Sunday, December 24, 2006

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and a very Happy New Year to all

Christmas has come and gone here. The Salvadoran Christmas is a little different than the traditional Jersey Christmas that I am used to. First of all Christmas is celebrated here on the 24th of December. Second of all kids line the street with quetes, or in English firecrackers; families gather to eat hoagie sized sandwiches of chicken, lettuce, cucumber and beets; and people where shorts and tees because the heat takes over when dancing to Salsa, Cumbea, and Regitone music. Last but not least, I was speaking Spanish. Although different and a little sad being estranged for my family in the States, Christmas turned out to be quite beautiful and filled with joy, which is what Christmas is supposed to be.

On the 25th , the day which I am accustomed to spending the day opening presents, lounging for many hours in my bedtime clothes and eating a meal that take a week to digest, I spent the morning carrying water from one of the only water sources in the canton and talking with some of the women in my community about well everything. Water has not being running for about a week now. Women, children and men go to the little bodies of water to wash themselves and there clothes. How do you tell a community that they are contaminating their drinking water with the chemicals they use to wash themselves and their clothes when they have no other option? Something that seems so carefree and easy like going to a tap to get filtered and clean water is put into perspective for me when I watch the people spend hours schlepping water to the house. Here is a picture of Don Medardo loading the horse with water to bring back to the house.

For the 31st the ADESCO is putting together a dance in the street for the canton and the pueblo. Everyone is really excited. Give Salvadorans any excuse to dance and throw firecrackers in the street and they will take it, as they should. So as the entire world is preparing to bring in the New Year our little canton of two hundred and thirty people is as well. Wishing everyone happiness, health, and a prosperous new year.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

So after our soccer tournament on Sunday there is all this talk about a new futból cancha behind our house. So the men of the community, Mirtala and I went to seek it out. As the men with their let´s get down to business faces on talk to me about the cancha, Mirtala decides that this is the perfect time to talk to me about the seven gorgeous white birds in the tree. She talks about their bodies, their elegance on the branches, the fact that there is a gaggle of them, and then she tells me that they would make a great soup. I do not know what I would do without this woman in my life. She puts everything in perspective as bizaare as that might seem. She is absolutely beautiful inside and out. Here are some pictures of the woman that makes me feel at home everyday. The second one is my favorite as well as hers.






Anyway, so I have been keeping very busy. I am working with the ADESCO: the local community grovernment that is in the process of legalization. Also I am trying to help organize sports teams as well as an environmental group for adolecents. I get up everyday and, especially on the days I run, look out at this beautiful view and wonder how anyone could just throw trash on the ground. Therefore, with a group of adolecents I want to start a garbage campaign and recycling project, but I guess we will see how that goes. Vamos a ver. Anyway I have also added some photos of the little girl Diana that lives next door and the group of chicken that mama Mirtala has. Enjoy!

Monday, December 04, 2006

I have arrived to my new life in Cuesta Marina, a beautiful spot on a hill overlooking the lake Sutchitlan. I am living with Mirtila, a woman of about seventy who wears a comb in her ponytail and continuously talks and not necessarily just with me with herself as well. I feel like it is a constant sleep over: we talk through the thin walls of the house late at night. Anyway, how do I explain this endearingly eccentric woman? So when I was in Cuesta Marina for the visit she wanted to show her gratitude for me visiting and spending two years of my life in Cuesta with a gift. As I was walking out the door she pulled me aside to her closet and took out a pair of literal granny panties and a grandma bra to give me. The panties are a light hue of purple and well the bra was too big and as she told me ¨tiene pechitos¨ (you have small breasts) so she retracted that gift. That is Mirtila in a nutshell very giving and warm but a little eccentric I guess I would say. I kindly asked her to save the panties for me so that they would be awaiting my arrival when I came back. So I am here with my new community, new friends, and best of all new panties.

I am no longer living with grams in her room but next door in a pink and green studio apartment as I like to call it, minus the rats and with a plush bed. But most of all I am just thankful that I have been placed in such a beautiful and friendly place with people who have opened up their arms and their hearts to me. The new thing to say is aww...Joanna. Then they laugh pat my hand and give me a hug. I still have yet to find out if this is out of love or sympathy because my Spanish is lacking and my humor doesn´t always translate. The Spanish thing is harder than I thought it would be. I went to go by a piece of sugar cane yesterday for a quarter and ended up walking away with an entire cane about seven feet tall. I mean not a bad deal, but who knew, not me I guess. Anyway, so far so good. Keep reading to stay posted.