Well, tonight I'm up a little later than last night....11pm El Salvador time/1am US time. Probably not a good idea since I have to get up at 6am, but today has been too fun and I didn't want to miss out on a minute of it!
We had our first breakfast at the Casa Oasis where we are staying, so I got to try pupusas (with beans) for the first time (loved them) along with lots of fruit.
Jen and Me on the bus
We first went to San Bartolome de las Casas Center which is a place that helps educate people about current issues and struggles in El Salvador so they can go and teach others about it (things like the economy, mental health, masculinity/gender issues). Our host there, Walberto, started us off with some pretty interesting exercises just to get us loosened up and comfortable, because he said some of the topics are a little difficult to talk about. We also did team bonding stuff like the ever popular "link arms and pass a hula hoop around the circle" game. We spent the rest of the morning doing workshops and talking about things like the importance of names, what they mean to us and for us, and we also talked about gender stereotypes and the violence against women in El Salvador. Just this year alone in El Salvador, January through March, there were 116 women murdered, most of which were uninvestigated, and an uncountable number of women were violated or abused, but didn't tell anyone.One of the exercises was to get into groups and draw out a graphic, detailed picture of a stereotypical man, and my group got pretty into it. Here are some pictures:
Dr. Guevara giving us her input
Our picture of a man (the head is actually a penis). I'll let you figure out why.
First Group picture! (with Walberto)
Back row: Walberto, Anita, Dr. Guevara, Brittani, Alisha, Hanna, Reba, Shannon, Sara
Front row: Laina, Debiana, Myself, Jen and Jane
Dinner at Nelly's (potato sandwich, cheesey potatoes and rice---carbs!)
After lunch, we headed over to Equip Maiz where Carlos told us all about the history of El Salvador and its people. It was really interesting to hear how the United States has played such a big role and influenced their decisions so much (not always in a good way). It was clear that the El Salvadorians have been through quite a struggle over the last few hundred years, and they have overcome extreme hardships, but they are finally on their way out.
After our history lesson, we got to go to the market for an economic exercise. Our professor divided us into three groups, and placed Reba, Shannon and myself as the leaders since we are the only ones who speak spanish. We were given $10, and a list of foods to buy that we would take home and have made for us. The market was HUGE, but the people were very helpful. I was a little nervous, but after today, I am SO much more confident in my Spanish. It was amazing to be able to speak with the people at the market, and even during our lectures I already could understand what the hosts were telling us before Cristina had to translate. I am finally feeling like I am getting there with my Spanish; I definitely needed this boost of confidence. It makes me really excited for my internship at Bethany next year =)
When we got back tonight we had dinner at the Casa, and got to debrief about the day and hangout with eachother. Today was an awesome day for the group--now that everyone is getting to know each other better, people are really starting to open up which helps the learning process. I can already tell that there is a lot I can learn from each individual, because we all have different ideas and different life experiences, and we all get along SO well.
Tonight was filled with stories, joking, laughter and lots of ridiculous picture taking. I also decided that I need to start writing down some of the things people say during the day, especially Jen (mom of 7). I heard her saying things like, "What in the Sam Dickens is goin on around here?!" and "what are you the animal police??" She cracks me up, and since she has 7 kids, I see her as a mom, and a friend. Also, at one point we were hanging out in a friends room, playing games, and at the same time 3 of the girls screamed, and we realized there was a gecko crawling around on their beds...and it was fast! We never were able to catch it, so hopefully those girls are able to get some sleep tonight! I know I will!
Day 2: success.
Jen, Shannon and Laina trying to scare out the gecko
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