an hour and a half I had kids crawling all over me. I have to admit it was pretty fun, but I’m kind of sore from being climbed all over. After a pupusa break, we visited the 1-3 year olds. They were much calmer and I spent my time drawing animals for a little boy who insisted every animal was an elephant (elefante). We walked back to Oti’s house for lunch and after our nap we had a surprise party for Tony’s birthday. That afternoon we went on house visits. Overall I love Mariona and so far it has been a great experience.

Paz,
Stephanie