Who's teaching who?

Although my days can be filled on a daily basis by teaching English almost whenever I want (literally I have both students and teachers from the morning and afternoon asking when I might be stopping in their class), I have stuck to teaching in the afternoon with the middle/high school kids. It's been a lot of work I finished grading over 160 tests and compiling the final grades for all of those students (and that's just middle school). However I had asked to do that so I could begin to learn some of the names of the students and so that I could gain a better grasp on how the tests I created for the students went for them. I found several areas that I can help them with for the following tests and although excitement is there I am quite happy to have a little break. The system used here is different that what I am accustomed to as they use a scale of 5-10 for grading, 5 being failing (or just passing) and 10 being like an A.

It has also been an educational experience for me every day in the classroom, with consistent reminders from the teachers and students about my pronunciation or just complete bewilderment as to what I am trying to explain. Nonetheless I ask for the feedback to help both me and the students gain more understanding. Obviously my Spanish background is not that same as what they learned so we need to meet somewhere in-between. Daily frustration is common, although I generally look foreword to the obstacles I encounter with optimism and have found my patience growing. That said I have grown attached to the students for their effort, energy, and growth they have already shown during the first few months (the school year starts in January). While English is the subject we spend time with in class, I have told the students that what I am really trying to do is encourage independent thinking. Hopefully we can accomplish some of that and learn from each other during my time here.

Selling God?

While riding the bus here in El Salvador, one can experience many things: loud ranchera music (or english songs from the 80s) blasting in your ear; the regular beggars that tug at your heart-strings with their sad stories and appearances; people trying to sell you everything from food, toys for children, or vitamins that can ¨save your life¨ (along with every possible thing you can think of, in fact that could be a blog entry in itself); and finally what this entry is all about deeply zealous religious people trying to save your soul.

Recently we experienced a 2 hour bus ride to our community where 3 nuns and a minister boarded with a mission. Their mission, as they told us, was to use this time to share to us the Glory of God, Alleluia. The trip began with some brief speeches about why we needed saving and we are all sinners who have no hope without the belief of God in our lives. From there they mixed in some songs which were all sung with the support of an electric portable speaker, although none of them sung very well. Throughout this time the rest of the people on the bus went along their business not really paying to much attention those pleading with us to ¨connect to God¨ right now, and not let another moment pass us by.

I found myself interested with what they had to say, because as a non-Christian who has found much more of a spiritual connection with meditation and Buddhist teachings, I was curious how they would discuss other spiritual beliefs. Yet not surprisingly I found what they had to say limiting and pinpointing a one-dimensional directional path to God. The group may have sensed the disinterest on the bus and felt they needed to take a quite frequently practiced bad parenting approach… ¨If they don’t seem to hear you, TALK LOUDER!¨ When the bus started to fill up and people standing had no room to move the group, who had positioned themselves early on in the ride toward the middle of the bus, brought out a mega-phone or loudspeaker normally used outside at large gatherings. Only a few feet away from us and right next to some people on the bus they began to sing, preach, and cry out stories of pain and punishment they had received and how turning to God had saved them.

I really have endured many a loud music bus but the sound of a mega-phone on a stripped down bus (which really has nothing more than metal that the sound reverberates off) of was deafening. I had my fingers in my ears as did many of the Salvadorans (which I had never seen before). I told Melissa I think I need to tell them that if they don’t cover up the loudspeaker with a shirt or something to dull the sound, they might find many of God’s children deaf from their own message. However a older Salvadoran man beat me to the punch to ask them not to use the mega-phone, which is a big deal many Salvadorans are genuinely to polite at the cost of their ears or other discomforts. Nonetheless he was blown off by the group much to the chagrin of myself and other passengers who asked him of their response.

Our stop couldn’t come quick enough that day and we found ourselves talking with a Salvadoran along our walk about the frequency of these experiences. We have encountered evangelicals before, and in fact I have close evangelical friends both here in El Salvador and in the US, yet my concern is how religion was being ¨sold¨ on that bus much like other commercial items. People have also come house to house in our community selling everything from kitchen needs, towels, and pictures often in the name of God or some other religious sect. I have spoken to several evangelicals as they have passed by our community in large groups visiting each house talking to anyone who will listen about God. I experienced this before in the states but to me it seems even more connected to commercialism here in El Salvador.

Top 10 reasons outdoor showers are better

10. There’s no echo when you sing

9. The beautiful views

8. You can clean your flip-flops at the same time

7. You can talk to your neighbors while bathing

6. If you shower at night you can look at the stars

5. You can get a tan while you shower

4. You can clean dishes while you shower

3. Don’t waste as much water

2. The sun and the wind dry you off before you can grab your towel

1. If you need to go to the bathroom, you don’t have to go far

Getting back to simplicity

At many times in our lives we can feel ¨off¨ or unbalanced which often speaks of a need for refocusing in order to reenergize ourselves. Melissa and I had been feeling this way for quite some time now, at least dating back to sometime last October, for a variety of reasons. We had spent a good amount of time with family between November and January which was the good stuff, and we also have been sick on and off (most on for me) in addition with extending our temporary residency both of which have brought us back to the city more times than we would have liked. Interruptions in our routine as well as the inability to create new routines for ourselves have bubbled into feelings of ¨what am I doing here¨ and ¨am I valuable?¨. When we look at these questions through the lenses of accomplishments the answers can be pretty grim. Yet when we refocus and look at ourselves in terms of positive relationships developed and other non-measurable evolutions that have taken place within ourselves and the community we begin to see our place and our value.

It has gone without saying for me that I have tried for the last several years to simplify my life in terms of materialism and needs both with and without success. Melissa has also jumped onboard this journey with me and together we are proud to say that we feel the journey is worth more than the arrival. The fact is that we are continually ready to adjust our lifestyles so that we will improve our ability to support, help, and connect with the poor in this world. I had mentioned before that we have been keeping track of our daily spending because 1) we don’t receive a lot and need to spend it wisely and 2) we have felt it is important to feel what the struggle of families who are living on minimum wage or less. During this last month we cut down our spending to nearly 12 dollars a day between the two of us (That includes all spending: food, transportation, water, electricity, cleaning supplies, money to call home or in using computers, and other desired goods.) A smart person could say that we were just living off of all the food our parents had brought to fatten us up, yet one cannot live on peanut butter and chocolate alone… or can they?

Jokes aside how we spend our money is only a small part of simplicity, other areas really have do with practicing compassion both within ourselves and towards others. We have a tendency to complicate our lives even here in El Salvador, so I am reminded of the words from the Dhammapada, a collection of important teachings from the Buddha:

Live in Joy

Live in Joy, In love,
Even among those who hate.

Live in joy, In health,
Even among the afflicted.

Live in joy, In peace,
Even among the troubled.

Look within. Be still.
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the sweet joy of living in the way.

~

There is no fire like greed,
No crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation,
No sickness like hunger of heart,
And no joy like the joy of freedom.

Health, contentment and trust
Are your greatest possessions,
And freedom your greatest joy.

Look within. Be still.
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the sweet joy of living in the way.

Good times! (in January)

How quickly time passes! Another apology is due for the lack of blog writing….this one is a little overdue!!

January was full of activity as we spent time with our families, who made the trip out here to El Salvador to see what we are up to. Tom’s mom and aunt arrived on January 17^th, the day before the arrival of my dad and brother. While Tom and I went to the airport to pick up Jude and Wes, Marge and Jeanie got to spend the day in San Salvador, touring some of the historical parts with Sue (who is a ball of energy). Wes and Jude arrived in San Salvador on time, Jude was dressed in pants and a long-sleeve shirt, which he immediately took off, because he realized it would be a hot week in El Salvador. We climbed into the double cab Datsun pick-up that belongs to CRISPAZ, tied down the luggage and were off to go. We hadn’t even left the parking lot and they were thinking about taking pictures. The ride to the office was filled with chit-chat, questions and amazement.

Once at the office we did the proper introductions, tour of the office, picked up Marge and Jeanie, repacked and we were off. We spent the first four days of the trip in our community. We did lots of visiting with our old host-family, ate Quesadillas at Esperanza´s house; (the lady who makes the Quesadillas, which were a big hit), played softball a couple of times, Luis and Tita played some live ranchero music for us, Wes got drunk at the Cuban Bar in Suchitoto and Jeanie almost got married, took a bus to San Martin (which Jude and Wes couldn’t stop talking about for days, in fact it was Wes’ highlight for the trip), shopped in the market, and of course toured the clinic and the school.

We crammed a lot of stiff within a few days and probably could have used more time for everything, but we needed to move on to different parts of the country. We then went to Joya de Ceren, an archeological site that was accidentally discovered in 1976, from there we moved east. We ended up staying in San Vicente, a larger town with very strange hotel options that will not be mentioned in this blog. In the morning we headed to the Pacific Ocean and El Espino beach. It is in our opinion the most beautiful beach in El Salvador. We arrived on Wed and only had 2 days left before Jude and Wes were due to fly out. We enjoyed the time we had at the beach, relaxed, drank some beer and did some swimming.

After my side of the family left we spent a couple of more days in El Salvador before traveling to Antigua, Guatemala. We had four days with great food, shopping and relaxing while we were there. Tom and Jeanie did extreme cables while we visited Panajachel and had a blast. After our time in Antigua we sent Jeanie and Marge on their way and we headed back home to El Salvador.

The trip went by rather quick, but we were glad to share this experience with our family. We hope that they will want to come back and visit us again!!!

Picture Page

Picture page
It's picture page
It's time for Tom and Melissa's picture page
It's time to bring your mouse and your keyboard

Picture page
It's picture page
It's time for Tom and Melissa's picture page
It's time for Tom and Melissa to share their picture page with you!

www.rhubarbdessert.com/gallery

(from Bill Cosby's picture page song for those of you old enough to remember it)

We have put together a family website with the help of Tom's brother Tony and you may view updated pictures of us and our community at least monthly, sometimes more often.

www.rhubarbdessert.com/gallery

Bienvenidas/os Santa Cruz Delegation y Que les vaya bien!

New Years was spent on a different level, Tom got sick with parasites a few days before so he was on medication and his body was physically exhausted. Therefore Tom was in bed by 9pm while I was again at the Arili´s house for the dance (yes another dance), however it just wasn't the same without Tom so I went home rather early. We were in bed by 11:30 and that's how we spent the New Years. A group of our neighbors from the community however used the still brilliant light from the moon to walk to each of the communities singing songs all night long, some of them did not sleep at all that night.

The day before New Years a delegation from Lutheran and Presbyterian churches in Santa Cruz, CA arrived in our community. We had heard lots about this group from various people in our community and we were excited to meet a group who had been coming to our community for the past 10 years. They were scheduled to eat breakfast everyday at Arili’s the week they were in the community. So every morning Tom and I would wake up bright and early to help Arili serve breakfast for the 22 people (21 + the interpreter Brenda). Unlike other delegations that have come through our community this group spent a majority of a week in the Ciudadela, giving them time to connect with many people, including ourselves. We found that we were not only helping with breakfast but also trying to spend time with them during the day. Throughout the week we noticed from their strong presence in the community that we had much to learn from them. Those who have been coming for years have developed very close relationships with people from our community.

This particular delegation supports AMUDESCO, particularly paying the salary of the doctor and the health promoters for the majority of the year, if not all. Without this group from Santa Cruz I don’t know financially where the clinic would be. They also support the school, providing scholarships that include school supplies and uniforms for a number of students. Recently they also have started supporting some of the graduates to continue to study in college. Needless to say, we had a fantastic week with them; they left us with a lot of inspiration, hope and energy to continue the work that we do.

As I finish this long rambling blog, I hope I am not boring too many of you. I hope that many of you are able to connect with an organization, church, or start a group of your own, to see what role you can play in the developing countries that most need your help. The options are as limitless as your ambitions, and for those of you interested more in Santa Cruz you may visit the following link:

http://www.santacruzalsalvador.org/

Posted by Melissa and Tom

Christmas tiddings (and writings)

This Christmas we enjoyed in our community with close friends and people who are practically family. We were invited to 2 celebrations on the 24th and 2 on the 25th. The 24th was spent eating lunch at Arili and Mauricio's with all of their immediate and some more distant family. In all we were around 25 people, many of whom we knew well from the Ciudadela, but all of which we spent some time chatting with throughout the afternoon. The picture shows Arili, Claudia, and Alexander (two of her children). Supper was a date at Luis and Wilma´s (Luis who teaches Tom guitar and Wilma (his wife) is a member of AMUDESCO with Melissa), and the two children of Wilma and her father. We had visited them before and enjoyed returning as they all have a little spunk and plenty of energy. We walked home that near full moon night to join in the DJ dance at Arili and Mauricio's. The 25^th (which here in El Salvador is not celebrated as much as the 24^th) was spent visiting a few neighbors in the morning and the family of Nena (Gloria’s oldest daughter) and her family in the afternoon, eating nearly everywhere we went. For both of us this was our first Christmas away from family and friends, whom we did miss terribly, and unfortunately the season just didn’t feel the same. Nonetheless we felt content in our environment and were happy to be able to celebrate with other families to experience holidays here. But oh how I miss those Christmas goodies!! I went the whole season without gaining a pound….now that is sad.

We baked banana bread and gave those loaves to 13 families who live near us, or with those whom we’ve developed special relationships. We hope that the small gift we were able to give warmed their hearts in the way they have welcomed and warmed a place in ours. We received many warm thanks and grateful responses but hoped that they felt our appreciation for each of them that is sometimes difficult to express. A interesting difference to us was that none of the families we visited placed presents under trees and many of them did not exchange presents at all. While lack of money is certainly part of a reason for this fact, those that we visited seemed to look foreword to certain foods and family time as well. We understand that air in our community had a different spirit of Christmas feeling to it. One that at times seemed to be expressed in a sad pause of realizing this day was as much of a struggle as any other.

One such example was that upon arriving we learned that Nena was not able to celebrate Christmas due to no money for gifts, food etc.. We invited Nena, Walter, Gabby, Juan Carlos and Carolina to have lunch at our house a few days after Christmas. It was eminent how appreciative they were of the meal we had given them (pasta, chicken nuggets and garlic bread) and stated that they had not had that variety of food in a long time. So, giving them a variety from their typical beans and rice was our Christmas present to them and their happiness and appreciation was their offering to share with us.

Our christmas coffee tree

Posted by Melissa and Tom