¡Hola Amigos!
This past weekend was praxis weekend, that is, we spent Friday evening though Sunday afternoon in our praxis communities. At first I was really nervous about the weekend because I would be separated from Jennifer and Anthony, but this was also a great opportunity to stop using them as a crutch and really practice my Spanish. So after class on Friday we were dropped off in Mariona. We were warmly welcomed into Oti’s home and were served dinner. I got to learn how to make pupusas, which is really cool. It’s amazing to watch the women make pupusas because it’s like second nature to them. They take dough and pat it into a tortilla, then put frijoles (beans), and queso (cheese) in the middle of the tortilla then close the tortilla and put it on a grill. We also had chocolate, which is like hot chocolate but better. I stayed at Oti’s home with her 2 ½ year old son, Oscar, and her husband, Richardo. Anthony stayed with Lolo, his wife, and their two daughters, Karen (3yrs) and Maria José (1yr). Jennifer stayed with Lolo’s brother, his wife Kenny and their baby Jasmine. Oti’s house is very small, but clean. There’s a small kitchen, bathroom with a shower and toilet (no sink), a dinning room, and a small bedroom. I slept on a cot in Oti’s bedroom next to Oscar’s crib. That night I played with Oscar and showed Oti pictures of my dog and family. We talked for a little while about our families. I found out her husband is an accountant and has to work long hours.
On Saturday I was woken up by Oscarito saying “Buenos días Estafani,” repeatedly as he stood in his crib. I was kind of impressed he could say my name since it sounds so foreign to everyone and people have trouble pronouncing it. Oti reluctantly let me have corn flakes for breakfast. She was disappointed that I didn’t want the traditional plátanos and frijoles for breakfast, but I just can’t eat beans that early in the morning. Jen and Tony came over after breakfast and we all went to the cooperative. All the women from the cooperative were there and we had a meditation/relaxation session. This was my favorite part of the weekend since machismo is a big part of the culture and I was able to hear how the women were combating machismo and fighting against the oppression. There were 5 women and we all sat out on the patio on pillows. There was a scented candle lit in the middle of the circle surrounded by colored scrapes of fabric. We listened to a song then reflected on women in society and the importance of community. My partners and I were invited to participate in the reflection also. In El Salvador, women are expected to be shadows and stay in the background doing housework, but the cooperative provides a way for women to have a real job and help earn money for the family and gain some independence from their husbands. The reflection provided an outlet for the women to express themselves surrounded by a loving group of friends. Then we did a guided meditation to relieve stress. Afterwards we had coffee (or coke for me) and pan dulce (sweet bread). I loved watching the women interact. They are so affectionate and loving towards each other.
Before leaving the cooperative I picked up some more yarn for my embroidery and then we took the bus back to Oti’s house for lunch. After lunch we went on house visits in a part of Mariona that appeared poorer than the other parts we’ve visited so far. We were also right by the largest male prison in El Salvador called Penal de Esperanza (Prison of Hope). The prison was made for 900 men, but 3,000 are held there. (See pictures).
After house visits we went back to Oti’s house for dinner. After dinner Oscarito walks by me and says something about having to “peepee.” Knowing what peepee meant in English, I wondered what it meant in Spanish. As I turned to see where Oscar was going, I saw him drop his pants and pee in the garage. I guess peepee means the same in Spanish. Instead of getting scolded for going to the bathroom in the garage, Oti just laughed and said Oscarito is very independent. That’s not quite the same reaction he would have gotten in the States. We spent the rest of the night singing songs.
Sunday morning, I wake up and my right eye is swollen shut. A mosquito had feasted during the night and now my eye is oozing and swollen. Delightful. I reached for my dictionary to look up the words to explain my condition to Oti. She was quite concerned and burnt incense all over the house to smoke out the bugs. We went to mass at Oti’s church. The body of Padre Ortíz was buried in the church and a plaque commemorating all the martyrs was on the wall. (See pictures). There were a few pictures of Sr. Silvia who was also martyred. Oti was very close to her since they used to be a part of the same religious community during the war. After mass I actually got to meet Padre Ortíz’s sister. She served us our pupusas. In the States after mass people usually go to the back of the church and eat doughnuts and coffee, but in El Salvador people eat pupusas.
When we got back to Oti’s house my eye was pretty swollen. So she kicked her husband out of the hammock and I laid there with an ice pack that smelled faintly of meet on my eye and stared up at clean underwear and shirts drying in the garage. As I lay there, I thought about how a weekend in Mariona compared to a weekend at a friend’s house in the States. In the States I would have stayed in a guest room, I would have a bathroom to use, and we would have watched TV or a movie for fun. In Mariona I was given Oti’s bed, we were served frijoles and tortillas, there was no place to brush my teeth, and for entertainment we talked and sang. Even without the luxuries of home, I had a great time in Mariona. Everyone is so loving and life is simple. The laidback lifestyle is very refreshing. I don’t think anyone could come to Mariona and not immediately feel at home.
Paz,
Stephanie
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