One Year Later

Looking back through my blog, my first post was written on the 22nd of September. It's hard to believe how fast this year went by. My stay in El Salvador has impacted me in more ways than I could know and being back in the states - back home - it still weighs heavy on my mind every day in the way I view my surroundings and how I assess my own happiness.

I meant to write a note after I returned home, but for the longest time I simply couldn't. How can I begin to put into words my feelings and experiences, let alone explain them in a coherent way that gives meaning to these words. I feel different and changed, and at the same time, I still feel like the same Kellen from before I left. I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to extend my experience and I feel so humbled to have learned in an environment that is so different from what I was and am used to. I'm appreciative of the language acquisition and confident about my future. Today my life is in place, more than ever before. I know what I want to do and I am on my way to achieving my goals. It feels great.

Needless to say 18 days went by very fast. My last post was a little over 6 months ago, and I have been in Flagstaff now for about five months which is a lot when compared to the eight months I spent down in Central America.

I returned home and was happy to see my family, my dog, my friends, my culture.. but the transition was also hard. I got really sick in May and spent a few days in the hospital to which the doctors never assigned a cause; although, I attribute it to the change in diet. After I got back I started working at Baskin Robbins, my job from high school. It's strange for me to have worked there for so long (I started my Junior year) because it has served as a constant throughout all my change and development. My coworkers are like my second family. It's nice to know I have something stable in my life to lean on . . . even if that stability happens to be Baskin Robbins.

At first I was discouraged. How could I come back to the "real" world to serve ice cream in a sector of the economy that I deem unnecessary? After seeing the impoverished countryside of El Salvador and experiencing first hand the shortage and contamination of water in this "developing" nation, how could I stand an eight hour shift watching the dipper wells constantly pump out fresh water, watching it drain down the sink. The amount of trash accumulated from cups and napkins, and all this waste of resources so that the American customer can consume an overpriced cup of ice cream that isn't even healthy for them. I came to a critical decision, realizing that in order to be at peace with myself I had to view each culture differently and although it felt to me that I was justifying an evil so that I could sleep at night, I couldn't have continued down that one way road for I would've eventually been drowned in endless thought and still unable to take action. . .

One thought that simply resonated with every step in my home country was that of inequality. How could the world be so unfair? How can societies and people justify the gross boundaries that separate each and every one of us from each other, and other groups of people. The degradation of others, and the prejudice and hate stabbed at me tearing at an already open wound.. for the states are no where near perfect and for every step towards equality we have taken, there exists an inequality and discrimination in our very own backyard, something I may have been less aware of in the past. Perhaps naïve.

How can I continue without mentioning privilege? Suddenly my life became a reflection of all that I have taken for granted, and I felt ashamed and sad for my depreciation. The memories of faces and places, etched so deeply into my brain, started to flit into my waking vision. It didn't take much conviction for me to take upon a sense of responsibility. However I have now come to realize that this, too, is unhealthy. I can not blame myself for the social status I was born into. Whether it be the Creator, destiny, or pure coincidence, I was granted the liberties and privileges I was, and it's time to make good use of them.

As I was struggling to keep my head above water, revelation and a wake up call came to me mid July when I took off two weeks from work to go down to Tucson, Arizona, and volunteer with a local NGO called No Más Muertes (No More Deaths) that aims to end migrant deaths on the U.S./Mexcio border. This reminder showed me that there is a lot that I can do. Let me take a moment to share a quote by Dr. Tom Dooley that is one of my new favorites (thanks Brennen:p)

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do, and what I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do."

In Tucson, I spent a week sleeping on the desert floor, clad in a snug sleeping bag and protected from the rain and scorpions with my tent that, in this case, served as another sign of privilege as I thought of the hundreds of migrants who make the long journey through the Sonoran desert in a less comfortable manner. No More Deaths does not condone the illegal entry of migrants through the desert; however, as a humanitarian aid group, they do condem the abuse of said illegals by the abhorrent Border Control service and seek to provide basic human rights necessities to those who wander the desert. The migrant trails, which NMD has spent years tracking and mapping, are assessed for high trafficking and various "water drops" have been established at major intersections or markers. Here gallons of water and cans of beans are usually left in hopes that they will save a life. NMD runs these volunteer sessions during the hottest months of the year (May to September) and July was about as hot as it gets in Arizona, which (with the exception of Flagstaff) is HOT. At base camp, about 20 people camp out at any time. Of course every volunteer has their own story and amount of time volunteering, and it was refreshing to see so many faces who care just as much as I do about this issue. Although we were not all there for the same reasons, we were all of same heart, and that kind of connection is rare to find in a social setting. Bird Camp (as it's called) is an oasis in the desert, near the town of Arivaca.

A quick explanation of what we did. Everyday we rose with the sun and cooked breakfast. The day was split into two portions: morning and afternoon. We would split into small teams of at least three, making sure each group was equipped with a Spanish interpretor and a medically trained person in the event of crossing paths with migrants (which happens rarely). Groups would further split into patrols, drop-offs, or one group would hold the fort. Patrols consisted of walking the trails with food and water in search for migrants to aid, usually leaving gallons of water along the trail. Drop-offs meant going to one of the designated water drop-off areas and noting if the water is moving, if Border Patrol has vandalised said water (some times we would find bullet holes through them, or find them slashed), or if there is no activity in the area; indicators to the traffic (if any) that is moving through a particular area. I could go on for ages about this experience, but I would like to summarise and mention that this was some of the most difficult and trying work I have ever done. To see and experience the migrant trails first hand was beyond words. The trails are decorated with trash, water bottles, cans of food, I even saw a baby doll and bottle which broke my heart. The topic of immigration is one of the most controversial in the states in our current day, and although I'm sure you all could surmise my stance, I want this to be less political and focus on the human emotion generated. We can argue about the logistics of immigration and solutions for hours but the reality is thousands of people cross the U.S. border every day for an array of reasons that are so specific and unique -- just like every single person that makes the journey -- that we simply cannot generalise or place a stereotype on any one individual crossing the desert. The important point I'm trying to make is that every human has basic human rights which include alimentation and survival, something that is negated to these immigrants once border patrol picks them up for deportation. NMD has really grown in many parts due to this branch of the police force that was only introduced to the border in the late 90s after Operation: Hold The Line and similar bills began to be passed in order to counteract the influx of new migrants.

The second week I spent in Nogales, Arizona which is only partially in Arizona, and primarily in the state of Sonora, Mexico. When I first arrived in the city I was overwhelmed with feelings. It was out of a storybook. To my left, winding down the last bit of Interstate 19, lay Nogales, Arizona, an american town aligned with large houses with driveways, McDonalds and Wendy's with the only discrepancy being that Spanish was much more prevalent than English in the street signs as well as the dialogue in the streets. However different, it was nothing in comparison to what lay to the right. A giant wall that has been in the development for over a decade divides the town in two. Behind the barred, jail-resembling fence, the bright colours of Mexico danced on houses and shops that stood crammed together along the busy streets. The clash of cultures could not be more apparent. Walking down International Street, you pass a Border Patrol car with every step and the wall beats down on you as a very real reminder of your boundaries. To enter into Mexico we simply showed our passports and walked across at the gate. Getting back in took a much longer time and was much more drawn out. In Nogales, Sonora, NMD works out of a bus depot. This bus service works at providing newly deportees free bus rides south to major cities and states in Mexico. This service is not subsidised, but run from the wallets and sweaty backs of a local Mexican family. NMD sets up and gives free phone calls to these deportees so they may contact families and friends. Many times they arrive back in Mexico without I.D. or money. Many are not even Mexicans, but Hondurans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, etc. who are literally stranded in this border town. Northern Mexico is the most dangerous part as well, due solely to the proximity to the border. Juarez and Tijuana (Texas and California border respectively) are the most famous areas where drug trafficking is obvious, but it is a problem across all 2,000 miles of international boundary.



. Nogales Border


. More wall

As a part of NMD I facilitated in giving phone calls to deportees, but more than anything I just sat and listened to their stories. It's often important to talk about their traumatic experience and I sat there for hours in the sun, hanging on to every word. One man had lived in Tempe the past 11 years and we laughed about restaurants we have both eaten at. This trip brought a face to immigration for me and I felt deeply moved to see a side we often hear nothing of in the states. NMD also reports on Border Patrol abuse, and unfortunately there are many cases that must be processed every day.

Returning home to Flagstaff, I decided there was a lot I could do to still be active, and I got in touch with the Murdoch community center and arranged to take over the ESL class on tuesday nights, which I have been teaching now since the 16th of August.

August 1st I started my second job at NAU in the office of financial aid in the scholarship department. I moved out of my parents' home June 15th to a small apartment/duplex downtown with a couple friends from high school. The rest of August I spent working. Between the two jobs I worked 40-60 hours a week, which felt great when I was able to pay off school charges (after my scholarships covered the majority) and pay rent!

School started Aug. 29th. I am surprised at how interesting most of my classes are and how well I am able to engage in these classes. I'm taking 17 hours (5 courses) and still working my two jobs (about 25 hours a week between the two) so I'm almost always busy but I'm enjoying it. It keeps me focused.

I have declared my major as Secondary education with an emphasis in Spanish and French. I'm debating between sociology and Latin American studies for a minor. We'll see.

I'm taking the following courses: Spanish 301: Advanced Grammar. French 101. Maths 102 (Algebra). History 280: Colonial Latin America (by far my most engaging and interesting class). and Politics 201 (an intro course).

It's a lot of work but I like it. French was (...is) very hard for me but I'm starting to get a better flow of it now that we've started learning verbs and the present tense. It's very similar to English and also Spanish. My friend said it's Spanish mispronounced which half of the time I would agree with, but it's a really beautiful language too. I probably spend the most time studying french but it's paid off (all A's on my three tests so far!)


To reflect and conclude, this year has been immense in the sense of how much I have done and experienced. I have grown a lot I believe and while every day I miss El Salvador, I know it's still there waiting for me. I probably skype with my host family once every few weeks and I look forward to every time we spend hours talking to each other. I couldn't have been luckier in having an amazing family to watch over me. I miss them terribly.

I'm glad I started school in the spring (even though I wasn't so happy at the time) because I'm also almost done with my liberal course studies. A few summer classes and I'll be back on track with my peers. With my specialty in Spanish I have been talking to International Exchange Advisors and I'm applying to study abroad for the 2012-13 academic year in Granada, Spain. I would love to make that my goal and keep working towards that, but I'm also taking a moment to appreciate Flagstaff. I've been staying over at my parents occasionally during weekends and living in the now.


Thank you for reading this and supporting me and being in my life. I couldn't keep going if I didn't know the love and support that I had in every single one of you.

I can't believe it's been over a year since I left for El Salvador. I can't wait to see what this year has in store.










My host family and me


My host sister






My dog and I in Flag

eighteen.

My class in order: Nora, Anderson, Elsi, Me, Fátima, Ignacio, and Marvin


My nurse/doctor Cindy, and me this past week


Last weekend at the beach picking mangos with Mauricio and hanging out with his cousins.


The mangos we picked at the beach!




Eighteen.

Eighteen is the number of days I have left here.

Reflecting back, my experience has been incredible. I have learned so much, encountered new ideas and beliefs, conversed with amazing people and pushed the boundaries of my views beyond the Coconino Forest boundaries.

I am not ready to make my way to the airport, and board that plane just yet, but I'm just trying to keep that in the back of my mind. When I shuttle out of El Salvador on the 6th, I'll stay the night in Guatemala City and fly out the following day. I'm going to land in Miami on the 7th and spend the next six days with my Aunt and Uncle, before I board my flight home on the 13th to Phoenix. Having a plan is comforting and depressing at the same time.

Here, life has been great. The CIS cycle ended in the first week of March and we had a great graduation. Me and my class are really close and we all feel like a big family, we have been able to keep hanging out since classes ended. My students..

(in no particular order)

First there's Elsi. I know I shouldn't have favorites, but she'd be one of them. She has excellent English and is the class clown, or one of them. She's in her 30s and is a mom of two little girls, but she's very full of herself and concerned with superficiality. She doesn't own a single pair of sneakers, or flat sandals for that matter. Her heels always match her shirt and she wears a ton of make up. She has a ridiculous laugh that matches her sense of humor and carefree nurture. Through all of the sillyness she can be very serious and some times she acts like her 13 year old daughter, but it's funny.

Next there's Anderson. He's a chef in training in his early 30s as well and an insanely hard worker. He lives really close to me and we hang out a lot outside of class, he's one of my best friends here. We cook a lot and every sunday we go out to eat pupusas with his roommates. Sometimes we play basketball with the group or run errands. He vends fruit and eggs and such in the market and is always getting up at the crack of dawn to work, spending the day in his cooking school and studying or cooking in his free time. Crazy.

Fátima. She, Anderson and Elsi were all in my advanced class last semester and then conversation this year. Fátima is very tranquila and one of the nicest people I've met. She is a vegetarian hippy (also in her 30s) with a husband, and two baby boys. They own a cyber café and have plans to start a library in their house for the neighbor kids to use. Fati has a great heart, and is easy to talk to, she can relate to me and she always has good insight. She is a hard worker, and always overachieved in class.

Ignacio, or Nacho as they call him, is a 19 year old university student who's English could be better than mine (not sure why I'm teaching class..) He's a physics major and is insanely smart. He's hilarious and brings a good mood to the class. We hadn't hung out during the cycle but now that it's ended we've been playing soccer and such. He's a good guy.

Nora Canales. Nora is a delicate older lady in her 60s+ who's spanish is just as hard to understand as her english. She has lived a really cool life and is very involved in her church and the promotion of youth. She too, has a great sense of humor and is very grandmotherly towards everyone in the class.

Marvin...he is our class clown, he works late and arrives at the halfway mark of class. His conversation skills are great and he is always making everyone laugh. We made a video for the final presentation and he was the star.


My class has been great, it was awesome to see their english improve and get to know every one of them. So what's been going on this week --> Tues – Fri a medical brigade from Buffalo, New York was here and Ignacio, Fátima, Me, Elsi, and Nora, (and an advanced student Alvaro) all spent these days working for them as translators.

The days were long, we would leave San Salvador at 7am and arrive around 6pm. Each day we journeyed to a different area of the country, many cantones (small rural towns) with a high poverty rate and inaccessibility to medicine, potable water, or doctors. I worked with this nurse who was born in Jamaica, lived in England, and finally came to NY later on. Her name was Cindy and she briefly convinced me to follow the medicine career. I worked as her interpretor translating between her and the patients. It was an incredible experience! It felt like a cultureshock within a cultureshock at times.. but really beautiful. We all got paid 30$ a day which was great as well. We would arrive in between 8 and 930 and set up shop, work til about 12, take a 45 minute break for lunch, which was provided, and then work the afternoon until 3 or 4 when we would pack up and head home. It was interesting to be surrounded by a bunch of gringos again, who weren't accustomed to the Salvadoran life, or the country's history/reality. Yesterday after we finished (and were paid with 100$ bills – of which Nacho and Fati had never seen before) we went to Pizza Nova (this delicious pizza joint) and celebrated.

It was hard work and every night I would come home extremely tired, but as I said the experience was amazing.


A part from this week of work, I've been content here. My friends and I have been playing nightly games of basketball at the nearby park – although we are all horrendous – it's fun. My NAU classes are ok. I've been toying with the idea of trying to study at one of the universities here instead of NAU, but we'll see. It would be A LOT cheaper, but I would miss my family.

As of now, in eighteen days I will be in Florida, twenty-four in Flagstaff. I will spend this summer (Apr – Aug) with them for sure and from there, I'll find my own trail.

Eighteen.

Yo No Sé Mañana

Me, and my Gringa Canadian, Leah


Me, Anderson, Jenny, Maja, Pati and Mario







How to summarize the past couple of weeks?

Full of spanish, english, politics, sociology, and science classes. Hours of reading, hours of teaching. Bus rides to far off corners of the country, and car rides to just around the corner. Sunrise runs with my Canadian Gringa, Leah. Night basketball with my Salvadoran Guanacos. Leaning towards vegetarianism, but lacking the commitment (I really like chicken). Wondering how globalism has shaped this world and what the future holds for not just civilization, but mankind. Lighter subjects such as girls and movies also cross my mind. Dance nights at Café La Té, and coffee nights at la casa de Anderson. Five dollar pitchers at El Establo. Studying. Tests. Sleeping. Eating. Skyping. Music. One wild monkey kid, one "princesa tibetana." Two loving parents. Warm, tropical weather. One replacement dog (almost). The days are going by faster than before and I'm finding it hard to keep my head from spinning off my shoulders. I miss the peaceful tranquility of last fall. Last week of classes this week, graduation on Thursday. I'm riding on a train that's speeding downhill with the station on the horizon. I'm torn between missing home and not wanting to leave. My heart feels heavy when I think of either. I was thinking as I ran home from the park this morning around 7 that I needed to post but instead of a boring 'what's happening' update, I thought I would make two lists. What I miss and don't miss (culturally). --> Tried to be culturally but ended up just throwing in things..

What I miss about the states.
-Drinking tap water. Whenever. Wherever.
-Drinking shower water.
-Sunlight after 6pm.
-Clean air (well my Flagstaff air)
-Safe drivers.
-Walking around at night (safely).
-Not hearing horns and sirens every waking minute
-Not constantly surrounded by police carrying shotguns
-Forest. (once again, Flagstaff)
-Good ice cream. I mean good.
-Chocolate, and sweets in general.
-Taking a shower, walking to school and feeling like I've taken another shower (thank you humidity).
-Having a pet that is not malnourished. .
-Midnight snacks. Or more, eating whatever I want, whenever I want.
-Good, public education.
-Less corrupt government.
-Biking.



What I prefer here in El Salvador
-Cold showers. They preserve so much more water, feel great in the morning, and wake you up better than coffee.
-The "buenos dias, buenas tardes, or buenas noches" you are greeted with no matter where you are.
-Public buses (despite the danger of both the driver and the people who ride them).
-The Weather.
-Cell phones. People hardly text and when phone calls are made they are as short as possible to save "saldo." You pay as you go.
-Cost of living.
-Chocobananas. Frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and sprinkled in nuts. Favorite thing here.
-Licuados... delicious fruit/milk frozen drinks sold for a dollar near the school.
-Walking. . . when I don't bus, I walk, and I like it.
-Spanish (over English) if only I could speak completely fluently..
-Of course, the (responsable) drinking age (18 as it should be in the States).
-Big city (this of course just San Salvador)
-Near the beach.
-Colonial themed towns.
-$1.25 movies on wednesdays. $2.50 every other day.
-the $1 (pirated) movies they sell outside our apartment complex.
-PUPUSAS. PUPUSAS. PUPUSAS.
-The food here in general: beans, rice, platanos.
-Doing laundry, if not always by hand, always hanging out to dry.
-My room here. (With two big windows, and porch, duh).



I miss my family and dog a lot but I love living on my own and am in love with San Salvador. After this week of English classes, I plan on relaxing a bit, and then looking into taking some Spanish classes through CIS as I did in the Fall. I will help out with the first couple weeks of the next English cycle but I am States bound come April, I will be making my way home through Ft Lauderdale Florida.

El tiempo vuela.

El tiempo está volando. Yo me siento contento por estar aquí tanto tiempo...me ha acostumbrado al estilo de vida acá y me llegan los amigos, y el trabajo. Además con mis clases de la universidad, estoy aprendiendo materiales que me llaman la atención y que actualmente están enseñándome algo actual – que concierne con la vida actual. Bueno no sé, ahorita no pudiera verme viviendo en los estados unidos si tratara. Pues, hay que disfrutar el presente que llevo ahora. Por fin yo diría que puedo hablar (más o menos) fluído, y lo que me falta hablar, por lo menos entiendo.

Yo estaré escribiendo esta anotación en español y después traduciendo al inglés.


Ok las últimas dos semanas. . .

(Primero la clase de inglés)
SEMANA 4: Esta semana empezó Febrero. Wow, dónde ha pasado el tiempo??? Esta semana nos enfocamos en la gramática, también los verbos "phrasals" y expresiones idiomáticas. En mi clase de sociología esa semana, el tema era uno de los Coreas (del Norte y del Sur) y por eso miramos un documental supér chivo que yo quería utilizar en mi clase de inglés. Nosotros leímos un poquito de las Coreas y después lo miramos el documental y para tarea los estudiantes tuvieron que analizarlo. La semana fue bastante aburrida por el hecho que habían muchas ausencias. Nada emocionante.

SEMANA 5: La última semana en la clase de inglés, incorporamos otra canción, "Hacerte Loco," por Brett Dennen (una melodía buenísima con un mensaje profundo). Hablamos sobre lo que nos hace sentirnos felices, y lo que nos enloquecen. Discutimos sobre la justificación en sentirse feliz cuando hay otra gente en el mundo que sufre. Había un poco difícil tema pero me alegró que ellos pensaron primer en lo bien en vez del dinero por ejemplo. Yo regañé mi clase el martes por mucho tiempo porque otra vez nadie hizo nada en las tareas. Yo les dije que yo no se las doy para ser dictador ni mala honda, sino que porque creo que les ayudará. (Wow ahora entiendo el dolor que sentían mis profesores). Decidimos que queremos cambiar diferentes aspectos de la clase y que vamos a conversar MÁS. Terminamos la semana con una gran discusión y practica de traduzca.


Mis clases de la universidad siguen siendo bien interesantes y chivas.

Jay, mi amigo que vino a ayudar a enseñar, decidió que a él no le gustó la ciudad de San Salvador y se enamoró con la playa. Dentro de dos semanas de estar aquí, se mudó a la playa para surfear todos los días. Espero que encuentre lo que busca él. Pero ni modo, estaba feliz por verlo – aún si era un ratito.

El último fin de semana yo tenía que alcanzarme en tareas y me quedé en mi cuarto casi todo el día. El sábado yo fui a enseñar una clase en una organización que se llama FUNDAMEHR. Es el OGN por lo cual trabaja Maja, mi amiga sueca. Me dormí allá después de comer pupusas y enseñar la clase. El domingo me desperté bien temprano, comí y regresé a casa para terminar los haceres. En la tarde noté que me ardía mi cara y me di cuenta de que había cambiado los muebles en mi cuarto y puse la cama cerca de la ventana. Mientras dormía, el sol me quedaba. Solamente en El Salvador, puedes quemarte sin salir de casa, me dije.

Este fin de semana, ha sido bien divertido. Anoche, fui a la fiesta de Maja porque ya pronto se va a regresar a su pais (el fin de Febrero) y no tiene mucho tiempo. También había su cumpleaños. Disfrutamos mucho de la comida, postre, y cuba libres. Hoy hice tarea y a las tres fui a la casa de mi amigo, Anderson. Queríamos cocinar cena para nosotros y los compañeros de su casa. Caminamos al supermercado y compramos los ingredientes para hacer un banquete delicioso. Trabajamos un poco en la casa, yo las tareas y él limpiando. Comimos una pasta tan deliciosa de pesto y pan de ajo. También tomamos un vino de pinto (que era más alcohol puro que vino...) Una noche buenísima. Hicimos un pacto para hacerlo cada Sábado. Eso me llega.

Espero que ustedes estén bien. Nos vemos amigos.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well friends, time is flying by and I'm very happy to have spent so much time here. I'm really adjusted to this lifestyle and I have great friends and work here. Plus, with my university classes, I'm learning things that I like and that actually are teaching me something real – that pertains to my life. I'm not sure, right now I couldn't see me living in the states if I tried. Well, I have to enjoy the time I have right now in the present. Finally, I would say that I can speak (more or less) fluently, and what I can't speak, at least I understand.

I will be writing this entry in Spanish and after translating to English.



Ok the last two weeks. . .

(First English Class)
WEEK 4: This week February began. Wow where has the time gone??? This week we focused on a little grammar, as well as phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions. In my sociology class that week, the topic was North and South Korea and we watched a really cool video which I wanted to incorporate into my English class, so we read a little bit about the Koreas and watched it and for homework they had to analyze it. The week was fairly boring and there were a bunch of absences in my class. Nothing exciting.

WEEK 5: Last week in English class we listened to another song, Make You Crazy, by Brett Dennen (another awesome jam with a cool message). We talked about what makes us happy, and what makes us go crazy. We talked about the justification in feeling happy when there are so many people in the world suffering. It was a har topic but I was glad that they thought first in the good instead of just money, for example. I scolded my class Tuesday for a while because once again, nobody did the homework. I told them that I was not giving it to them to be an evil dictator, or be the bad guy, but because I believe it will help them. (Wow now I understand the pain that my teachers felt with me). We decided that we want to change different aspects of the class and that we want to converse MORE. We finished the week with a big discussion and translation practice.


My university classes are still very interesting and cool.

Jay, my friend who came to help teach, decided that he didn't like the city of San Salvador and he fell in love with the beach. Within two weeks of being here, he moved to the beach to surf every day. I hope he finds what he's looking for. Ah well, I was happy to see him, even if it was a short time.

The last weekend, I had to catch up on homework and I stayed in my room almost all day. Saturday I went to teach a class in an organization called FUNDAMEHR. It's the NGO where Maja, my Swedish friend, works. I slept over there after we ate pupusas and I taught the class. Sunday I woke up really early, ate and returned home to finish up my tasks. In the afternoon, my face was burning and hurting and I realized that I had changed my furniture in my room around and put my bed near the window. While I slept, the sun was burning me. Only in El Salvador, can you burn without leaving home, I decided.

This weekend was just as fun. Last night I went to Maja's goodbye party, because already it's almost time for her to go home (the end of February). It was also her birthday. We enjoyed all the food, desert, and cuba libres. Today, I did some homework and around 3 I went over to my friend, Anderson's house. We wanted to cook dinner for his roommates and us. We walked to the grocery store to buy ingredients to make a delicious feast. We worked at home, me on homework and him cleaning. We ate a delicious pesto pasta with garlic bread. We also had red wine (that was more like pure alcohol than anything...) But a great night. We made a deal to do it every Saturday. Awesome.

I hope you are all great. Until next time.

Adios Enero. Hola Febrero.

Sorry I haven't written in a few weeks, here is a lay down of what's been happening in my life:

WEEK 2:
I’m very happy again with this week of English classes. Monday was MLK Jr day and we started class with a reflection of what dreams are and why we should have them. Every day at the beginning of class I write a quote up on the board and we analyze it. This is usually one of my favorite parts. Finding the quotes and talking about them. It’s always interesting how I anticipate the students to respond and how different their answers can be. The Latin culture is so incredible. So many genuine good, loving people. We talked about what a good leader is (relating it to a good hero from the last week) and ended by doing a listening activity (kind of like Bradley’s class, fill in the ____ of the song) with “Dream Big” by Ryan Shupe (one of my favorite ‘feel-better’ songs). Tuesday we watched a video from TED about “How Great Leaders Inspire” and talked about different leaders over time (MLK Jr, MonSenor Romero, etc) as well as how they were able to actually make a difference. We reviewed the conditional tense with the prompt “If you were President of El Salvador, what kind of leader would you be like?” They finished for homework. Thursday, we began by reviewing what they had written and I gave them their next project which we are going to be doing all next week. We are incorporating all that we have learned so far by holding an election. Each one of them is a contender for the presidency in El Salvador. They have to make a propaganda poster to put up in the school (in the halls or conference room) and then second, they must write a two minute speech which they will perform to the Advanced level next Thursday (at which time we will have the Advanced class vote for who will be President). I’m really excited to see what the week will bring. Mostly we talked about what a good speech consists of and what they feel most strongly about in regards to change in El Salvador.

After class, we went out and got pupusas (the local dish, rice or corn tortillas wrapped around either frijoles, frijol con queso, chicharon, queso, etc.) They’re so good. I tried spinach and bean (frijol y espinaca) tonight at the Vegetarian pupuseria. I thought it would be gross, but so good. So good. I’m about to watch a movie and then go to bed. Good week.

--January 21, 2011


WEEK 3:
This week turned out to be just as fun as the last. It was very relaxed in my English class in relation to the first two weeks of pumping it out. We began Monday with a review of the week's plans talking about Election. We decided for Thursday and then spent the first hour talking about what a good speech contains, and the structure of a simple speech (Intro, body, conclusion, call to action, etc) and then I gave them the rest of the class to work on it, and ask me questions. We actually ended up getting into a really intense debate about different issues that they all feel strongly about. We talked about differences in capitalism and socialism, especially with regards to basic need services such as running, purified water, electricity, and sewage. Everyone seemed to be focusing on improving the water situation in their pledge to be president. Tuesday, we spent the first half writing our speeches, again, more class time. After the break, we turned to campaign posters and each one of them fashioned a poster that represented their beliefs using the propaganda techniques we studied in week one. I told them they all better be prepared for Thursday and if they didn't write a speech, I would make them stand in front of everyone for two whole minutes of good old fashioned stare-fun. (Not sure if this motivated them, or pissed them off!) We decided that we'd all bring food and drinks for the second half of class and skip break. So after I had set up with some balloons, ribbon, and cheesy election-band-orchestra music, we kicked off the election with the advanced class in the audience, to take notes and ask questions at the end. Almost all of my students had prepared amazing speeches and I was really proud and impressed with the way (almost) all of them presented them. The advanced class responded with great questions and the conversation was forced to think on the spot and answer them. It was altogether a great lesson. The last half hour we broke open the pupusas, tamales, and jugos and invited the rest of the classes into the room. Saria is leaving for Canada this monday so we surprised her with a cake (it also happened to be her birthday) at the party and I know that made her day.

Next week though, I have planned grammar, grammar, and more grammar!




I can tell already that this entry is getting a bit lengthy, but following up on school, my online classes aren't exactly what I expected, but I find myself really enjoying them. Although I dropped my English class and went to just 13 credits instead of 19, but still "full time" status. My Spanish class is very easy and a part from busy work assignments and facile tests, I have to log on once a week from home for a "conversation" practice (as if I don't get enough of this, right?) so all the students log on and we have microphones and headphones to hear each other, as well as book work to do together. My sociology class is really interesting, and I have been doing a lot of reading for that, and there is at least one discussion topic, homework assignment, and quiz every week. My politics class is a slow moving class, and we have already done anything yet, which is good cause my book still hasn't arrived yet. My extreme weather class is good, lots of reading, but really spread out due dates and easy quizes.


Today we went to the beach for Saria, and everyone was making fun of me because I was studying my sociology notes. But surrounded by mariachi bands, margaritas, palm trees, and the ocean, I couldn't think of a better place to study. My experience this time around feels a lot different from last time, because I think I consider this more of "living" than "traveling" like last time. I have obligations and responsibilities and feel at home more so. My host family is great, we celebrated Joshua's birthday last Tuesday, and Thursday was host mum's birthday (except the kids were sick so it wasn't as fun as Joshua's). I am looking forward to some rest tomorrow, and then another full week.

--January 29, 2011

one week in.

Well, it’s already been a week. What felt like an eternity the first time I was here, has gone by in the blink of an eye. I have adjusted so well that I forget I was home…and yet I was. Being home for break was crazy, I barely had a moment to breathe, stressed by culture shock and people to see. I loved being in Flagstaff, the snow, the pines, the friends and family, but it made me realize that I made a good decision this year. I’m so excited to go to NAU (in person) next year but I’m not in any rush just yet to return home. I’ve grown and changed a lot and it was so weird to be thrust back into a place where it felt time had stood still, and for a few weeks, I too, felt reverted back to the past. I imagine this is how everyone feels after being away and coming home after a long while, but it seemed to me, seems to me, that so much has happened for me, I just forget that it’s because it’s so new, not that it’s soo different.

This week, I resumed my teaching. I have the conversational level. I’m really trying to keep things intense and we hit the ground running. The first day we discussed Capital Punishment, we read an article from the NY times, and watched the news on the Tucson Tragedy coverage. We argued who deserves death and who awards it. The following day, we learned different types of propaganda and after so, made posters, one group in favor of Death Penalty and the other against. We shared posters before playing Taboo. (they hate this game by the way). Finally, we talked about heroism on Thursday, tying in more of the news from Arizona, heroic acts outlined in Obama’s speech at the University of Arizona (part of which we watched and analyzed), as well as what it means to be a hero. We took surveys the first day and one of my students is studying to be a chef. He wants more cooking vocabulary. So we made Hero Recipes. We listed ingredients of a hero and then wrote down directions. Again, dividing into two groups and making big posters to be presented to the class. It was a really good week, but I have nothing to do in the mornings now that I’m not doing Spanish school. That’ll all change when I start my online NAU classes this week however. I’m really looking forward to them. I’m taking Intro to Politics, Intro to Sociology, Extreme Weather, English (freshman course I think), and Spanish 202. It’s a lot of online I suppose but it’ll give me something to do. Tomorrow we’re getting internet at the house, although I’ve found this wireless source in my room from one of the neighbors. But sometimes it’s there and other times not. Hmmm. That’s all the news I have as of now.

Glad to be back in the 90 degree weather, snow is only so nice for so long. I also skyped my family tonight via my brother’s ipod touch. Technology is crazy.