There really are fresh vegetables in El Salvador.

Yes, folks, there really are fresh vegetables in El Salvador.  Yesterday was Pastor Miguel's birthday, so I went with he and his family to a restaurant in Santa Tecla, just outside San Salvador, to celebrate.  The restaurant is called "Yemaya: Food from the Earth," and that's exactly what it was.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  It's a vegetarian place.  I had a salad, which I'd been craving ever since ... well, really, since BVS orientation began.  It had fresh spinach, toasted walnuts, red onions, and apples, and was tossed in a hot balsamic vinaigrette.  It was great.  Really, really great.  And the company was great as well.  We had a really fun time.

Yesterday was a very good day.  Ideal, really.  Equal parts fun and work.  I had a meeting at the school where I'll be teaching a summer English class, and we got quite a bit accomplished.  And afterwards, I learned merengue and bachata.  Well, I had already danced both a little in DC when I visited a friend in August, but this was spontaneous and unexpected.  The other folks were rather impressed that I already (sort of) knew the steps.  I spent the rest of the afternoon at Cal Pipil, and around 5:30 or so we went for our "coffee break," which has become nearly a daily thing.  Because dinner is so late here, folks often go for coffee and pan dulce (sweet bread/cake) when we in the US normally have dinner.  I was invited to go to a friend's house for coffee, and on the way we bought semita alta, a delicious sweet treat that's sort of like a vanilla cake with molasses sauce inside.  I love hanging out with the other "piples" (teenagers and teachers associated with Cal Pipil).  I am always welcomed so warmly, and I'm so enjoying getting to know some of the other teachers here at la Cal and in the church.

I really enjoy being here.  There are moments I just smile and feel so blessed to have this opportunity.  The bumps in the road have been pretty minimal thus far.  I'm having a little trouble getting started with my English classes, but I just need to jump in and do it.  My Spanish continues to improve with each passing day, and I'm glad for that.  Food's good, I'm not starving.  I'm making friends.  I don't yet have a key to my house, but hopefully soon ...

Short post, but more to come this weekend ... most likely.  Hasta luego!

Llegada / Arrival

Well.  I’ve made it!

BVS orientation – check.

Latin America orientation in Guatemala – check. 

I spent four days in Antigua, Guatemala, about 30 minutes outside Guatemala City, getting to know the other BVSers who are also working Latin America.  Steve works with Colegio Miguel Angel Asturias in Xela, Guatemala, where Malea has been placed as well.  Lauren works at Hogar de Ninos Emanuel in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, which, yes folks, is where my wonderful cousin Leah served as well.  They’re all great folks, and I had a really lovely time in Antigua.  The weather was quite perfect; not too hot, not too cold.  We spent a lot of our time enjoying each other’s company and exploring Antigua. 

Afterwards, it was off to Ixtahuacan, near the Mexico / Guatemala border, to spend a week with Todd and his wife and daughter at their home.  It was a really relaxing week.  I slept almost 10 hours every night, as their electricity is battery-powered, so when they go to bed, the electricity is turned off as well.  I found myself heading to bed between 9:30 and 10pm nearly every night, and waking up between 7:30 and 8:30 most days.  My body wasn't sure what to do with all the extra rest!  I definitely needed it.  Malea and I helped Katy, Todd's wife, with various chores around the house, helping to cook, learning to make tortillas, taking care of Yana, their two-year-old daughter, etc.  The food was delicious, lots of vegetables and greens, and tortillas made with homemade masa.  Masa is corn flour, and theirs is ground from the corn they grow: indigenous strains equivalent to "heirloom" varieties in the US.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  I didn't know I could love tortillas so much.  Sorry, El Salvador, so far Katy's are the best.  We also helped them set up their market stand on Sunday.  (Keep in mind this was between Oct 19 and 26)  They sell herbs and natural medicines, baskets, pottery, hats, earrings, and a few other things I'm forgetting.  The town of Ixta comes alive on market days, but especially on Sundays.  Malea and I were also invited to wear traje, the skirt and top of Mayan descendants.  We got a few stares in town, but most people were pleasantly surprised to see two fairly pasty white girls wearing traje.

Two days later, I arrived in El Salvador!  To say that I was well received is an understatement.  I was so excited (and still am!!)  After some time for Todd to get acquainted with the folks here, I jumped head-first into my work.  The first week was full of meetings and introductions and worship services and prayers and songs and pupusas (THE Salvadoran food, kind of similar to a Mexican quesadilla) and lots of Spanish.  And I loved every minute of it.  My primary task is to work with Josue, who is luckily a good friend I met in 2009 during my first visit here, and Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel's peace program, entitled Cultura de Paz.  It's like a peace studies program in a nutshell.  We'll cover human rights, gender equality, conflict resolution and transformation, historical memory and reconciliation, defense of the environment, and democratic participation in the context of Christian values, such as community, justice, solidarity, and truth.  How will we do this?  Not really sure yet.  Ideas are floating around.  Where?  In the church, Sunday School, the church's youth center Cal Pipil, the Baptist elementary/high school, and eventually branch out into the neighborhood and public schools.  We want to set up mediation teams, call out kids and youth as leaders, as peacemakers, etc.  I'm really excited about the program.  And really nervous.  And overwhelmed.  But it will be great.  We're not actually starting until January, so we're just in a planning period right now.

So, that's about it for now.  My Spanish is improving, although Salvadorans tend to mumble, which makes it a bit difficult.  Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm also teaching English classes, one of which begins tomorrow morning.  I'm more nervous about teaching than nearly anything else.  But at least it's the first class, so if it goes really quickly or slowly or not very well or whatever, I know I can improve.  I should also mention my English kind of stinks since I haven't been using it much ... if things sound awkward, forgive me!  I'm probably trying to write in English using Spanish syntax.  My apologies!  So, there you have it.

Out to lunch on November 2, to celebrate Dia de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead)

From left: Pastor Miguel, Gaby, Sarah, Arturo, Lidia, and me.

Presentation of Cal Pipil workshop / class teachers.

Saturday's talent show marked 1 full year of classes at "la Cal" as we affectionately call it.

A group of guitar students presenting their song.

Feliz, feliz cumpleanos, Cal Pipil!

Fuzzy picture of me in my office ... having a blast!

Finally, some photos

A tributary of the Elk River in Siskiyou National Forest

Southern Oregon

The Pacific Ocean!

View from Vista Point

Camp Myrtlewood, Oregon

Old growth forest

Camp Myrtlewood

The Three Volunteers ... Me, Beth, and Chelsea

Portland Church of the Brethren

Lacinato Kale in the community garden outside Portland Peace CoB

I couldn't resist taking food photos.

Brussels Sprouts!

Cherry tomatoes!

A cup of water ... because Jon decided to take silly pictures.

A marriage of old and new ... An indigenous Guatemalan woman, married in a Catholic ceremony.

Antigua, Guatemala

The Arch in Antigua

Cathedral

Antigua, Guatemala

Bananas

Todd Bauer's home and fruit tree nursery

Ixtahuacan (Ixta for short), Guatemala

Ditto.

A path along the side of the nursery.

Ixta, Guatemala

Green papayas

Ixta, Guatemala

I always wondered what a fig tree looked like.

Ixta, Guatemala

Mural at Colegio Miguel Angel Asturias, a school associated with Juniata College and Stone Church of the Brethren in Huntingdon, PA.  BVS has a project here, currently occupied by Malea Hetrick, my traveling buddy.

Xela (Quetzaltenango), Guatemala

What a wonderful, exciting trip it's been ...

Orientation was a truly fantastic experience.  As trite as it sounds, words cannot describe the three weeks 35 of us experienced together in the wilds of southern Oregon and the streets of Portland.  As I expected, our time was full of laughter, games, sleeping (and not), eating (and sometimes being a bit hungry), sweating, playing, serving, talking, singing, exploring, listening, and praying.  Because I already knew I would be placed in San Salvador with Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel, orientation was a very different experience for me than for my many of my peers.  While most were looking at project files and trying to discern where they might spend the next year in service to others, I played ping-pong.  Or read.  Or hiked.  Or played kickball.  Of course, I did have some apprehension, but I already knew I was going to a familiar place, where I had a few friends and acquaintances; I knew I would be welcomed with open arms. 

One of the most fulfilling experiences at orientation was the opportunity to participate in a Native American sweat lodge ceremony.  Some of us also had the chance to help with the set-up.  We learned about the significance of each aspect of the sweat, from the number of stones used to the structure of the lodge.  The ceremony begins with a fire built over 28 stones, divided into seven stones per round of the sweat.  Before the fire is lit, an offering of tobacco is made and prayers are sent to the Spirits.  The Spirit Line is established with an altar between the lodge and the fire circle, and only the “fireman” can cross that line.  All others must walk clockwise around the lodge/fire to reach the other side.  The lodge represents the Mother’s womb, and when one leaves at the end of the sweat, he/she is considered reborn.  Women enter the lodge first, cleansing themselves with cedar smoke and acknowledging the four directions, and then men follow.  Once all are seated inside, six prayer ties are placed to acknowledge the four directions, as well as the sky and the earth.  Seven stones, or grandfathers, are placed in the pit in the center, each representing grandfather spirits, and are welcomed by saying mitakuye oyasin, meaning all my relations.  The door is closed and cedar is placed on each grandfather to bless and cleanse.  Water is poured over, combining the four elements of earth, fire, water, and air.  Songs and prayers are offered during the first round to call the Spirits.  At the beginning of each round, seven more grandfathers are placed in the center pit, and the process of cedar and water is repeated.  Round two is designated for prayer, round three for suffering, and round four for thanksgiving, thanking the Spirits for joining us during our journey in the womb.  The sweat ends with closing songs and prayers, and after leaving the womb, greetings are shared between all participants.  Especially important as well is one’s mindset.  If you become nervous about the heat, and put up that barrier, the sweat won’t go so well.  If you instead accept the steam and the heat, and allow it to cleanse and permeate your body, you will have a good experience.  I was a bit nervous, but completed the four rounds, and am so glad I did.  It was incredibly meaningful, one of those transcendent experiences we don’t often recognize in our hectic lives.  I didn’t know the words to the songs or prayers, but I felt the blessings and strength from each person in the circle, as well as all our relations.  It was definitely a reaffirmation that we all pray to and worship the same God.  God is Creator, Sustainer, of all things, regardless of one’s religious or spiritual path.  There are many paths, but all lead to the same Spirit.  I hope someday I’m able to participate again.

Lists

En route to Portland, and I still haven’t really explained what I’ll be doing in El Salvador.  First things first.  Orientation begins tomorrow at Camp Myrtlewood in Oregon.  We’ll cook, eat, sing, sweat, labor, worship, talk, clean, and play together for 3 weeks.  I actually think it will feel quite a bit like an extended week at camp.  On October 15, I and another BVSer, Malea, will travel to Guatemala for a smaller orientation, focused specifically on our work in Latin America.  We’ll be in Guatemala for a week or so I believe, and then at the end of the month I’ll take a bus to San Salvador to begin my work with Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel and their youth center, Cal Pipil.  Much of this information has materialized in recent weeks, and with packing and visiting and such, I’ve been quite busy … apparently too busy to update you.  Sorry about that.

I’m really looking forward to orientation.  I’m excited to be see friends old and new, and learn all about BVS.  …I do know a bit already since I’ve grown up as part of the Church of the Brethren, but I think there’s only so much one can learn ahead of time.  Now it’s time to do it.

I was visiting with some cousins a few weeks ago, and Suellen asked me if there were 5 things I would be taking with me to El Salvador that I couldn’t live without.  Well, I had to mull it over a bit, and it made me think about other lists, like … 5 things I know I’ll miss.  Or 5 things I’m looking forward to.  So, I thought I’d compile a few lists.

5 things I brought with me that I couldn’t leave in Pennsylvania:

1  Chaco sandals

2) Journal  (Ok, I actually have 2 … and will probably need a few more)

3) My computer (mostly for its webcam capabilities)

4) Recipes

5) Frisbee

5 things I know I’ll miss:

1) Hot showers

2) Spending time with family and friends in the US

3) Good beer/fancy food (Yes, a food and beer-snob I am, and I list these not because of BVS’ no-alcohol policy, but because they are two aspects of who I am that I won’t really be able to access … that being said, I am so looking forward to experiencing food from another perspective.)

4) My cat, Feste, whom I know is being well taken care of in Chicago at Sharon and Amber’s apartment

5) Driving my Toyota RAV4

5 things I am SO looking forward to:

1)  Speaking Spanish.  I heard a lot of Spanish in Houston on the way to Portland, and I just smiled.

2)  Forming stronger relationships with my Salvadoran friends, and making new friends

3)  Eating local mangoes

4)  Salvadoran hospitality

5)  Did I mention speaking Spanish?

Oh yes, I’m not sure how much I mentioned about what I’ll be doing while working with Iglesia Bautista.  I don’t know much yet; I know that these things take time and usually just sort of come together, but currently I’m planning to be a co-coordinator for Cal Pipil, helping with different classes and events and networking with other youth groups and non-profit organizations.  I think I’ll likely be teaching English.  (And if any of you have materials you’d like to suggest, PLEASE DO SO!)  I imagine I’ll be Pastor Miguel’s right hand every once in a while.  He has a few “right hand folks” actually.  Hopefully I’ll get to do some cooking.  When delegations from the US and Canada come down for various work projects and tours, I’ll be helping out with their schedules, translation, etc.  (Shameless plug:  New Community Project is organizing a delegation for summer 2011 … Come on down!)  I think that about covers it, at least for now.

I’ll have Internet access at Cal Pipil, and will be able to (I hope) check email every once in a while.  I imagine I’ll suck it up and download Skype, even though I like Google Talk better.  When I have a Skype name, I’ll let you know.  If you’d like my mailing address, send me an email!

Google:  sarahrhall

Email:  sarahrhall@gmail.com

Hasta luego!

PS - Sorry the numbered formatting stinks.  I'm still pleading "I'm new at this!"

Officially El Salvador bound!

I wanted to let you all know that I've received word from Brethren Volunteer Service that I will, in fact, be living in El Salvador for the next two years!  Most of those I've spoken with have said things like, "Oh that's great.  But was there ever really a question?"  The answer is no, I was pretty sure from the start that it would work out, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions.  So I had been telling people that I was about 98% sure it would work out. And it has!  Orientation begins September 26 at Camp Myrtlewood, Oregon, and ends October 15.  From there, I'll travel to Guatemala for a more specific orientation on Latin America, and then head south to El Salvador.  I'll share more as the journey continues.

Thoughts and a Recipe

During the last few weeks, I've been struggling a little with the different people and events that I'll miss when I start BVS. I know this feeling of doubt is normal, and I know that what I'm going to do in BVS is going to be good for me, from (finally!) becoming fluent in Spanish to working through the rolling waves of culture shock to humbly serving others. I also know that my service in BVS will give me so many new skills that will be essential in finding some sort of employment (or help me get in to graduate school). I can finally work on Latin American issues and have a little credibility, rather than just a strong interest and semi-strong language skills. I will not let these doubts and feelings overwhelm me. I am excited about this journey on which I'm about to embark. And there is always Skype.

And now, on to the recipes, as promised last time I wrote. In Central PA, peach season is in full swing! My mom and I "put up" 14 quarts of peaches today. I still can't quite get over people saying "put up." I've always said, "We canned 14 quarts of peaches", or "We froze 40 pints of corn" etc., but those of you with whom I've mentioned canning or freezing always say "put up." I just can't get that in my vocabulary. Anyway, I had to let the peaches sit outside for a few days to ripen, and I couldn't resist grilling a few the other night for dessert, especially since the grill was already hot. I added a little mascarpone cheese (left over from a fig tart I made last week that didn't quite have the right fig-to-cheese ratio I wanted; too few figs) and drizzled the peaches with honey. I think I found this recipe, or something like it, on the Food Network website, or perhaps Epicurious, but regardless of where the idea came from, it's delicious! If you don't have a grill, you could bake the peaches until they're warm and slightly soft, and then proceed.

Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone and Honey

I think 1 peach per person is probably a good portion but do whatever you like.

Ripe peaches, washed and halved

1 Tbsp or so olive oil, so the peaches don't stick to the grill

1 tsp mascarpone cheese for each peach half

Honey

Heat grill to medium heat. Cut peaches in half, remove pit. Brush fleshy side with olive oil. Grill 2-3 minutes on each side, until peach is easily pierced with fork and skin has blistered. Remove from heat, plate, and add 1 tsp or so mascarpone to each peach half. I put the cheese in the little indentation left by the peach pit. Drizzle with honey and serve warm.

**PS - I know the formatting for this post is strange.  I haven't quite figured out how to make Blogger do what I want it to.**