Oops!

My apologies that this entry is so late! I do have an excuse…and that excuse is that desde Friday hasta Tuesday I did not have internet access, or access to any form of technology for that matter. This past weekend was my best so far. Going into it I felt pretty confident that living in the campo of Cedro wouldn’t be any more rustic than my winter term trip in January, but I was wrong. Delma’s family was made up of seven people—herself, her husband, Anher(13), Gisela(10), Renee(9), Xochil(7) and Avilena(5). She and her family graciously accepted me into their home, which was not bigger than a one-car garage. They had no electricity, running water or a trash/recycling system. They had a grill where Delma made tortillas and warmed beans every morning, and a barrel where rainwater gathered for drinking and washing dishes. Despite their situation, Delma’s family received me into their home with open arms. For two nights I shared a double bed with two of the daughters, covered in sweat and bugs. And I put off bathing until Sunday morning at 6am, where I just couldn’t bear my smell anymore--I “showered” with all the women in my family in the river that ran between the mountains. They could not get over how white my body was…
On top of spending lots of time playing mica(tag) with all of the neighborhood kids, I got in some quality time with my praxis partners who lived close by. Quentin stayed just 100yrds away at Delma’s cousins, and Chris stayed with the center’s gardener just down the mountain by the soccer cancha. We showed the children how to play cards and banagrams and Quentin tried to teach me how to play some songs on the guitar. We also played a lot of soccer…I did not as much as the boys because I did not feel completely comfortable since I was the only female within sight.

Classes have been going well—both my UCA classes and the computer/English classes at Cedro. I’m loving being both a student and a teacher…I really feel I could this for the majority of my life. It is such a blessing to have the opportunity. Some of my students are so bright and eager to learn. This week our theme is body parts…which has been so much fun! Classes have consisted of drawing the body, singing ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’, side walk chalk, and a new game I learned here called ‘back to back’. I think I get a bigger kick out of all the games than even some of the kids!

In many ways, El Salvador is creating its own little space in my heart…from the people I’m meeting here and quickly loving, to the food, colors, language, simply way of life, and so much more. Combining what I’m learning and teaching here with Liberation Theology and my faith has also been so rewarding and life giving. I see God in everything…good and bad.

Sister Peggy quotes from my last Theology class…
“We have an infinite capacity to love, and to be loved. So when you’re in love, make love!”
“God’s love is ludicrous…it is beautifully impossible to understand.”
“Forgiveness is love. And who isn’t in need of healing?”
“The person who has the why to live, overcomes the how.”