A little bit of livin' from Guillermo Ungo

Upon returning to Guillermo Ungo from San Salvador on the 13^th of April, the week started off with something a little too familiar and once again I was stung by a scorpion. Actually it stung me twice, so I must have really made it angry. It was hiding within our clothing and when I set the clothing on my leg…BAM…a sting. Wow, this time it really hurt, I set off a couple F-bombs and was bent over in pain. (It’s a good thing the family doesn’t understand those words, actually Gloria and I were talking later and I did end up teaching her a few words…..she said it was important for her to know them! Ha!). Although there was no tingly sensation or numbness, there was a lot of pain that lasted for a few hours. The sting was the start of it, I have had a number of scrapes, blisters, and bruises (let’s just say that Tom has been my doctor this week) and he has been wonderful!! I have been continuing to work in the clinic, accompanying the doctor and the secretary, talking to people, and just getting to know my surroundings. When I am not in the clinic I am out with Gloria attending meetings about women’s rights and how to bring those issues back to the rural area. I usually get lost within the meetings, due to rapid speaking and not understanding a lot of the words; however, little by little I am learning more and look forward to the daily interactions with those in our community.

As for Tom he continues to teach English in the school, and also is starting to become more involved within the community development, but similar to my work, it is a slow process. I do want to add that when we are walking to school, the clinic or wherever, there is usually children who say ¨Salud Thomas¨, which is a form of saying hello. This is definitely something that brings a smile to our faces. Tom is also continuing to take guitar lessons from the neighbor Luis, and Luis has told him that he has plans for Tom to join his group rather soon! So Tom has been practicing a lot, and would actually look foreword to being a part of a music group once again. Hopefully he will be able to play something when we come back to the states for a visit in August!!

We haven’t given much history on our family structure with whom we are staying, so here it goes… Gloria, our host mom, lives in a three room house with two of her daughters (she has 8 kids total), Fatima (14) and Ana (8). Gabriel (11, her granddaughter) was also staying there, but has since moved next door. Next door (which is 15 feet away) lives Nena (Gloria’s oldest daughter), Walter (14, Nena’s oldest son), Gabriel (mentioned above, her niece), and Carolina (Nena’s youngest, 4). Gloria, whom I work with through the Defensoras Populares, is an outgoing, independent woman, who just turned the big 50. We celebrated with fried chicken, French fries, beers and friends, it was just what everybody needed. Gloria said this was the first time she had celebrated her birthday, but turning 50 is a big deal, so why not!! There are many cute stories about the family, but it is hard to find time to tell them all. From the smiles and giggles we get daily from Carolina and Ana, to Walter tagging along with Tom with Guitar lessons, as well as the evening English lessons that Fatima, Walter, and Gabby continue to ask for gives us a feeling of truly being a part of this family. In fact when we return from the city Gloria usually says that her ¨hijos¨ (kids) have returned. We definitely have been blessed to live with such a giving family.

-posted by Melissa

Music man

Along with all the tough stuff comes some really fun stuff too... yesterday was one of those days.

When I arrived at CRISPAZ I knew that I´d have some time on my hands, especially during the winter season when it rains daily, so when I saw CRISPAZ had some old guitars at the office collecting dust I asked if I could borrow one. When I arrived many who saw me with the guitar, including Gloria's 14 year old grandson Walter, asked me if I could play... to which I responded ¨no, but I´d like to learn¨. Putting our heads together they suggested a nearby neighbor that could teach me, and last week it finally came together. His name is Luis in country terms he really is nearby (hop the barbwire fence, and walk through two neighbors yards, a right then a left and you're there). When I first met him I wasn't sure how this would all work out but since he admitted that he doesn´t own a guitar however, I quickly found out that the slightly older man really knows music. He´s got quite a history and most of which I still don't even know, but he has played in several bands and was one of the originals (founders) of a band called ¨La Cruz¨ which was pretty popular during the late part of the war (late 80s).

Anyway, he really has taught me a few things and I´m coming along well, but he invited me out with him to a ¨Concertina¨yesterday where he would be playing for a friend in Salitre. I was excited and after checking in with Melissa to make sure it was ok (she had some meetings planned with Gloria so couldn´t come along) I was off Monday morning. He told me it would be over an hour walk, we left at 7am and after a couple of stops along the way true to his word it took about 80 minutes. We left his place with 5 and met another 3 later on down the road, but what a road/path it was! After leaving the main road near where we live we walked through pastures with a variety of animals, through trees and brush, and places where there was barely a path. (I soon lost any hope of finding my way back with the help of Luis.) But the senery was breathtaking, it was something out of fairy tale; blue sky, mountains in the distance, and no sign of cars or really much of anything (including houses) for as far as the eye could see. What a sight we must have been to the cows and horses, walking through forests with guitars, an accordion, a large but light bass, a five stringed guitar, type of home-made rainmaker that served as a type of muraca... playing as we walked.

Finally our path widened out again and we found ourselves on a road passing houses hear and there. One of the members of the group asked me if I would join them in a tradition. From what I could understand upon ¨leaving¨ a place the play in they each share a drink of Tequila. He then asked if I drink Tequila to which I replied ¨not in the morning¨ which got a good laugh out of them. I quickly found out when we stopped to ask a neighbor for water that they not only drink shots after but before and pretty much until it´s gone. I joined in with them but was careful not to have to much as I figured these men had a upper hand in there tolerance levels. No one really drank too much as there was only two small bottles (12oz.) and there was eight of us to share it.

We soon found ourselves in the company of a wonderful cook who made us all breakfast after the group sang to them. At first I thought they were singing for our meal but later found out it was the same man who asked them out to the area when we came back for lunch. The place we went to sing was an open area that what resembled a dirt parking lot, but with less then half a dozen cars it soon become more of a place for the kids to play soccer. The group had incredible talents and I found that many of them (who didn't look older than me) would pass around the instruments as if they could play anything that their hands touched. I was caught up in listening to them so much that when a boy and later a man asked me to dance with a young woman there I was taken off guard. Since there was no one else dancing but plenty of people around I graciously turned down the offer. The group later found out about it and gave me a good ribbing for it.

Also one the guys in the group was strumming to the song ¨Dust in the wind¨ by Kansas and I told them I knew that song. Later while they were waiting to play he started playing it again and I took the opportunity to sing most of the song which I think caught them off guard. We also played in the church later that day, for a few dollars to a driver of a parked bus, and of course later for some drunks on the street for a drink of their Tequila. All in all I have more stories and impressions from that day than I can share but I will leave you all with this...

Ricardo, (a brillant musician with great enthusisum that he needs to move while he plays, sings, and smiles through all the songs) began a reacurring response to things that got too long or too boring that that day ¨Yo entiendo nada¨. Which means ¨I understand nothing¨, and was actually quite comidic the entire day. Just before the drunks offered us a drink for a song (which is a story in itself), one of them came up to me and was mutter something that I couldn't quite get and I could sense the eyes of everyone in the group on me. Not wanting to miss out on ideal moment I turned to him and strugged and said ¨Yo entiendo nada¨. The group (of singers) burst out laughing and I heard them repeating the story most of the way home.

All in all fabulous day!
-posted by Tom

We are here and adjusting…

We haven’t posted in a long time due to several reasons but most of it can be summed up by that word, adjusting. Upon our arrival we spent two weeks in orientation but after we learned the basics about the organization and spending a majority of time applying for our temporary residency. Melissa received her provisional card which means that her paperwork has been accepted and she will wait as it gets reviewed. Tom on the other hand had some detail problems but received an extension in order to wait for corrections to be made. We were also able to explore the city a little, visited the remembrance wall, the Cathedral where Monseñor Romero is buried, also a few other historical sites here in El Salvador. Nonetheless, it soon became apparent the big piece would be adjusting to the El Salvadorian culture (which doesn’t come with a guide book). Although we spent time in Guatemala the atmosphere is different here and it’s taken some time to figure out what it is that’s different. The threat of violence seems much prevalent here but maybe that just because we can understand more now, or that there is less tourism here (which unfortunately does lead to more police protection), or something else entirely that we haven’t figured out yet. Some buses are more dangerous than others and none of them have maps explaining how to get from one place to another. Being out after dark isn´t advised (and that we should take a taxi if we are) and just like Guatemala it gets dark here everyday all year round by 6:30pm. We also got to enjoy some of the positives, such as: pupusas, beautiful weather, laying in hammocks, meeting new people, and a little rabbit named Vigilante (meaning Security Guard in Spanish, see picture) who loved to greet us in our room every morning.

After the cushy two weeks….life was about to change….

Life in the ¨campo¨ (countryside) has definitely been an adjustment for the two of us. Melissa is a little more used to the ¨creatures of the night¨ that lurk outside and in our house, but Tom is holding up well considering he is more of a city boy. When Javier (our supervisor) explained to us that there were minimum living options in the Ciudadela de Guillermo Ungo and one of the best options for us to have our own room would be to live with Gloria although her house would have no electricity. Tom and I pondered over this for about a day, but decided that we could do it for a little while. So we set out, with Tedde and Javier in the company truck (an old Datsun (88´ or 90´), short-bed, stick shift pickup with no power-steering) early on the morning of the 26^th of March to our new home; stopping on the way only to make necessary stops for a used bed, water and candles.

When we arrived at our new home Gloria was out of town on business (she does a lot of traveling with her work) so we needed to wait with her oldest daughter (who lived 15 feet next door) and all of the kids (who will be mentioned in the next post) until Gloria returned. We were able to set up our bedroom around 6:00pm so it was a good thing we bought candles on the way, and thank you Ernie for the flashlight that does not need batteries!!

The first night Tom woke due to an unfamiliar sound in the room, we quickly turned on our flashlight to notice that there was an object rustling around in Tom’s hiking pack. We sat in fright for a few minutes, as we were not sure what creature would jump out if we were to poke the pack. Tom eventually worked up the courage to poke the pack, nothing happened at first, but shortly after a little mouse scurried out of the pack and ran down the wall. We both jumped a little. Melissa was able to go back to sleep somewhat shortly after that, however Tom was up most of the night ¨on alert¨ for the mouse. When we woke the next morning we discovered that the mouse found some of our snacks and also ate some of our toothpaste which we smartly hid out in the open. When we told this to Gloria (our host mom) she thought it was hilarious and made a joke that the mouse must have really wanted to brush his teeth!

The next night we were able to sleep somewhat better, there were no visitors in the night (or none that we could hear). Melissa woke at 7am to take a shower before heading off to work, as she was grabbing the necessary items to shower (remember no lights) she tripped, but caught herself on the bed. Melissa then yelled out, ¨Ouch, what the hell was that!¨ and then proceeded to yell at Tom to find the flashlight. When the lights were found a small scorpion was sitting on the bed. Without drawing out the story, Melissa freaked out for a while; we called some fellow volunteers and Jeanne from CRISPAZ to get reassurance that she would be ok, then went to the clinic to get some meds to take for the sting. However, the following evenings were difficult in get to sleep in part to the scorpion but even more difficult from the heat.

We have many more stories to tell but want to keep this first post at a readable length so we will leave you all with some positives. Often we find ourselves looking up at the stars at night sharing stories and laughs with Gloria’s family. On several nights she has been willing to teach us some yoga exercises, or just talk with us which goes a long way towards calming our nerves and feeling welcome. We are settling in better than before (although still have a long way to go) and have realized that we have much work to do in adjusting to a lifestyle that is very foreign to us. Many of the simplicities and luxuries that we take for granted in the United States, indoor toilets, lack of insects and unwanted animals within a home, having chairs, and not having to walk 30 minutes to get to transportation are realities that the people we live with deal with everyday comfortably and without concern. Our instinct has told us that we ¨can’t¨ handle some of these things but it is our need to adjust to a different way of living, however difficult it might be for us in order to help us be more present to the people we are living and working with.

- Posted by Tom and Melissa