For fear of posting too much about my mushy feelings of how I'm loving El Salvador, or our fun weekend trips (only on the weekends, mind you), I will attempt to describe a typical day here by recapping what I did on Friday.*
6:30--Get out of bed, get ready, eat breakfast, etc. (depending on the day, but every day we wake up to bright sunshine, a rooster, and the dogs next door who NEVER stop barking.)**
7:15--Catch 3 buses to get to ASEI, a microfinance organization in San Salvador, where we would be accompanying them to a village about an hour away to meet with a group of women who had requested a group loan.
10ish--After an hour-long ride in the back of the ASEI pickup, we arrived, and got to hear about the women in the group's various microbusinesses (selling tortillas, clothes, etc) and listen to their thoughts and experiences with microfinance and community banks. It was incredible to see how the goals of microfinance and the benefits of community loans are actually working in this community.
I know that microfinance can't solve every problem, but it was really cool to see how it really is benefitting these women. I've learned about microfinance and Muhammad Yunus in classes, but it was totally different to see it in person. That is the power of an idea.
1:00-After we got back to San Salvador, we grabbed lunch and went to Hogar CREA, a rehab center for female drug addicts (a voluntary 2 year program, with a strict schedule and religious emphasis). After the director gave us a tour, we met with the girls and talked to them about their goals for the future and the things they like to do. I feel really strongly that, with organizations like CREA and CIPI, building a relationship with the girls and being a positive role model is the most important thing I can do while I'm here and is crucial before planning any activities or solid project ideas. It was amazing to listen to the responses of these 8 women (ages 14-50) and see that we aren't that different in the things we want for the future. We're hoping to go back next Tuesday.
4:15--After leaving CREA, a few of us went to teach our Friday night English class. At first, I wasn't very interested in this project, but it is turning out to be one of my favorites. I think that is partially because I feel like I can make a real difference before I leave (in 2.5 weeks), because the class is 3 times a week and I'm really getting to know the students. It has been so fun to come up with lesson plans and teach them, and see their progress.
I'm constantly amazed by how much English they know; seeing the looks on their faces when something clicks is priceless. I never realized quite how much of an asset English is. As these students have told me, there are a lot of employment opportunities that are only available to you if you speak English, so that is even more motivation for me, as one of the teachers, to do my best to help them be successful. (As a side note, I really feel like my Spanish has improved significantly in the past couple of weeks. After getting over my fear of speaking incorrectly or sounding stupid, I really feel like I'm able to communicate better and more articulately than before this trip).
6:30--Every night our cook, Estela, makes the most amazing food. After long days like this one, I am so grateful for her and for the food she cooks. It's also really fun to meet up with the rest of the team and discuss the day's events. Now that things have really started to pick up, it's really fun to hear about everyone's adventures, challenges and successes.
After dinner, a few of us went to the Cinepolis to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4. It was actually pretty good, and it was fun to relax a little bit, and enjoy the air conditioning.
Anyway, I'll post about the rest of the week another day. Hope all is well back in the U.S. of A!
*Every day is different, because we are working on so many different projects, but here's just a sampling of what I've been up to.
**Friday was especially interesting because our water was shut off, so none of us got to shower before heading out for the day. Luckily, it was back on by Saturday morning, but I didn't know that until I had already taken a bucket shower. An experience, for sure, but it was just fine.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
This week
(If you already read this in an email, feel free to disregard)
Monday--researched microfinance in the cibercafe...ate at our favorite little pupuseria (la pupuseria paciencia--and it is called that because it takes FOREVER sometimes. but if I were to do an ad campaign for them, their slogan would definitely be (worth the wait).
Tuesday--Mother's Day in El Salvador. So naturally we went to Hiper Paiz (i.e. Walmart's name in El Salvador). I know, I know. But I was looking for PowerBars and sports bras. And then I remembered that women in El Salvador don't really go to the gym...oh well. We got flowers for our cook, Estela, and the boys sang her a mother's day song in Spanish.
Wednesday--Spent the whole day with an organization called FUDEM, doing preliminary eye screenings for kids at a school in Ahuachapan. And when I say the whole day I mean, of course, that we took a 3 hour break to go to the beach..in our clothes..and mosy around until we went back to the school at 1. Gotta love it. Tony and Andrea were the FUDEM employees we went with and they were great.
Thursday--We went to an organization called CIPI, which is like a transitional school for girls that have been abused or have had pretty rough circumstances so far. It was really fun to get to know the girls and see the school that they live and study at. They are all so fun and just seem like normal girls, so it will be really interesting to get to know them better and work with them this summer.
Friday--Visited an NGO called ASEI that works with microfinance and ate at a fabulous little place called Cafe con Sazon. I got this chicken filled with cheese (think cordon bleu) with rice and tortillas. YUM.
Lessons I've learned so far--
You need two free hands to ride the bus.
Coke can kill anything that might make you sick.
Pupusas are way more filling than you would expect.
Don't tell BYU, but...living with boys can be pretty entertaining...especially when one of them brings his own shower in a bag...and decides to shower but also contribute to the meeting in the living room by yelling across the house. Oh brother. (he kept it decent, no worries).
I eat way more yogurt than I realized (we didn't get a fridge until yesterday and I about died from withdrawals of all things cold and refreshing)
Bags of water for 10 cents...interesting.
My hair is about 2.3 times curlier here. Cool.
Doing all your laundry by hand is pretty satisfying.
I've definitely caught the travel bug. and the packing light when you travel bug. I'm very proud to say that of all the people in our house, I may have packed the least.
Okay...and the important stuff I'm learning--
Life is so much slower here, and I really love it. Everything I'm doing is so focused and I love not having the distractions of cell phones and constant gmail updates.
I really really care about people. I think they are so fascinating.
Spanish is harder than I expected..but I'm getting there. My progress is what I make it though.
I already feel at home, and that just makes everything better.
Monday--researched microfinance in the cibercafe...ate at our favorite little pupuseria (la pupuseria paciencia--and it is called that because it takes FOREVER sometimes. but if I were to do an ad campaign for them, their slogan would definitely be (worth the wait).
Tuesday--Mother's Day in El Salvador. So naturally we went to Hiper Paiz (i.e. Walmart's name in El Salvador). I know, I know. But I was looking for PowerBars and sports bras. And then I remembered that women in El Salvador don't really go to the gym...oh well. We got flowers for our cook, Estela, and the boys sang her a mother's day song in Spanish.
Wednesday--Spent the whole day with an organization called FUDEM, doing preliminary eye screenings for kids at a school in Ahuachapan. And when I say the whole day I mean, of course, that we took a 3 hour break to go to the beach..in our clothes..and mosy around until we went back to the school at 1. Gotta love it. Tony and Andrea were the FUDEM employees we went with and they were great.
Thursday--We went to an organization called CIPI, which is like a transitional school for girls that have been abused or have had pretty rough circumstances so far. It was really fun to get to know the girls and see the school that they live and study at. They are all so fun and just seem like normal girls, so it will be really interesting to get to know them better and work with them this summer.
Friday--Visited an NGO called ASEI that works with microfinance and ate at a fabulous little place called Cafe con Sazon. I got this chicken filled with cheese (think cordon bleu) with rice and tortillas. YUM.
Lessons I've learned so far--
You need two free hands to ride the bus.
Coke can kill anything that might make you sick.
Pupusas are way more filling than you would expect.
Don't tell BYU, but...living with boys can be pretty entertaining...especially when one of them brings his own shower in a bag...and decides to shower but also contribute to the meeting in the living room by yelling across the house. Oh brother. (he kept it decent, no worries).
I eat way more yogurt than I realized (we didn't get a fridge until yesterday and I about died from withdrawals of all things cold and refreshing)
Bags of water for 10 cents...interesting.
My hair is about 2.3 times curlier here. Cool.
Doing all your laundry by hand is pretty satisfying.
I've definitely caught the travel bug. and the packing light when you travel bug. I'm very proud to say that of all the people in our house, I may have packed the least.
Okay...and the important stuff I'm learning--
Life is so much slower here, and I really love it. Everything I'm doing is so focused and I love not having the distractions of cell phones and constant gmail updates.
I really really care about people. I think they are so fascinating.
Spanish is harder than I expected..but I'm getting there. My progress is what I make it though.
I already feel at home, and that just makes everything better.
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