Long overdue.

Time is flying.  I last wrote in June.  It's mid-September.

As far as work with the church and school and youth center, all is going well.  We're about a month and a half away from the end of the school year, and student performance reflects this as well.  I personally am also ready for the school year to be over.  We started in mid-January, had a week off in April, a week off in August, and the year will finish (unless kids have to go to summer school) at the tail end of October.  I don't know about you, but it feels like a much longer school year than what we have in the US.  Part of it could be the fact that we go to school here all throughout the "summer" in the US.  Mentally, I can't get my head around it.  I'll finish up formal classes on October 11, with a cumulative exam for the advanced students, and a regular exam for the pre-schoolers.  (Yes, exams for pre-schoolers.  I'm not a fan.)

The peace program continues full steam ahead.  We've changed our focus over the last few months, realizing that we can have a greater impact with 4th through 6th graders, and therefore have begun a series of workshops with them, focusing less on the abstract idea of peace, and more on group cooperation, respect, and peer mediation skills.  This week is the UN's International Day of Peace on September 21, and to celebrate Peace Day we'll hold a series of workshops with our 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes, making a Dream Gallery.  The kids will participate in a guided meditation about what their dreams might be for a world free of violence, and then afterwards they'll draw what they dreamed.  On Saturday, a peace march will be held in another part of the city, and we're planning to take the high school kids.  I finish with the peace program at the end of September.

Human compass exercise

5th grade group cooperation workshop

Drawing the class monster

5th grade

Spiderweb reflection exercise

5th grade

English classes in Cal Pipil Youth Center are also going well.  I have a small conversation group which has been the highlight of my last few months in terms of my involvement as an English teacher.  Half the time, specific lesson plans aren't even necessary.  We just sit around and talk for an hour or so, and it's great fun.  It's so refreshing to have a group of students with a thirst for learning.  And a group for whom I don't have to explain much grammar!  Also quite nice.  I'll finish up in the Cal also at the end of September.  We have a presentation on the 29th, so that will be my last day.  I'm looking forward to having a few free Saturdays (nearly every Saturday since I came in October 2010 has been taken up by English classes or other commitments, and not really any other chance during the week for a "day off").  It will be good to wake up late and make pancakes and do yoga.  Or run off to the beach.

Trying to explain a toaster without actually saying the word

English conversation group, Cal Pipil Youth Center

In my personal life, I am one giant ball of happy.  I never thought I'd find someone as loving and affectionate and so darn-close-to-perfect as Mario.  Really, words cannot even describe what I feel for him.  Talk about head-over-heels.  The last three months have been so much fun.  We so enjoy being together, whether it's sitting together at church during the sermon, spending time with his family, going to the grocery store, having a romantic date night at a neighborhood pupuseria, etc, we haven't gotten bored yet.  And I know I can safely speak for myself and for him when I say neither one of us has gotten tired of the other.  Sure, we've had disagreements, but so far none have been "dealbreakers."  A big test for us as a couple came in August when we decided to take a trip together while I needed to renew my Salvadoran tourist visa.  We traveled by bus for 18 hours one way (ugh) to San Jose, Costa Rica, crossing 3 international borders in the process.  I hate crossing borders.  Even if all my documents are in order, it's still always a stressful event.  And thrice.  We stayed in San Jose 2 days, really just long enough to make my visa renewal completely "legal" (must be out of El Salvador for 3 days, or so they say), and on the way back had to stay over in Managua, Nicaragua.  It was a good chance for us to learn how to manage money together, make decisions (however miniscule), and *hope* that we'd not kill each other.  It was quite a successful trip.  I got my visa renewed, we saw some cool things in Costa Rica, ate traditional Nicaraguan food, and "enjoyed" bus travel (ha!)  And we didn't kill each other.  These last weeks that I have left will be filled with as much time we can spend together as possible, hopefully including a trip to the beach and to Mercedes Umaña, where his father's family is from.  Ok, enough gushing.

Well-rested and clean after 18 hours on the bus the day before.

Worst beer ever.  Really.  If you go to Costa Rica, do not waste your money on Imperial.

I found apple pie!  We ate lunch at an Englishman's restaurant.  Pulled pork, potato salad, and apple pie hit that little spot in my stomach that always longs for comfort food.

Gold pieces made by Costa Rican indigenous groups

Museo de Oro (below the Plaza de la Cultura)

San Jose, Costa Rica

A monument to peace, sponsored by a poultry production company.  Whatever, we liked the message.

Plaza de la Cultura

San Jose, Costa Rica

Little did we know, we stayed in a neighborhood quite close to the national soccer stadium.  We had to go check it out.

Parque La Sabana

San Jose

I like trees.

Hangin' out in the park, took this photo just before our picnic lunch.

Ugh, back on the bus.  We are tired of the bus.

No, actually, WE LOVE BUSES!

Typical Nicaraguan dinner.

Rice and beans (gallo pinto), a bit of grilled pork tenderloin, pickled cabbage slaw, and plantain chips

Managua, Nicaragua

Found a quiet place to sit for a bit in Managua.

It was a good trip.

And now the million-dollar question ... what's next?  A job.  Where?  In the US, or in El Salvador.  If in the US, I'd prefer to be close to my family, a 7-hour's drive or less.  Philly, DC, and central PA are all possibilities, but no one's biting yet.  I put in an application here in El Salvador with an NGO, the SHARE Foundation.  We'll see if they're interested.  What do you want to do?  In the US, use my Spanish, preferably working with the Hispanic community in some way.  But the bottom line is to work somewhere and save my pennies, having as few expenditures as possible, so I can come back to El Salvador ASAP.  In El Salvador, I want to work with delegations or local development initiatives.  I've got my feelers out, we'll see who bites first.  Otherwise, upon return in November, if I am sans job, most of the month will be spent visiting with family and friends, and hopefully attending the SOA protest.  There will be a moderate amount of pigging out on certain delicacies, such as goat cheese, decent salad greens, raw vegetables in general, Mom's cooking, good beer, and marathon baking sessions.  It will be good to be home.  I should stop freaking out about whether or not I arrive home with a job in hand.  As far as Mario and my relationship, he has a good job here in El Salvador and has more opportunities here than he would in the US in terms of work, so I can't ask him to move.  I have the luxury at this point of deciding where I land long-term, so the plan is to come back as soon as possible.

48th anniversary

Not mine, but Emmanuel Baptist Church's 48th Anniversary.  Founded on June 6, 1964, the congregation and mission points celebrate every year for the entire month of June.  Here are some photos from this past Sunday's big celebration.  Unfortunately, I'd left my camera memory chip thing at home, and so only had the camera's internal memory ... No fear, more photos to come soon.  And as well, a few other entries from recent events.

At left, Praise Band Grupo 3:16

Brother Luis Mejia and Sister Josefina Guevara, worship leaders

Congregation.  I wish I had a head count, but likely around 250.  Any rate, the place was packed.

Pastor Miguel Tomas Castro

Commissioning of various church ministries, including deacons, praise band, Cal Pipil youth center, men's and women's fellowships, Sunday School groups, mission points and missionaries, and school teachers.

Oh, and I said life was getting exciting.  Suffice it to say there's a guy in this photo whose made my life pretty exciting lately.  Third from left, in the front, wearing glasses.

Bishop whose name I can't remember, who was asked to lead the commissioning service.

Commissioning

Pickle results

Suffice it to say things in my personal life are getting a little more exciting ... And this song says a lot.

Mumford & Sons "Sigh No More"

And the pickled carrots were fabulous.  So much so that I used a similar recipe and made regular pickles, once I realized that dill is "eneldo" in Spanish.  Not as dill-y as I'd like, but they're still good!

pickles and patience.

I got a bag full of vegetables last week from the market:  4 tomatoes, 3 green peppers, 3 onions, and 5 or 6 large carrots for $1.  You can't do a whole lot with such a little amount of each kind, so I usually just use them to spruce up scrambled eggs or make a simple pasta sauce.  But the carrots?  I thought perhaps I'd cut them up into sticks and keep them in the fridge for when I have the munchies.  Healthy, but somewhat boring.  This evening was supposed to be a celebration time with some friends, but my phone call went unanswered, and when I'm bored and/or don't have any plans, I waltz into the kitchen.  And those carrots, they were begging to be made into something more exciting than plain sticks.  So I gave them a soothing bath with some water, apple cider vinegar, thyme, black pepper, garlic cloves, salt, and sugar.  And now we wait.  I've been wanting to try the recipe from Molly Wizenberg's food memoir A Homemade Life, and who'd have thunk that nearly 3 years (ish) later, after mentally bookmarking the recipe, I'd have a chance to goof around with it.  In El Salvador, of all places.

The downside to making pickles is the waiting.  If you're a sucker like me for salty snacks that appear healthy (Mom, they're vegetables!) you can't wait to stick your hand in the pickle jar and taste your creation.  According to the recipe, I must wait at least 24 hours before snacking.  That means Monday morning or so ... we'll see if I last that long.

I'm terrible at waiting.  And based on recent blog posts, I'm also terrible at being present in the moment.  So where do I fit on the past-present-future line?  I've been told that we gringos think way too much about the future.  And in this world of instant everything, instant messages, instant pudding, instant potatoes, instant updates, we don't know how to wait either.  Waiting a day or so for pickles is nothing.  Cheers to learning how to be patient.

And I'll be sure to let you know how the pickles turn out.

Present.

A quick observation ... In the midst of thinking, "Less than 6 months to go before I get to leave this place," and "What the heck comes after BVS?" or "What the heck comes after El Salvador?", along with "Just 6 more months?  But I don't want to say goodbye to people here ...", I'm having a very hard time being present in the moment.  Enjoying what is happening now, without thinking about the future or the past.  I know this is something we all struggle with (and if any of ye faithful readers out there don't struggle with this, well, please do share the secret), but good grief, is it hard to find a balance.

There is absolutely, definitely a part of me that just.cannot.wait. to get to the United States and be done with things here.  Done with church politics, done with a very traditional "machista" way of thinking, done with cat calls (even in a baggy tshirt and jeans, mind you), done with pollution, done with assaults and muggings, and extortion ... Back in the land of hot showers, feeling clean, abundant vegetables, safe water from the tap, feeling equal and not "second class", and just plain blending in.

But all that is nothing when I think about the people I've met, the relationships I've formed, the community I've created for myself ... which I would go so far as to call a family ... and it feels wrong to just completely uproot and leave.  This is what I did when I joined BVS.  I uprooted myself, and left.  And yet, at the same time, I did not.  I can go home and visit, I can talk to people on Facebook, via Gchat and Skype, and those people will always welcome me back.  I dearly hope that El Salvador will welcome me back in the same way (assuming I do uproot myself and leave ... the jury continues to deliberate ... )

I want to be present in the moments I share with people, in the conversations, hugs, smiles, jokes, soccer games, "buckets of beer", formal and informal English classes, and pupusas.  There likely will be more blogging from here on out.  More thoughts to record, so I don't forget them later.  Moments to cherish.  Stay tuned.

la niña misionera

General life update … less than 6 months to go in BVS (well, more like a little less than 7, but there will be a month of tying up loose ends / vagabonding / visiting / cherishing / goodbye-ing, which I am not mentally counting quite yet.  I’m getting anxious to move on; not necessarily anxious to actually get on the plane and leave El Salvador, but definitely looking forward to not being so tied to Emmanuel Baptist and their ways of doing things … Some staff have left … one quit in early February, one was let go in December (if I’m not mistaken), another let go in January or early February, and one is currently in the process of finishing the last 2 weeks of their work, having submitted their resignation letter within the last few weeks.  So things are rocky around here.  Salvadoran morale is low, which makes mine plummet to new depths.

I’m nervous about the sustainability of keeping Emmanuel Baptist as a BVS project.  There, I said it.  Publicly.  I’ve mentioned this to many of you, I’m sure, and it’s something that’s been nagging at me since last year even, but with each passing day, week, month, the nagging continues.  I know at least in terms of funding this is often the case with programs in Latin America, but it seems here that the church relies on people to keep their projects / interests going, rather than there being a way to pass on the torch, so to speak.  At this point, the peace program is not rolling in the dough, and if Josué or I leave, or both of us, it’s quite likely that for lack of funding and lack of personnel, the program will founder.  Even though it is an absolutely imperative and noble thing for Salvadoran society, at both the local and national level.  We haven’t done much networking outside of the church itself, partly because there are only two of us, and partly because there seems to be a way of making connections that involves the pastor as the face of the program, rather than myself or Josué.  Quite frankly, that dampens my outlook and initiative to set something up, if I have to wait for the pastor to give me the go-ahead.  One would think he would be quite open to letting the program flourish and brag about having two committed young adults as the ones who made it into what it is, but that does not seem to be the case.  Even so, I am going to work on networking, with other churches, organizations, NGOs, government groups, universities, etc.  I know I won’t be able to do all this in just a few months, but I want to get something going so that the program doesn’t fold if and when it happens to not have specific coordinators. 

………

Next up?  No idea.  3 job applications out:  1 I know I didn’t get, and 2 I just sent out this past Thursday.  And a possible thing near DC, but that’s in the works, and I haven’t committed, though in nearly all aspects sounds absolutely FANTASTIC.  Except one thing.  And I hate to get snagged on this one thing … known as dinero for you Spanish speakers … but with college loans and a credit card payment always looming, and no savings, it would be nice to be able to pay those off and put a little something away for a rainy day (read: trip to El Salvador to visit).

Your thoughts and opinions and ears and eyes would be much appreciated as I discern what could be next.  I do know I want to be in the US, I want to use my Spanish, and would like to be within a 6-hour-drive of my parents’ in central Pennsylvania.  The rest is up to the powers that be.

6 more weeks (months) of winter?

Hello from down here.  Things are getting interesting.  Recent political events (totally blog-worthy, I just need to form my opinions first), job searching (read: vocation searching?), internal church things, and the Salvadoran capybara (it's like a tail-less groundhog) has seen her shadow ... not 6 more weeks, but 6 more months ... Or is it when she sees her shadow it's already spring?  I never remember, but whichever way it goes, the one that says 6 more weeks (months) is what I can relate to.

Two applications emailed today to Latin America Working Group.  One sent a few weeks ago to Human Rights Watch (they never replied, ho hum).  Conversation with a certain bacon fiend about future possibilities.  

A visit to El Mozote.  Finally.  Planning for a delegation in June from Manchester, yippee!  And the wheels keep turning in our peace education program, although morale is low right now.

Definitely interesting.  Hoping to carve out a little time in the near future to bring you all into my loop yet again.