The big surprise and historical no less...

I have to believe that sometimes things happen for a reason... and you will soon find out why. I knew that since we have outings on Saturdays that this holiday of Shavuot was probably my chance to visit El Salvador´s only synagogue in San Benito. I can´t tell you how many excuses I came up with as to why going to services last night was just not in the stars besides the fact that my usual taxis were not next to where I live, the heavens had let loose and the downpour despite my raincoat had left me soaking wet. Alas an empty taxi did appear and even if his $6 charge seemed a bit high, it was worth it to get out of the rain and not deal with a crowded bus that would take me to who knows where. The half hour drive gave me some time to airdry especially since there were closed streets due to the OAS conference in town and main thoroughfares were more congested than usual. I arrived to a more than usual couple guards in front of the designated address and there was also a police force of 6 in addition to an Israeli secret service guy. I thought maybe there had been a bomb threat and I should just stay in the car and go back. I asked the driver to wait while I checked out the situation and since he had offered to pick me up, I also needed to verify a time. The plain clothesman asked me where I was from, what my intentions were... etc. and I explained that I had emailed someone named Fernando. I apologized for being early and they eventually did let me in. I was the first to arrive but then a couple gentlemen entered followed by the young Rabbi ' who I would later find out is from Argentina and whose first pulpit was in Cuba and then he came to this congregation... His wife greeted me and invited me to light candles with her. People slowly trickled in and they welcomed me with handshakes. A gentleman sat down next to me and we started conversing in Spanish and when he asked me where I was from, he responded that maybe we could speak in English. I spoke about our group´s adventures and he said he was at the US embassy. I shared our embassy vist with him and our surprise about the less than 1% of US foreign aid. He spoke of the highway project and others and my response was that that was the least we could do. BTW I know in my mind that that highway in the North is not for the people but for importing foreign business... We also spoke about the gang issues and safety. His reactions to my comments interested me and I asked him what his title was at the embassy. Well I was sitting next to the Chief Director of Mission, Robert Blau , no less. Go Google.

As we were talking the Rabbi´s wife was taping RESERVED signs on the 3 rows of chairs in front of me. Robert informed me that I had chosen he right night to be at services since the Israeli FOreign Minister Ayalon and his entire delegation and the Iraeli ambassador to El Salvador would be in attendance. Ayalon was here due to his role as a OAS observer and would speak to us.

This was the first time since 1959 and Prime Minister Golda Maeir had visited that someone of this stature had visited here. WOW.

Services would be extra special. Some melodies were different but then there were the old standbys. It was neat to read the verse in Spanish although the majority of the service was in Hebrew. Foreign Minister Ayalon delivered a very articulate speech regarding Israel´s past and its role in today´s world. A very nice dairy reception followed. What a treat! One just never knows what an adventure will bring...

Tuesday On to the Volcano Boqueron... and a big surprise!

After languages classes today and a minimal time for lunch we opted to have Wendy's delivered. Now you try ordering 7 people's orders over the phone and explaining where you are located.

Even with Veronica, the Spanish class coordinator's help the procedure took 20 minutes and about that same amount of time for the delivery via motorcycle. Everybody was thrilled to have US fast food. It wasn't their first fix but it was mine.

Our afternoon's cultural activity took us to Boqueron where we visited the 1920's coffee plantation with a beautiful view where we enjoy our cafecitos con postres amidst the gorgeous tropical plantings and then continued on to the volcano park. Unfortunately time did not allow for ziplining over the plantation. DRATS but impressive volcano awaited us. We opted for the easy trail and that was enough of a hike for our group but the views that awaited us were well worth it. We even watched the clouds envelope the volcano. The cooler temps were also a delight. Unfortunately I couldn't transport the beautiful raspberries the local women were selling as they would arrived home squished.BOO

I have inserted Raisa's Volcano blog entry here regarding this outing ... ENJOY
Volcano
"Hola! This is Raisa and I will be talking about my favorite experience that I have had on this trip.
When I woke up today and looked out the window at the large green, partly hidden by clouds, volcano out my window, I was ready. I was a little nervous at first because I, for some reason, thought that it would be really hot up there, but I was wrong.
We started our adventure by traveling in a van for an hour or so up the side, the curvy road side, of the volcano. I fell asleep for the first part of the drive, no surprise there. We eventually arrived at this coffee plantation/ plant where we had the chance to see how coffee was originally made, the process that it went through, and enjoy a cup ourselves. Many of us had either the coffee shake or cappuccino shake, which were both delicious. We also spent time taking photographs and enjoying the scenery, which was amazing.

I really think that a few of us were able to take a deep breath and relax. Some were disappointed because there was a zip line that they were not able to go on because of time constraints, but in my opinion I think that the volcano would have been better. Maybe I just say that to not feel bad about not going on the zip line.
On the rest of the drive up the mountain, which was about fifteen to twenty-five minutes, the scenery was great. We saw coffee plants and a few of us commented that the trees and scenery almost looked like they belonged in Africa. When we reached the top of the mountain it was so nice! And when I say nice I mean it was nice and cool, which was amazingly refreshing! At first we couldn´t really see anything because what appeared to be fog was surrounding us. We later found out what it really was.
We took the easy path up the mountain, which didn´t really matter because the forestry and plants were breathtaking. The forest was lush, green, fertile, and eerie. Like one of those old movies where someone is traveling through the woods and you are expecting something to happen. Many of us took this advantage to take some photos of the shrubbery. But what really was amazing was when we reached the top of the volcano. We looked into the pit, which looked like we were looking down a mountain, and it was amazing.

It was lush on the inside because the volcano is dormant and it has been over fifty years since it erupted. What we thought was fog at the start turned out to be clouds, to our delight! We were literally in the clouds while at the volcano. A few of us took this opportunity to video tape the experience of seeing the clouds moving right around us. It was just breathtaking and words cannot describe it.

For me this was by far my favorite part of the trip so far. I really felt at peace up there and the only thing I could have asked for was possibly a hammock up there to sit and just enjoy the cool air, forest, and be even more at peace. I think many of us really enjoyed the experience of going up the volcano!" -Raisa

Well our excursion ended just in time as a rainy season downpour greeted us home only to drench us. The evening held quite a surprise for me... you will have to check out the next entry to find out about a very eventful historic evening... - karen

San Luis Los Ranchos Women's Co-op in Comasagua

We've come a long way baby... isn't true all over as the women of a Comasagua pueblo tucked away in the hills after the cobblestone road turns into dirt can attest. Even if some funding exists to allow for a project, many women face the old stereotypes of not being allowed to leave the home to both socialize and work since their role should be child rearing and taking care of their husband. Many groups fail for this reason but in the village of San Luis Los Ranchos we witnessed another success story where a CIS staff had a dream and helped the village women membership grow from 20 to 48 today and achieve certification to become a co-op. The indigo project we experienced is the process of boiling the anil(indigo)plant, letting it settle in another container until there is a mudlike sediment to gather which will then be allowed to dry. Then, when the indigo dye is needed, it is shaved off and added to hot water and mixed into the large dipping vat. The group tie dye's clothing and sells these products. It's very important to understand the historical significance of this plant as it was one of the crops besides coffee that colonization raped from the people and the land...

For the future the co-op would eventually like to cultivate their own indigo plants which are not grown in this region. The big project right now is the women utilizing their 20 foot pedal sewing machines after landing a local school uniform contract at the largest school in Comasagua for 800.

A new government initiative to provide low income children with uniforms allows them to attend school. This initiative also wants the uniforms to be produced locally, not by big companies. Thus work is provided for these poor communities. A win - win proposition.

We were introduced to village scholarship recipients who our language institute help sponsor and some of the co-op women. They are all so proud of their achievements and shared with us how their self worth has grown and how much this this comradery means to them. Maybe we can all take a lesson in community building...

San Rafael Cedros Youth Gardening Project...

Today we got down and dirty... in a garden (huerto) that is! San Rafael Cedros youth

who receive scholarships to continue their educations have started an organic vegetable garden and today we got to be extra hands for them as we weeded together. OK Erica raked.

I have to admit that we didn't last that long due to the heat but we did move some weeds, raked and even harvested radishes. At lunch the radishes were sliced and we got to taste them Salvadoran style with lime juice and salt. (Grant would have loved the salt container.) The college members had made a video of their garden project and we shared their pride in what they have helped the 28 members achieve.

To name just a couple of the things I learned was how to lure pests into 'trampas.' These trampas were made of yellow plastic attached to two sticks at the end of each row. Honey was spread on the plastic and the bugs attracted to the color then stuck to the plastic.

Very clever. * come to think of it aren't those chemical pest stips in the hardware stores yellow? Another interesting garden feature was planting 4 bamboo poles per row after post holing digging holes to help hold the tomato plants from falling over. SOOOO much better than those dumb tomato cages that we use.
After Kacie's phenomenal thank you for lunch, gardening visit and program, we stopped en route home at a much cooler scenic overview. Besides the welcomed cooler temps, Kacie was interviewed by some youth videotaping regarding her impressions of El Salvador. Yes she is famosa!

Tomorrow we are back on the road around early for another field trip... Vengan con nosotros.

Thursday's cultural activity...

Thursday's cultural activity involved watching HIJOS de la GUERRA, Sons of the War. This video specifically dealt with the gang who calls themselves MS-13 and the humongous gang warfare problem here in El Salvador. In a recent newspaper poll this is one of the biggest concerns besides economy for the Salvadorans. The history of the gangs and their future is very disturbing. Guerrilla trained kids, many orphaned from the civil war made their way to L.A. where life didn't become easier as difficulties arose due to language and schooling besides being targets of their Mexican schoolmates. They joined with their fellow Salvadorans to form their own gang MS-13 to empower themselves. As they would be arrested by US police after various infractions and found to be undocumented, they were deported to their motherland. Upon returning, they couldn't find jobs as they were not welcomed due to their changed speech, clothing and mannerisms but they were also covered in very obvious tattoos. So back to the gang world that they knew all too well and MS-13 grew and continues growing reaching 100,000 members worldwide.

Wednesday, June 2

The Museum of the Word is actually a mobile museum and has relatively few visitors to its building in comparison to its outreach. Tapes, manuscripts,videos, artifacts have all been saved from the war years and not necessarily archived from the 30's on. There are actually 9 rotating exhibitions and yesterday we were introduced to two of El Salvador's favorite authors Salarrue and Roque Dalton. Salarrue wrote about imaginary worlds and used made up languages and Dalton was known as a revolutionary poet.

One room was set up as a clandestine radio station. Don Oscar, our afternoon cultural activities director, shared an interesting anecdote.

Apparently the US planted a large ship off the coast to interfere with the radio's transmissions. The campesinos wondered why this ship could stop these broadcasts... they were told that sound waves go up and out.... so these so called 'uneducated' peasants suggested to move the radio sound waves horizontally by having them travel along the wires of their property fences... the US Colonel in charge was furious that these peasants had outsmarted him and he denied their radio's existence saying that these programs were now being sent from Nicaragua. He also made it his personal mission to destroy the people's radio center.

SO the peasants planted a set up by trashing the transmitter, sprinkling the area with chicken's blood and planting a bomb within the transmitter with 2 different ways of imploding (one via a change of altitude or by 2 different hand-held controls. The Colonel was so proud of completing the mission that he wouldn't let his men touch the scene and ordered them to let him bring back the proof. He called a press conference and invited not only the media but dignitaries including some area priests. Once gathered the Colonel took off in his helicopter to retrieve the transmitter and as you probably figured out as soon as his helicopter took off with the transmitter and reached a certain altitude kaboom... It makes one wonder why the US had its nose in this war, doesn't it? We watched a video of testimonials of survivors of the 1932 Civil War called 'Scars of the War.' Visually this video put all the history that we have been hearing about into pictures and personalized the devastation of an indigenous peasant population.

Well we all experienced our first city bus ride to and from the museum without being hassled and know now how most people travel daily.

Half the group took advantage of a free symphonic concert in the National Theater in the evening and even rode the bus downtown at rush hour with one of our host Moms. We are becoming seasoned travelers. We were treated to an avant-garde composition and a piece by Strauss by the Symphony. The theater was magnificent with copper embellishments and a hand painted ceiling at which we couldn't help gawking.

We were introduced to the conductor and had a pic taken together. Very KEWL.

We were back home by 7:30 so nobody missed their 'cena' (dinner). I had a traditional dinner of fried plaintains, fresh cheese, sour cream, refried beans and tortilla (Salvadorans tortillas are fatter than what we are used to) What a full day both gastronomically and historically !

Halfway ...

Today marks our 2 week anniversary since we left La Crosse. Our emotions have zoomed up and down as we have been dealt situations out of our comfort zone including a variety of physical ailments. Our group is acclimating to their variety of home stays. In fact we have initiated group hugs just for 'those' moments when we need a little extra support.

I for example am in a home with 2 lawyers. Due to the cost of transportation the father of the family is now working from home. The family has 2 little ones, 5 and 2. (It's a good thing Sam's Kylie had already conditioned me to the high pitch squealing.) It's fun talking to the kids and they love the extra attention and gives the family a bit of a break.

The family actually lives in 2 apartments and an intern and I both have bedrooms in one apt with our own bathroom. There is a sitting area but we eat breakfast and dinner in the family's apartment as we are just separated by a patio. I think my room is 7x9 which allows enough space for a bed, chair and rollaway storage/closet area. It proves that one doesn't need a lot of space and now makes my Viterbo office area seem humongous. This arrangement also allows for a little privacy. We have had one evening without water but fortunately it was back on the following day allowing for a shower. Today we are blessed with a cool breeze but our pores have really been working hard. The humidity of the rainy season combined with the heat has been a big adjustment to us Wisconsinites. Showers albeit cold are always a highlight to any day's end.

Today our afternoon program has us heading to El Museo de la Palabra ( Museum of the Word ) We'll let you know what that word is...