¡Hola Amigos!
Two weeks left to my adventures in El Salvador and so much is going on right now. I have final projects in every class- 12 page analysis of the Salvadorian news, video documentary of women’s issues in El Salvador, and some kind of creative interpretation of my time in El Salvador. I feel like there is so much I want to do, but don’t have the time.
This weekend we took a trip to Morazan to visit the site of the massacre at El Mozote. The bus ride there was about 4 and a half hours and by the time we got off the bus pretty much everyone was sick with stomach problems, fever, and body aches. This pretty much set the tone for the weekend. No one felt well and we were all stressed out already because of homework. On Saturday we went to the museum of the revolution. We were supposed to go to a concert after the museum, but most people ran back to the hostel to go to the bathroom and sleep. When I was told we would be staying in a hotel I immediately pictured a Holiday Inn. I should have known better…this is El Salvador. There were no beds, just mats on the floor and there were not enough mats for everyone so there were at least 2 people to a mat. My mat had one blanket that smelled like it hadn’t been washed ever. It was freezing cold at night and I tried to wrap up in the blanket without letting too much of the nasty thing touch me.
The next morning we got off to a late start because people were still pooping. At El Mozote we learned that over 1,000 innocent people were killed. The Salvadorian government refuses to take responsibility for the massacre and claims (after many investigations have proved them wrong) that a conflict between the National Guard and Guerrillas took place there. There was a garden with some of the names of the children killed. Most were under the age of 12. After the massacre, the National Guard set the town on fire. It wasn’t until 1990 that people began to resettle El Mozote. The place had an eerie haunted vibe.
We were supposed to swim in the river in the afternoon, but we all felt sick so we just drove back to the Casa. I think tomorrow a bunch of poop sample will be taken, but don’t worry…I’m still healthy.
Paz,
Stephanie
Monday, April 23, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Semana Santa y el Campo
¡Hola Amigos!
This past week has been so action packed I don’t even know where to begin. I guess I’ll start with el Domingo de los Ramas (Palm Sunday). A group of us went to Amantepec (one of the praxis sites) for mass. We all gathered in the market place and processed to the church singing and carrying our palms. The next day we all crammed into the microbus and headed off to the campo (the country).
So here’s some background info on the campo. The campo is rural El Salvador. The region we stayed in (Chalatenango) was controlled by the guerillas during the majority of the civil war. It was one of the areas most heavily hit by the violence. The “Sumpul River Massacre” (one of the worst massacres of the war) took place in this area. We stayed in small villages surrounding Arcatao (a town situated on the El Salvador-Honduras border). Getting to Arcatao was a challenge. The roads are rough and unpaved. At one point we all had to get off the bus because we got a flat tire. Monday and Tuesday we stayed in Arcatao at the retreat center, and on Tuesday we went on a day retreat with youth from the surrounding villages. For me this was a great experience because I don’t have much interaction with Salvadorian youth/young adults and it was great to learn a little about the faith life of teens.
Wednesday morning we headed out to our communities. We were each put into pairs (my partner was Amy) and given a huge cesta (basket) filled with beans, rice, sugar, plantains, and other things for the family. The cestas were at least 50 pounds each. It took all my strength just to pick it off the ground. We were responsible for carrying our own cestas and our backpacks. With the intense heat I just prayed my walk wasn’t too far because there was no way I was carrying that cesta. Luckily, my family lived in Carasque (about an hour and 45min drive from Arcatao) and since this was ridiculously far to walk Amy and I were given a ride and dropped off at our front door. The road to Carasque was rough. It’s started to rain here so one part of the road was flooded and we had to wait for a pig to finish rolling in the muddy water before we could continue up the road. The scenery was beautiful, but so dry and brown.
We pulled up to my family’s house. It was a small three room house made out of cinder block and a tin roof. There were 5 beds crammed into two tiny rooms that had no air circulation to speak of. The middle room had a hammock, stereo, small TV, and couches made out of old car seats. The “bathroom” was behind the house. It consisted of a pila (a trough-like sink with a bucket) and a toilet that was surrounded by tin walls (we were one of the luckier pairs that actually had a real toilet). Chickens ran around everywhere (one chicken laid an egg under my bed) and there was a strong smell of manure since the horse and cows were just hanging out next to the bathroom (they drank out of the same pila that we had to use for washing out hair and brushing our teeth) and there was a pig next to the pila for washing dished and preparing food. Amy and I were given our own beds and shared a room with the oldest daughter. The mom and 4 boys slept in two beds in the other room. The beds were only beds in the sense that they looked like beds. The beds were wooded frames with a thin straw mat thrown over the springs and a blanket was put on top of the mat. We had no pillows and it was so hard to get comfortable at night. It would have been more comfortable to sleep on the floor, but there was chicken poop everywhere. In the front of the house there was a small patio with another hammock and a table. The mom worked in a tienda (store) in the front of the house selling candy and drinks. The tienda also doubled as a kitchen/chicken house. Also, our house had tile floor which was a step above most families that only have dirt floors.
My family was great. I immediately felt welcome. Within the first 10min of arriving, I had a dirty baseball hat put on my head and was off with the boys and Amy throwing rocks at a mango tree trying to collect mangos. Let me describe my host family a little. The mom’s name is Sonya. She works in a tienda to earn money and does all the farm work during the week as well as cooks and cleans since all her kids go to school and her husband left in December for the U.S. The husband owned two huge trucks and made money by delivering things from Chalatenango (the city) to Carasque. He has three brothers already in the States and lives with them in Denver. He works in a restaurant, speaks no English, and is undocumented. The family said he hasn’t earned enough money yet to send back. There are 5 kids. The oldest is Lupe (18) who attends the National University near the UCA and is studying to be a science teacher. She was really cool and fun to hang out with. She was very open with us and shared a lot about the reality in El Salvador. She said she would love to go to the States to visit her dad, but doesn’t want to immigrate. Jobs in El Salvador are so scarce she may have no other choice. She was sad so many youth were leaving El Salvador that didn’t want to leave, but were forced to go to the States to find jobs. Next was Samuel (16). We didn’t really interact with him much because he was usually working on the farm. He was quiet and I think his dad’s recent immigration has affected him the most since he goes to high school and took over his dad’s job. He goes to the closest high school which is in Chalatenango (about a 2 hour bus ride). He only comes home on weekends and lives in a house with other scholarship students from Carasque during the week. Marvin (14) was obsessed with the U.S. He also talked about how El Salvador is so ugly and boring (which is not true). At one point he was sweeping the chicken poop off the patio and commented that there was no dust or dirt in the U.S. We quickly corrected him and informed him that the U.S. has tons of dust and dirt and that parts are not that beautiful. I have no idea where he was getting this skewed image of the U.S., but I foresee him immigrating to the U.S. when he is older. He also is trying really hard to learn English. I worry about Marvin because I know what kind of life he would have in the U.S. and it wouldn’t be his perfect little pristine dream. The second youngest is Leonel (10). He was so sweat and my favorite person to hang out with. He was so mature for his age that I would forget he was just a little 10 year old boy. The harsh realities of El Salvador cut childhoods short and kids are expected to work and take on responsibilities kids in the U.S. would never have. The baby of the family is Luís (6). He was just like any other 6 year old. He always wanted to play and rigged the card games so that he would always win. At times he was annoying and got picked on by his older brothers. He wasn’t tainted yet by reality.
Now on to life in the campo. My family woke up every morning at 5:30am. Not wanting to seem lazy we usually woke up around 6am. Meals consisted of beans, cheese, tortillas, and coffee for every meal. I don’t drink coffee so when no one was looking the plant next to the table got watered every meal with my coffee. From 12pm to 2pm we rested. Actually it was too hot to do anything so we had to rest. I’ve never sweated so much in my life for no reason. During the day it was 101 degrees and at night it cooled off to 88 degrees. I never stopped sweating.
Because it was Semana Santa (Holy Week), there was a mass or service everyday. On Wednesday night Sonya, Lupe, Amy, and I went to a service at the church. We broke into small groups and reflected on the prodigal son and there was confession afterwards. Since there is a lack of priests in the campo, one priest is assigned to 5 or 6 different communities. These communities take turns hosting the Holy Week masses. On Thursday we hiked 45min up a mountain to get to mass. The churches are small and simple. The majority of people were usually sitting on the grass outside because there was no room in the actual church. Friday Carasque hosted the Via Cruz (Way of the Cross). Small crosses were set up and decorated on the side of the road and we processed in the heat of the day from cross to cross. At each on kids would act out the station. The last 4 stations took place in the church. I couldn’t believe how dressed up the people got for the service. Girls were walking up dirt hills in high heels and men had long sleeved bottom down shirts on. It was so hot I felt like I was melting, but they somehow looked so put together as I dragged myself up the hill in dirty pants and a T-shirt. Saturday we went to the river (an Easter tradition for El Salvador). All the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents were there. We all brought soap and bathed in the river. In the evening we went to Easter Vigil mass. The walk was and hour and 30min and we had to climb three steep hills. Everyone walks, even grandma. Some people can’t come because the walk is too far, but I was amazed at how many people did come and walked for hours just to get to mass. The mass began with a bonfire up the road from the church and everyone lit candles and processed to the church. After mass we burned Judas which was pretty cool. We had a band and dancing and candy. It was a huge celebration and watching the scarecrow Judas burn was pretty cool. Sunday morning we walked an hour to Easter mass. On the way there we passed a blind man walking to church. The faith of the people is amazing.
Monday morning we said goodbye to our family and came back to the Casa. The campo was an amazing experience and I felt so safe and at ease the whole week. Unlike the city the campo is much more tranquil. I have so many stories from campo week, but I can’t possibly write them all here. Ask me when I get back, I’ll be happy to share.
Paz,
Stephanie
This past week has been so action packed I don’t even know where to begin. I guess I’ll start with el Domingo de los Ramas (Palm Sunday). A group of us went to Amantepec (one of the praxis sites) for mass. We all gathered in the market place and processed to the church singing and carrying our palms. The next day we all crammed into the microbus and headed off to the campo (the country).
So here’s some background info on the campo. The campo is rural El Salvador. The region we stayed in (Chalatenango) was controlled by the guerillas during the majority of the civil war. It was one of the areas most heavily hit by the violence. The “Sumpul River Massacre” (one of the worst massacres of the war) took place in this area. We stayed in small villages surrounding Arcatao (a town situated on the El Salvador-Honduras border). Getting to Arcatao was a challenge. The roads are rough and unpaved. At one point we all had to get off the bus because we got a flat tire. Monday and Tuesday we stayed in Arcatao at the retreat center, and on Tuesday we went on a day retreat with youth from the surrounding villages. For me this was a great experience because I don’t have much interaction with Salvadorian youth/young adults and it was great to learn a little about the faith life of teens.
Wednesday morning we headed out to our communities. We were each put into pairs (my partner was Amy) and given a huge cesta (basket) filled with beans, rice, sugar, plantains, and other things for the family. The cestas were at least 50 pounds each. It took all my strength just to pick it off the ground. We were responsible for carrying our own cestas and our backpacks. With the intense heat I just prayed my walk wasn’t too far because there was no way I was carrying that cesta. Luckily, my family lived in Carasque (about an hour and 45min drive from Arcatao) and since this was ridiculously far to walk Amy and I were given a ride and dropped off at our front door. The road to Carasque was rough. It’s started to rain here so one part of the road was flooded and we had to wait for a pig to finish rolling in the muddy water before we could continue up the road. The scenery was beautiful, but so dry and brown.
We pulled up to my family’s house. It was a small three room house made out of cinder block and a tin roof. There were 5 beds crammed into two tiny rooms that had no air circulation to speak of. The middle room had a hammock, stereo, small TV, and couches made out of old car seats. The “bathroom” was behind the house. It consisted of a pila (a trough-like sink with a bucket) and a toilet that was surrounded by tin walls (we were one of the luckier pairs that actually had a real toilet). Chickens ran around everywhere (one chicken laid an egg under my bed) and there was a strong smell of manure since the horse and cows were just hanging out next to the bathroom (they drank out of the same pila that we had to use for washing out hair and brushing our teeth) and there was a pig next to the pila for washing dished and preparing food. Amy and I were given our own beds and shared a room with the oldest daughter. The mom and 4 boys slept in two beds in the other room. The beds were only beds in the sense that they looked like beds. The beds were wooded frames with a thin straw mat thrown over the springs and a blanket was put on top of the mat. We had no pillows and it was so hard to get comfortable at night. It would have been more comfortable to sleep on the floor, but there was chicken poop everywhere. In the front of the house there was a small patio with another hammock and a table. The mom worked in a tienda (store) in the front of the house selling candy and drinks. The tienda also doubled as a kitchen/chicken house. Also, our house had tile floor which was a step above most families that only have dirt floors.
My family was great. I immediately felt welcome. Within the first 10min of arriving, I had a dirty baseball hat put on my head and was off with the boys and Amy throwing rocks at a mango tree trying to collect mangos. Let me describe my host family a little. The mom’s name is Sonya. She works in a tienda to earn money and does all the farm work during the week as well as cooks and cleans since all her kids go to school and her husband left in December for the U.S. The husband owned two huge trucks and made money by delivering things from Chalatenango (the city) to Carasque. He has three brothers already in the States and lives with them in Denver. He works in a restaurant, speaks no English, and is undocumented. The family said he hasn’t earned enough money yet to send back. There are 5 kids. The oldest is Lupe (18) who attends the National University near the UCA and is studying to be a science teacher. She was really cool and fun to hang out with. She was very open with us and shared a lot about the reality in El Salvador. She said she would love to go to the States to visit her dad, but doesn’t want to immigrate. Jobs in El Salvador are so scarce she may have no other choice. She was sad so many youth were leaving El Salvador that didn’t want to leave, but were forced to go to the States to find jobs. Next was Samuel (16). We didn’t really interact with him much because he was usually working on the farm. He was quiet and I think his dad’s recent immigration has affected him the most since he goes to high school and took over his dad’s job. He goes to the closest high school which is in Chalatenango (about a 2 hour bus ride). He only comes home on weekends and lives in a house with other scholarship students from Carasque during the week. Marvin (14) was obsessed with the U.S. He also talked about how El Salvador is so ugly and boring (which is not true). At one point he was sweeping the chicken poop off the patio and commented that there was no dust or dirt in the U.S. We quickly corrected him and informed him that the U.S. has tons of dust and dirt and that parts are not that beautiful. I have no idea where he was getting this skewed image of the U.S., but I foresee him immigrating to the U.S. when he is older. He also is trying really hard to learn English. I worry about Marvin because I know what kind of life he would have in the U.S. and it wouldn’t be his perfect little pristine dream. The second youngest is Leonel (10). He was so sweat and my favorite person to hang out with. He was so mature for his age that I would forget he was just a little 10 year old boy. The harsh realities of El Salvador cut childhoods short and kids are expected to work and take on responsibilities kids in the U.S. would never have. The baby of the family is Luís (6). He was just like any other 6 year old. He always wanted to play and rigged the card games so that he would always win. At times he was annoying and got picked on by his older brothers. He wasn’t tainted yet by reality.
Now on to life in the campo. My family woke up every morning at 5:30am. Not wanting to seem lazy we usually woke up around 6am. Meals consisted of beans, cheese, tortillas, and coffee for every meal. I don’t drink coffee so when no one was looking the plant next to the table got watered every meal with my coffee. From 12pm to 2pm we rested. Actually it was too hot to do anything so we had to rest. I’ve never sweated so much in my life for no reason. During the day it was 101 degrees and at night it cooled off to 88 degrees. I never stopped sweating.
Because it was Semana Santa (Holy Week), there was a mass or service everyday. On Wednesday night Sonya, Lupe, Amy, and I went to a service at the church. We broke into small groups and reflected on the prodigal son and there was confession afterwards. Since there is a lack of priests in the campo, one priest is assigned to 5 or 6 different communities. These communities take turns hosting the Holy Week masses. On Thursday we hiked 45min up a mountain to get to mass. The churches are small and simple. The majority of people were usually sitting on the grass outside because there was no room in the actual church. Friday Carasque hosted the Via Cruz (Way of the Cross). Small crosses were set up and decorated on the side of the road and we processed in the heat of the day from cross to cross. At each on kids would act out the station. The last 4 stations took place in the church. I couldn’t believe how dressed up the people got for the service. Girls were walking up dirt hills in high heels and men had long sleeved bottom down shirts on. It was so hot I felt like I was melting, but they somehow looked so put together as I dragged myself up the hill in dirty pants and a T-shirt. Saturday we went to the river (an Easter tradition for El Salvador). All the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents were there. We all brought soap and bathed in the river. In the evening we went to Easter Vigil mass. The walk was and hour and 30min and we had to climb three steep hills. Everyone walks, even grandma. Some people can’t come because the walk is too far, but I was amazed at how many people did come and walked for hours just to get to mass. The mass began with a bonfire up the road from the church and everyone lit candles and processed to the church. After mass we burned Judas which was pretty cool. We had a band and dancing and candy. It was a huge celebration and watching the scarecrow Judas burn was pretty cool. Sunday morning we walked an hour to Easter mass. On the way there we passed a blind man walking to church. The faith of the people is amazing.
Monday morning we said goodbye to our family and came back to the Casa. The campo was an amazing experience and I felt so safe and at ease the whole week. Unlike the city the campo is much more tranquil. I have so many stories from campo week, but I can’t possibly write them all here. Ask me when I get back, I’ll be happy to share.
Paz,
Stephanie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
