PC: Pre-Service Training Week Three
Sunday was a gray rainy day I spent mostly asleep because of a stomachache, but I came out to help once the pupuseria opened and made myself two pupusas for dinner - quesillo con ajo y frijoles, and quesillo con ayote y frijoles. They are progressively getting closer to the right size and shape, though evidently they are still thin on the masa so the filling leaks through as it cooks. Roberto offered a new menu item (combo pan baguette chicken sandwich with fries and a drink) and we had a blast making it when it sold well because I think people were intrigued by it being on a baguette and full of unknown goodness (which I will not divulge as it is a house secret). I also finished Paper Towns by John Green which I liked primarily for the main character's descriptions of Margo Roth Spiegelman, but not nearly as much as The Fault in Our Stars.
Monday we were back in Spanish class with our LCF, giving thirty-minute Spanish presentations first on the Salvadoran Civil War, then on a war-related event in American History. We ended up with the American Civil War, The Cuban Missile Crisis, and 9/11. During class, Maria Luisa (our training manager or some such title) took us out individually for interviews - basically diagnostics to see how we're doing so far and if we have any suggestions. My biggest suggestion is read the PST Portfolio before training, not partway through, so you actually know what's going on when they talk about all the assignments and projects you have to do during PST.
Our afternoon meeting with the women's artisan group was rained out, so we will be crunched for time at our next meeting. We are hoping to get the women more organized and unified, but it's hard when no one shows up for the meeting.
Tuesday we started out learning the SWOT model by identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in our respective community groups. It was awesome to be able to apply a model in a meaningful way and actually identify the strengths and weaknesses we saw and strategies to use the strengths to combat the weaknesses. It will be a model that I use often when brainstorming ideas with the community. We also finished up our session on the History of Economic Development in El Salvador with a follow-up on CAFTA and remittances and lots of numbers. We looked at economic success and poverty through census data, the GINI coefficient, the Human Development Report, and the Global Competitiveness Report. It felt like I was back doing thesis research again. I borrowed Turquedad de Izote from Clelia, which I think is the journal of the founder of Radio Venceremos as he worked on the guerrilla news station throughout the Salvadoran Civil War.
At lunch I traded my fish for chicken (I'm not a fan of my food staring back at me) and enjoyed it with rice and a salad and a cold glass of fresco de arrayán. I get the sense that my host mom has latched onto the fresco because I refuse the sodas and sugary juices she continually offers and won't drink coffee in the mornings either. Water is evidently not a sufficient drink for every meal, but I'm happy for the compromise because the fresco is tart and delicious (and when it's strawberry it's sweet and delicious) and fantastically cold in this hot climate.
Our afternoon session included our second round of rabies shots and information on common health problems. We covered rabies, upper respiratory ailments, skin diseases, and hepatitus A and B. The most common problem among Salvadorans is upper respiratory ailments, and among Volunteers is gastrointestinal problems (though there are a few every year who get dengue too). We learned all about Chagas, which is transmitted by the orange and black chinche that defecates and lays eggs in open wounds and around the eyes. On that happy note we switched into the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment session that was significantly less useful than any of the gender talks I attended in college moderated by people who actually have firsthand experience with anything other than heterosexuality. The activities felt forced and I already knew that women and youth are key in development, but can't be focused on to the exclusion of men. Community includes all of the community (duh).
I enjoyed an evening sans homework so I could finish Invisibility by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer. It was weird to read a book (partly) written by him that didn't follow the rules. I think I expected it to be more like Every Day, which takes a seemingly fantastical situation and puzzles through the "reality" of it without relying on magic to explain the situation. On a similar note, I may have developed a slight obsession with Hank and John Green. I have been watching the vlogbrothers videos, and I have no doubt I will finish them all before training is over in October. I figure that since I still hang out with other trainees, get my homework done, chat with my host family, play with the puppy, help out in the pupusería, read at least a book a week, help Marcos with English homework, show up for the Saturday English classes, and play with the one-year-old, I am perfectly entitled to half an hour of three-minute snapshots of Hank and John Green's lives on a fairly regular basis.
I also had the most epic conversation with Roberto on Tuesday night (Note: I already wrote this part up really well, then my computer froze and deleted it all so I had to rewrite it days later and by that point I was annoyed with my inability to remember the beautifully written paragraph. This is round two and is significantly less thoughtful and detailed). It started with us watching the news, then evolved into a three-hour discussion of everything from Salvadoran history and US history to perception and prejudice to Bush and Obama to painting houses in California and Amerigo Vespucci. Why is it that when Americans come to El Salvador they are looked well upon? Why is it that Latinos in the United States are looked down on? Why do we insist on people in America speaking English but no one looks at us weird when we all get together here and speak English? The thing that Roberto was most passionate about was actually one of Peace Corps' goals. He wanted me to go back to the United States and tell people about my life in El Salvador, the people I met, and the beauty I witnessed. Our news is full of gangs and poverty and illegal immigrants and though those are a reality, they are not the only reality here. My reality is all the things listed in the last paragraph. I know this is cushy. I have seen what poverty here looks like, but Roberto is right that in the people there is beauty and goodness.
Wednesday we interrupted our regularly scheduled Spanish classes in favor of a safety and security session followed by a session on gestos. Some of the gestures are the same in the US (sleep, money, crazy, smart, drink, stop), but most are very different. The strangest was "I swear." We did entire skits in groups without talking which the other group then had to interpret based on the signals we used. Mario made some top-notch bus noises and Frank made a ridiculous bolo (drunk), as did Kai and Noah in the other group. We learned some of the crude gestures that men use too, so we are aware at parties and in the streets. Poor Mario had to be the example pretty much all day since the LCFs were too embarrassed to demonstrate.
The morning ended with the arrival of a representative from the alcaldía (mayor's office) who explained the social programs the town is responsible for and who receives the benefit of the programs. I am continually impressed by the programs this mayor has put in place - free English classes, free artisan workshops, free athletics classes, aid packages for men and women over 70, free quality healthcare and free fulfillment of prescriptions, support for the ADESCOs (there are 16 in the municipality), infrastructure plans like a road between Nuevo Cuscatlán and Antiguo Cuscatlán, full ride scholarships for any student from the municipality who maintains at least a 7.5, deals with businesses that they can build in the municipality only if they employ a certain number of Nuevo Cuscatlán residents, and plans to bring in more local employment and tourism. All of this is supposedly maintained through good use of tax money and donations from local businesses. I just hope it will all last when the young mayor sets his sights on higher targets and leaves the town to its own devices.
We danced the entire afternoon. Hugo, who just happens to be a national champion salsa dancer and generally awesome young guy, came in to teach us basic salsa, merengue, bachata, and reggaeton. He and one of the LCFs demonstrated a traditional dance, then took us through the steps. We sweated like crazy, laughed at our general lack of coordination (minus the few awesome dancers in our group who just busted out the moves), learned the warning signs with Mario again being a good sport and being the model male (no provocative dancing girls, and guys keep your hands well above the waist!), cracked up with the reggaeton partner dancing demos, and marveled at Hugo's incredible competition dance that he's bringing to LA for an international salsa competition. By the end of the session I was sweaty, dehydrated and happy. After a chocobanano (exactly what it sounds like - a frozen chocolate covered banana) I crashed until dinner. Amanda's host mom and Marcia's host mom make real chocobananas (ie. not banana pulp with added sugar pushed into a perfect cylinder), and I really want to buy one from one of them next time. I'm all about supporting local business (especially if it's cold and it involves chocolate).
Roberto listens to the mayor's weekly radio hour and takes notes so that he can call in or bring his comments and concerns to the mayor based on the points he made. I am always thoroughly impressed by his dedication to citizen participation in local government and that he continually looks for ways to improve the community. He was part of the local ADESCO for a little while, but just couldn't dedicate the necessary time to the group and run a business.
Thursday we met more of the PC El Salvador staff - the Youth Development PM and the Regional Office Manager for the southern region where we will be posted. We started with a continuation of the PC Approach to Development, learning about the roles a Volunteer plays in capacity building - Learner, Change Agent, Co-Trainer, Co-Facilitator, Project Co-Planner, and Mentor. We couldn't believe the example volunteer was a real person because it seemed highly improbable that in two years she could have accomplished so many projects. The staff assured us it was an amalgamation of volunteers with interesting Youth Development projects, but all the same she earned an acronym with our group (Peace Corps is really big on acronyms and every single official seems to have one as well as all of the major Peace Corps themes and community development tools) - SSV. I looked around and wondered, would any of our group become a SSV? I sincerely hope so. See if you can figure out that acronym.
The Regional Office Manager (ROM?) introduced us to the PACA model (Participatory Analysis for Community Action). His session was awesome partly because he brought candy and partly because we did really good group activities demonstrating community activities - Community Mapping, Daily Activities, Seasonal Calendar, Needs Assessment and Priority Ranking - that we presented to the other groups. Like the SWOT model, these were activities that I can actually imagine using in the first few months in my community to gain trust and understand community dynamics.
We stared with disbelief as Marcia unpacked her lunch. Her host mom packed her not one, not two, but six slices of plain white bread. They say you should eat everything you are given since it is an offense to leave food on your plate, so Marcia was only saved by the fact that Tuesdays and Thursdays are bagged lunch days so her host family couldn't stare her down. I imagine a conversation will soon follow outlining her preference for perhaps some fruit instead of bread in the future. Also, it has been over three weeks since I last had a Chipotle burrito bowl. It is a dang good thing that Roberto and Yvonne make awesome burritos for the pupusería, or I would be feeling the loss.
We followed up lunch with the Youth Development PM session on ADESCOs. They are apolitical grassroots organizations composed of at least 25 members of the same community who elect their own council (President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer, Sindico - ensures transparency and holds ADESCO accountable for its actions, Vocales - representatives of specific groups within the ADESCO) and have a legal framework. They take all that to the local government and are granted legal status. Basically legalization of ADESCOs gives citizens the right to organize community groups, analyze problems, and design and implement solutions.
Our final session was one on sexual assault that Peace Corps gives to all trainees all over the world. I assume sexual assault has been given more of a spotlight in training because Peace Corps has taken a lot of flak for downplaying it in the past and not providing support for the victims. We have gotten nothing but support and openness from all the El Salvador staff so far, and I hope the trend continues throughout service. We got a little crazy identifying signals, and learned a lot about how different things are here in El Salvador. It seems like basically anything can be a sex signal, including wearing shorts, drinking, smoking, being too friendly, dancing more than one song with the same guy, responding to texts, not immediately and strongly rebuffing advances (which I don't know how we could possibly do without giving serious offense because being direct is not terribly acceptable here), giving out your number even in a casual or semi-formal situation, and being too kind (what does that even mean???). Anyway, we are careful, watch each other's backs and stay alert.
A Very Long Side Note: I was up far too late Thursday night researching Peronsim and socialism and fascism and syndicalism (which I hadn't even heard of before starting this research) and populism because once I started one thing led to another and I was fascinated and suddenly it was midnight. Why wasn't there a "World Political Systems" history class in college? I would have taken that in a heartbeat. Or even just Argentine history. Or even just Peronism (which I know they offer at Sarah Lawrence because my friend took it and sent me their reading list which I still have saved and will one day take a summer to read in its entirety). I often wish my Modern Latin America class hadn't been with such an awful visiting professor because I could have learned a ton (well, as much as you can learn from a 100-level class). I realize that I was an International Affairs major, but I actually love history. I didn't major in it because I liked the IA professors and had no idea what I would do with a history degree and had absolutely no desire to dedicate my entire college career to writing intensely long papers that required a gazillion primary sources. And memorizing dates. That's the worst. At least IA dates tend to be in the last century (minus middle east politics, which is far too intertwined with its religious history that literally spans centuries). This is like I'm back in school again, except it's in Spanish and they don't care if I start on wikipedia and the preterite is as important as the facts and I can research anything that interests me, which is awesome.
Here's what I remember of our talk and the comments of other residents: El Pino has about 70-80 residents, and families seem to have an average of seven people. Miguel(?) became part of the ADESCO because after living in El Pino his whole life he wanted the village to change, to not be what it was in the past (this is a weird translation and I don't really know how better to explain it). He is incredibly motivated and wants to see his village prosper. It is a village surrounded by coffee plantations, and almost everyone works in the fields for $53.40 every 15 days. The houses (except for three) are owned by the coffee owners, but the tenants are responsible for their upkeep. Some are allowed to grow their own crops near the house for personal consumption if there is extra space, but never to sell. The coffee plantations offer nothing to the residents other than their houses with the stipulation that at least one family member work on the plantation. At least now women and men earn the same wage. Their water comes from natural springs from which the residents lug water jugs any time they need water. The springs are right next to the river, so any time it rains hard the debris stoppers the springs and they have to ask the municipality to send potable water until they can clear out the spring and it starts producing clean water again (about two weeks). The village actually belongs to a neighboring municipality, but since they were in need and their own municipality wasn't helping, Nuevo Cuscatlán offered aid. The ADESCO brings their concerns to the alcaldía and so far they have addressed many of El Pino's concerns. The students are eligible for the university scholarships (the vice president is currently attending university on scholarship), every family receives a canasta (food basket) every month (usually they are reserved only for elders, but the income is so low in El Pino that every family receives the aid after the ADESCO sent a petition), the government recently sent materials to help families repair their houses, and when the springs flood the municipality sends clean water. Representatives regularly visit the communities surrounding the casco urbano (urban center - that's where I live) to give talks, make assessments and ask the ADESCOs for their concerns. It sounds like most of the kids at least finish high school, though only two are currently on scholarship for university. Very few of the scholarship students give back to the community, so the alcaldía is thinking of making community service a requirement for keeping the scholarship starting next year. I agree.
Saturday we visited the David Guzman Anthropology Museum in San Salvador. The guy who gave the tour did a great job and it was cool to see the history of El Salvador laid out from room to room stretching back to the Mayans and the Pipils. Cuscatlán is a hispanicized version of Kozkatlan, meaning "The Place of Precious Jewels" in Nahuatl. Antropologists had a boon in El Salvador because after a volcanic eruption around 595 AD the entire city of Cerén abandoned their homes, leaving everything in perfect condition when it was all covered in ash. Some of the artifacts recovered are now in the museum, as are exhibits on balsam production, coffee plantations, agave weaving and fabrics, sugar production, religious history from Pipil traditions to the present including a mural of the Pohpol Vuh (Central American creation myth), ancient mayan sacrifice stones, a gallery of photos of life in Latin America, an art exhibit, and more. The balsam exhibit smelled wonderful - that exhibit (which also included information on production of cacao and añil) and the ancient religious artifacts were my favorites.
The museum was followed by a brief stop at the mall for lunch, Wal-Mart and the ATM to pay our host families. Now that I have a bit of money in my account and since the bank will charge something like $2.50 if I don't make four transactions every month (not including taking money from the ATM), I went straight for the peanut butter. It is still baffling to me that the rest of the world has not integrated peanut butter (or nutella, I suppose) as a staple lunch (or anytime) food. I also got a rope toy for the puppy since she is teething and far too keen on eating shoes, hands, ankles and anything she can get her sharp little teeth on. We drove home in a downpour, taking the long way around because the short way back to Nuevo Cuscatlán was flooded.
Now La Granjita is open for business, people are flooding in and the smell of cooking pupusas is wafting back, telling me it's dinnertime. I'll be back next week with more excessively long posts.
Comments
Post a Comment