la realidad

Hi!  It’s been quite a crazy week in many ways.  On Monday and Wednesday I got to go to Tepecoyo!  Getting out of the van with Alexa and Ted, we all realized we had no idea what we were doing, and didn’t even know where to go because we couldn’t remember where Angelica lived.  All we could do in that moment was laugh, and when we found Angelica she told us she wasn’t expecting us for another few minutes which was why she wasn’t there to pick us up.  That sort of comical event broke the ice for all of us, and I thought it was a great day.  Also, before I forget, she sent us home with two chickens in a box that day to give to Kevin and Trena’s little girls.  We laughed and thought it was hilarious…looking back on it they probably thought we were stupid because I guess that’s a pretty normal thing to do, haha.  We went on a few house visits with Angelica and Ana, and even though they were a little uncomfortable at times because either I got lost in the rapid Spanish conversation or I just simply didn’t know what to ask or say, it was a great experience.  All of the women we met were so excited that we were going to be offering English and computer classes for free, because then their kids would have some sort of a background or head start before starting up school again soon.  On Wednesday we went to Edith’s house again, where we had gone on the first Saturday of praxis visits.  She told us a lot about the education in Tepecoyo.  Out of everyone I’ve met here, I don’t think I’ve seen suffering as apparent and visible as it is manifested in her.  She had 7 children, but 5 years ago one of them went out to buy something and never came back.  Trena told me that a man claiming to be a private investigator had come by a couple months later and promised to find her son for $300, a sum that’s unheard of, but with some help and much sacrifice, she found the money to pay him.  However he never came back and was was never found.  She’s struggling to get the rest of her kids through bachillerato, or high school, and she talked a lot about how the costs are really putting a strain on her family.  Although they no longer have to pay a quota for school like they used to, the classes are charging more for clear backpacks ($12,) and notebooks and other supplies.  In my political science class the other day we learned that the minimum wage here in 2010 was $158.40 per month for someone who had a formal job.  The Canasta de Alimentos which is the amount decided by the UN that a family of 5 needs to survive on to guarantee una nutrición digna, or enough food to survive in a healthy manner, was $227.95.  Even worse, the Canasta de Mercado in 2010, which was the cost of healthy living including all other expenses, was $648.37.  So, if a family of five has a father who has a formal job at minimum wage, he can’t even pay enough for healthy food, much less supplies like backpacks, health costs, transportation and a million other necessities.  And even this is a good scenario, because many people consider themselves extremely lucky to find a formal job.  Edith is a single mother with six children to care for.  All odds are against her and her family.  Many kids drop out of school at an early age, even though it primary school is “compulsory,” to get some sort of job selling things on the streets or begging for money.  And the cycle repeats.  Talking with the women in the community has taught me that even these jobs can be extremely dangerous.  I can never imagine my parents letting me taking some of these jobs even at the age of 19, but families here just don’t have that luxury to choose.  Learning all of these things, seeing the facts in charts in class and then seeing the faces with which the statistics match up has been overwhelming.  And what is worse, Edith is just one example.  It has yet failed to amaze me at the amount of suffering people have experienced here as a result of the war, the violence, and the poverty.  All of these things affect the way that people think, process, and live on a daily basis…in ways so different than those with which I have been raised.  And El Salvador is just a tiny country in Central America.  The world is a pretty big place.  Not only am I continuing to realize how grateful I am for all of the opportunities I have, but I’m also reconsidering my true definition of reality.

This week was the first full week of praxis and classes, and I’m glad to be getting into a schedule.  I’m enjoying each of my classes, and sometimes they all mesh together because everything we are learning is so pertinent to my experiences here.  More on that later probably.  Yesterday, Saturday, we went to the BEACH!  Like the real beach, one on the ocean, to everyone who tells me that lake beaches in MN aren’t really beaches, hah.  Which is so weird, since I talked to my parents today and my dad said he was going out to play ice croquet on Prior Lake…I guess that’s weird in more ways than one.  I was excited to go, but when I saw those HUGE waves of the Pacific Ocean and the sand and shells, I was so happy!!  We all sprinted out to the water and were there for at least an hour.  I don’t remember if I’ve ever seen the Pacific Ocean, maybe when I was really young, but I know I have never seen waves that huge – it was great fun, but I have to admit a little scary when Alexa and I struggled for a good ten minutes after maybe going a little too far out, haha.  Today I went to a teachers’ training workshop, which eases a lot of my fears about starting English classes on Wednesday, and tonight we are all going to Kevin and Trena’s for a barbecue to watch the super bowl.  I didn’t even follow football that closely this year, and I hate both the Giants and Patriots, but having both the beach and football in one weekend is such a treat, and something I definitely needed!  If there are hamburgers I will literally cry tears of joy!  

I’m both excited and nervous for this next week – especially because I am spending next weekend in Tepecoyo with Angelica!  Should be another jam-packed week or two!  Please keep sending those prayers, and know I am keeping everyone at home very much in my thoughts and prayers. 

Con mucho cariño y amor,

Sarita.