El Salvadoran Independence Day

September 20, 2008

Well not too much to report as of late, but I think it only appropriate to start out with one of my worst fears coming true. I’ve gotten used to just going to bed as of late, whereas as for the first few months I always checked my bed because of the ants that kept invading it in the beginning. I fixed that problem, but now I will be sure to start checking it again :)…..check out the pic…..

I spy.....

oh.... hello there.

come to bed my sweet...... ahahahahaha

Yeah, that little guy was waiting for me the other night. After a 15 chase around the room, I finally got tired of trying to spear him with my machete and just chopped him in half with a knife…..haha.

In other news, I have enjoyed the latest rash of remakes of US songs here. I thought that most of the 80s and some 90s songs they were remaking in Spanish, but turns out now they are redoing the Elvis songs too. They basically just steal the beat and change the words to rhyme in Spanish, but it’s pretty funny. Is that legal? Haha.

Also, we have started to hold meetings for the scholarships that we are going to give for the University for 2009 as the San Pedro Nonualco Scholarship Committee. There will be 5 scholarships given to students and residents of San Pedro in the amount of $1,000 a year given in disbursements of $100 a month. All of the money comes from donors in the United States and Canada. The scholarship committee started working with just High School students helping pay the tuition and costs, but now that the government has started paying the majority of that this year, we have been able to turn more of the focus on a level of education that the majority of them never thought possible to be able to attain. Slowly I think the committee will work its way to just focusing on the University scholarships if the government continues to pay for high school tuition. As always, anyone wishing to donate to giving students who have no chance at going to college without help, feel free to do so through the donate tab or email me if you would like a tax-deductible way to do so. The first meeting we held for just our town we had about 40 people show up with another 10 who told me they couldn’t be there but wanted to apply. I think we are planning on starting the selection process on December 1, 2008 and finishing up in time for me to head out to visit home for Christmas.

Hmmm…. Ah yes, I also finished my worm box the other day, a miniature model of what I saw up in Chalatenango (the northern province of El Sal) that time. Knowing my luck though, about 5 minutes after me and some of the neighbor kids finished cementing the floor of it, a storm came up with the hardest rain here I’ve seen in country all day and filled the plastic that I had covering it to the point that it sucked all the plastic into the cement and brick boxes and then proceeded to fill the two boxes. Life is good.

prepping the ground for my wormboxes, haha, i love that word

I forgot to take a pic until now of the process

finishing up cementing the bottom part

after it all filled up with water and prepared it like this so as not to turn into a "turtle pool" as everyone said it looked like, haha

In political news, the whole Hugo Chavez (Venezuela) and Evo Morales (Bolivia), with a little bit of Honduras, deal here has become pretty huge. Everyone (those who have access to media) is always interested to know what I think and if I have heard the latest updates. Commercials now are all over the place here on TV bashing Hugo Chavez and linking him to other leftist political parties here in country in an effort to gain advantages for the coming elections. Apparently, last night they showed a clip where Chavez was caught talking about the El Sal elections coming up and how that he hoped the left won because they are guerrillas. Anyways, it’s all getting really interesting down here, but from what I’ve heard from the US (and from reading online), it doesn’t seem to come up a ton. Same ole crazy world.



Finally, El Salvador celebrated its Independence Day on September 15 of this month, and it was all pretty cool. There is a Mass to start it all off in the morning and then all the schools gather in front of the mayor’s office for a little presentation and then they all line up (each one has a band and dancers….kinder to high school….it’s pretty amazing) and start to parade throughout the streets of the main town. Then each one swings back around to the main plaza in front of the office to do a final band hoorah, and then pass on to let the next one come in and be announced by the mayor. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Don Raul’s kid Francisco was directing the band of the high school so I was there to take pics of them a lot as well.

During the anthem here.

The middle schoolers as dancers for their group

The High Schoolers.

The kinder boys.... awesome.

The kinder ladies.

More high schoolers.

Almost forgot, I finished the Book of Mormon....whew. Now I kept Thomas More as a nice redirect afterwards, now I can get into that, but I haven't decided what next. More will be a challenge if I actually let it.

I saw First Knight with Sean Connery and Richard Gere last night on tv at the neighbors house and a dialogue caught my eye. Enjoy.

"Arthur: We have had our share of war. Now, I look forward to quieter days. But first, admit our guest.

- Malagant...- Malagant is here at my invitation.

Malagant: May I congratulate the King on his forthcoming marriage. I see my place hasn't been taken yet. I was first among your knights.

Arthur: You left of your own free will.

Malagant: We each of us must follow our own road.

Arthur: Where does your road take you? To Leonesse?

Malagant: Leonesse is my neighbour. I offeredthe lady a treaty of friendship.

Guinevere:- Is burning villages friendship?-

Malagant: Yes, My Lady...Your land is becoming lawless.Were you not just attacked?

Guinevere:- You know who attacked me.-

Malagant: I made it my business to know. Justice has been done.-

Guinevere: You know no law above yourself!

Arthur (reading): "Armed forces to be given access to all Leonesse." "Troops to assist in the enforcement of law... in all Leonesse."

Arthur to Guinevere:- Do you want to sign this?-

Guinevere: I'll never sign it.

Malagant: She's very brave...now she's to be married. Will Camelot protect Leonesse?-

Arthur: Is Leonesse in need of protection?

Malagant: Come. Arthur.I'm here to settle this business. Leonesse is too weak to stand alone. Let's say half each. The lesser gives way to the greater. What nation is greater than Camelot? The land of justice. Come... your hand on it. We'II all live together as friends.

Arthur: You offer mewhat isn't yours to give.

Malagant: You all know me.You know I'm a man of my word. Don't make an enemy of me. - I mean no harm to Camelot.-

Arthur: You know the law we live by. Where is it written. Beyond Camelot live lesser people? People too weak to protect themselves, let them die?

Malagant: Other people live by other laws.Or does your law rule the world?

Arthur: There are laws that enslave men. And laws that set them free. Either what we hold to be right and good and true is right and good and true for all mankind under God. or we're just a robber tribe.

Malagant: Your words are talking you out of peace and into war.

Arthur: There's a peace you only findafter war. If that battle must come. I will fight it!

- And I!- And I!

Malagant: The great Arthur...and his great dream. No dream lasts forever.

Lots of Projects

September 5, 2008

Lots of programming for events and projects going on recently. We had a big to-do in the main town at the parish church this past week. It finally came to the point to hoist up the bells to the top of the façade. The story behind them is that a group of Franciscans came to the parish in the early 20th century and really solidified the place as a parish and in 1951 they had 4 bells made with the connections back in Italy and somehow got them over here and to the parish church in San Pedro Nonualco. It was said that you could hear the bells some days from quite a few municipalities over. In the earthquakes of 2001, the façade was critically damaged, so the parish brought them down in an emergency so as to save them if the façade came down in the aftershocks. The bells have been in storage since then….well, until this past Saturday. The parish sent out over 1200 envelopes to people all over the parish to get the funds to bring the hoist truck up to San Pedro Nonualco and everything came off as mostly a success. There were a few complications in the installation of the bells due to some size changes, but two were installed and rung and this week they are working on finishing up the other two.
Padre Tino told some funny stories of old people talking about how they had been sad the past years because they thought they were going to die before the bells ever got put back up. Now they said they can die happy because they know the bells will ring at the funeral mass. Tear.
For all you donors out there on the church reconstruction deal, you will be happy to know that your donations helped make that event happen. The facade should be done by the end of the year, wahoo!

Prep Work.

More Prep Work.

Padre Tino doing his baby thing with the bells. (the tiny bell hasn't been brought out yet.)

The St. Peter bell

What are they all looking at?

In other news, I invited as much of the community as I could this past Sunday to a meeting the Casa Comunal for information concerning trainings in different areas of agriculture. All morning it rained, and then the soccer game that I thought was for the morning was actually at the same time as the meeting, so I actually took out two chairs in the Casa Comunal… literally expecting that many people. But in the end some 15 showed up with a few who told me ahead of time they wanted to come but weren’t going to make it. The goal is to use some grant money that we almost have, haha, now that the meeting is over I can finish my part of the proposal, to go to the National University for Agriculture to take some lessons in grafting and other minor things. I hope it all works out.

Some of the members of ADESCOSAPEN, the parish volunteer group that heads of the church reconstruction.

lots of people.

a further back view

Finally, I held a meeting of all the ADESCOS (Community Development Associations) for the municipality to bring the stove project to more people, so that was fun. The guy in charge of the NGO gave his presentation on reforestation and these stoves that improve health, protect the environment, and cost the families less in firewood. Seeing how 80% of Central American families cook with wood burning stoves, I think this project could help a lot of families. Also, it should be good training exercises for the ADESCOs.

You can only see a few of the people, but there was actually representation from all cantones.

A foto of the stove we are promoting.

Work continues with the Medical Dispensary, Isabel is recouping from the death of her father and her and Consuelo are back in action. They have started a mosquito campaign starting with the water basins and are planning to fumigate now that they have supposedly killed the majority of the eggs for the next few months. That should be fun.

The group from all over the country that met in San Vicente the past week at our Project Design Seminar.

My group from San Pedro that attended the seminar.

Oh, almost forgot, I went with Juan Jose (Don Raul’s youngest) to Olocuilta, a city in my department of La Paz, where he participated in a Departmental Math Contest. He won his grade in the municipality and ended up getting third place in the Department…he’s really good at math, haha. We were reviewing the day before the stuff, and he was pretty quick with it all. I think he’ll get better as the years go by. The school that hosted it was a parochial school that is known as a “complejo” or complete school here. That just means that it has all grades…..1 through 12. Apparently it had some big donors from Spain from what I was reading….nice place. The more that I see get around this country, the more I see that Europe in the name of the EU and especially Spain, Germany, and Switzerland are super involved and invested here. Go them.

The school was really nice.

The baller himself

Juan Jose after having received his 3rd place in the Dept on stage.
agreed.... this tie is terrible!

As far as my eye deal goes, the first few people have completed their process with FUDEM and are getting their dates lined up for the surgeries, wahoo! Like I said before, if I get just one actually done and successful, I will be happy.

September 9, 2008

So I forgot that I had promised to go to a get together hoorah in El Tunco (the pig, haha), La Libertad at the beach, so that was fun, but I really didn’t want to go because it is going to make things financially this month. But, if I hadn’t have gone it would have raised the prices for the rest of the volunteers in my group, so….. oh well, it was all good. Apparently El Tunco and the beaches around it have like worldwide respect for its surfing. Few had enough money to rent a board but one of these days I am going to learn how J…..in a place that won’t kill me haha. Like I said though, it was good to get away for a day, we met some Brazilians, Israelis, Canadians, a large sea-turtle came up and we watched him lay his eggs (kind of), and we were told by some guards the next day that some thieves came up that night that we were there with machetes looking for some gringos that they heard were at the beach. Luckily the guards had guns, haha…. They said they shot at them and they ran off.
Always fun in El Salvador.

A pic of the place we were at.

Tomorrow I have to go to El Sal to meet with the Wood efficient stove guy, and then turn in this grant proposal at the office. In the evening I got to come back to San Pedro to dig my hole that I’m going to live in until the first of the month.

the new pups at Don Rauls
the mama tied up so she wont run off and leave the things

“Do not say, ‘It was the Lord’s doing that I fell away’; for he does not do what he hates. Do not say, ‘It was he who led me astray’; for he has no need of the sinful. The Lord hates all abominations; such things are not loved by those who fear him. It was he who created humankind in the beginning, and he left them in the power of their own free choice. If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you choose. Before each person are life and death, and whichever one he chooses will be given. For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power and sees everything; his eyes are on those who fear him, and he know every human action. He has not commanded anyone to be wicked, and he has not given anyone permission to sin.”

Sirach (or known in early Christian times as Ecclesiasticus, “belonging to the church”) 15:11-20

New Things on the Sidebar of the Blog

So before my next post, I wanted to update you guys on some new additions to the things on the right side of my blog.

First of all, there is a DONATE tab that I put up that PayPal has. Its pretty nifty and it lets people who want to donate quick and easy do so with credit card, banks, or whatever means you want. This money will be used to help out families in need, or bring down the costs of some of the projects that we have here that some families just plain cant afford. To give one example, I have continued to pursue the stove project that the previous volunteer started, but on the level of the entire municipality. There are many, many families, especially in my canton, that dont have them because of the amount of bricks and stuff it takes too build it (we are talking 20 dollars, basically). The stoves however are done by a NGO called Agua and Arboles Para El Pueblo and they provide the more expensive parts of the stove. It has a chimney that protects the ladies from all the smoke from the woodburning normal openfires, and also reduces the amount of firewood needed by 50%, helping their pockets, and helping the environment.

Its a really good example of a project that people can donate to in small amounts and in the big picture it will reduce the cost of each individual family. Anyways, thats why I put the doodad up there, or people can continue to donate to the scholarships, medical clinic, or church reconstruction, and do it through this and just put a note in there to tell me where to put the donation.

EARN THOSE SKYMILES!!! haha.

Also, I have added a few fun ones like, "Things I miss in the US"....and the opposite "Things I will miss from El Salvador"...."Places I want to visit".... and "Current Projects...for those who care"

Enjoy.

"Girls love the worms"
PC Volunteer