Thursday, January 15, 2009

Training

Hey
wow, two blog postings in two days. amazing. Yesterday was a good day. I went with mike and a few other members of our group (including the director) to first go to a women´s organization. that was really cool beacuse they worked with up to 5000 women with subjects like credit but also unionization. it was sad because the day before the embassy had told us that CAFTA had done a lot to help unions, but then they told us that there were actually none (we later found out that there is only one union in El Salvador). It was sad because they told us how the jobs had been shipped to china since the quotas had been lifted and that they feared losing their jobs. therefore fewer and fewer complaints were being logged because people were afraid to tell their supervizors and get canned. but the organization was very strong and it was really impressive to hear their stories and they way that they were still happy about life.
In the afternoon we met with a doctor at the state run hospital (Hospital Rosales) who is also the president of the only union which is medical union. They have been fighing for better wages for the doctors and nurses but are also fighting against privitization because it would raise the price for normal people. He said that the government had been trying to privitize it (and thus be able to put more money in the pockets of the ARENA elite) for a while, but they are well organized and so they can stop the onslaught. He had a very impressive story of how he had been laid off for his work. We also got a tour of the hospital which was cool to see the work it was doing but also sad to see the people that were there who were in bad shape. In the evening, we figured out that the business trip from whitworth was only a couple blocks away and we headed over there to hang out.

today we spent basically all day in training. it was good because i now understand how the voting process works and feel like i am ready to observe it. it was long and tedious, but it will be interesting. there are definetly some major problems with the system. there is no public transportation on sunday (voting day) but instead the government gave the parties a lot of money to arrange free rides for anyone who was going to need it. so therefore the parties are driving people to the polls. also, everyone has an ID card here called a DUI (yea, giggle a little). They come to where they are supposed to vote and show the DUI and get their ballot, but besides the pictures, there is not much of a way to distinguish if the person is actually the one in the picture (everyone is dark skinned, has black hair, dark eyes, and a mustache). so, those are just a few of the problems. So, i will have stuff to do.
after training a few of us went to a museum of popular art and saw some cool miniature figrues. it was awesome. then tonight we are having a big CIS party. should be a blast. then tomorrow (friday) we´ll be off to the town to start getting ready to observe (I am now going to a town called Ilibasco not Cojutapece). anyway, lots of love and check out new pics
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027089&l=2fc02&id=59400432

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Few days in, less confusion

Hey

First i need to clarify that any mispellings or mistakes that you read in this blog have nothing to do with my intillegence or inability to use the english language. simply the screen is so awful and fuzzy that i can´t really rad what i am writing. anyway, my life....



travel day went off without a hitch. all my flights were simple and we arrived in san salvador at about 630 am local time. So mike and i caught a cab from the airport and went into town. we didn´t know what was going on or where to go or anything, so we were going to have the cabbie bring us to an internet cafe (ok, i just switched computers so it should be better). But it was too early in the morning, so we asked him if there were any hostels around and so he took us to one. it turned out to be the peace corps hangout. so we booked the night, chilled with the volunteers for a little, took a nap, etc. we decided to try to go to the beach for the afternoon and so we went to where i remebered seeing the bus, but that didn´t really work and so we got some directions from a few dudes and ended up on a 5 bus trip around teh city. it was fun to be on the busses again, but no beach. so we bought a few things from the grocery store and started sitting on a bench right in front of the national cathedral. after a while, we started talking to some guy who was into politics, but was from the right. it was really interesting to hear his point of view and he was really cool. it made for a good argument but a very respectful one. and as in normal latin american hospitality if we need some place to crash, we now have one. once he left, we were fending off a drunk guy who kissed my hand in gratitude for nixon when a truck full of lucha libre wrestlers pulled up. one of them walked over and started talking to us in american english and he turned out to be a gringo from maryland. he gave us free tickets to the show. so then we went to a little of mass at a large, modern-ish catholic church just a few blocks from the cathedral. it was really beautiful, but once the sermon started, we realized that the acoustics were so echoy that we couldn´t understand anything and were starting to fall asleep, so we left for lucha libre. that was awesome. it started out kinda slow, but it got nuts. the last two fights were crazy. they broke the mat and so the final part, they were just running around the crowd hitting each other with chairs and throwing eachother into doors. it was great. then we got a ride back from the wrestling gringo (who was backpacking for 12 years and always loved it and so now works at a surf shop in MD and comes down in the winter to surf and fight). great first day.
monday morning we checked in with the organization and our hotel. we got our observation credentials. In my picture for mine, i was smiling too much the first time and had to do it mas serio. then we went back to the UCA, which was good. it was strange going again because i knew was to expect but at the same time, it was still very powerfull. then we had an orientation and we started to get to know the people that we are working with. CIS has representatives from all around the world and from lots of different walks of life. It has been really neat hearing all of the different perspectives on development and different ways that it is being done. I have met a guy who was working with human rights reparations in guatemala, a woman who has a masters in conflict resolution in sub sarahan africa and a couple of aussies who are just nuts (and lots more). it is really a great group of poeple, but i to all the CASPers, i do miss you guys more.
tuesday morning we had a meeting with a woman on polls that have been held to get a general feel for the political leanings of teh country (which is against ARENA and toward the FMLN). In the afternoon, we went to the embassy and got fed the same poo that we usually get fed there. then last night, richie and jeff came over and it was good to hear what they are up to (which is observing for the FMLN).
Today i am off to learn some about labor unions and women´s rights and then tomorrow is our big training day. friday afternoon i´ll be heading out to a town called Cojutapeque to begin preparing for actual elections and then will be back here on sunday night.
As for me, i am doing quite well. at first, it didn´t feel right. my spanish was rusty, it was hot, i was tired, but after talking with the guy in the park and lucha libre, i have felt much more comfortable. I have been blessed by the group that we are working with (it is strange because it is so multi-generational) and i fell good. so, please pray for a good election and pray that i keep rolling because this has been great so far.
lots of love

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Leavning on a Jet Plane

So, Caitlin is coming to pick me up for the airport in about an hour.  I am really being hit with the realization that I have NO idea what is in store for me, but that is a good thing.  I kinda know what the organization is about, I know when/where to show up to start, but that is about it.  I am so excited to just live again.  That is one of my favorite things about the latin culture is the knowledge that what you are doing is the most important thing.  You would never hear of someone saying "dude, I'd love to talk, but dinner is on and I've got to get home" or something.  I am just excited to turn off my cell phone, ipod, and computer, leave my keys with Alice, and put on my traveln' Chacos.  It just feels right again.

Last night some of the most amazing people one could know put on a "going away party" for me.  I would say that it was a little more of an "I want to go too" party, but that is why I love them.  But in natural conversation, Kelsey asked me what my goals for this trip were, so I thought I would share a little of them with you.

1) I want this to be a different trip.  This is not CASP 2008.  It is a different purpose, different people, different time, etc.  When I was a freshman in high school on my first AMOR mission trip, there was a kid who kept comparing EVERYTHING to "last year."  It drove me crazy.  I don't want to be that.  I feel that I did have a very open mind last time because I had no expectations.  I am now going back to places that have changed me.  I can't be going back to get the same feelings or to have the same thoughts, but rather completely new ones.  For example, monday afternoon, I will be either visiting the site where Romero was murdered or the UCA where the Jesuits were slain.  Both were incredibly difficult locations before and I have had problems thinking about what it will be like to go back and if I can put myself through it again.  I don't want to become calloused, but I need to treat these like new experiences.  I think the same can be said about going to Honduras.  It will be different and that is good.

2)  Be all about people.  I don't have homework, I don't have reading that I have to do, I don't have a structured journal to keep up.  It didn't keep me from people last time, it shouldn't this time.

3) By the time I come back, I want to know why I went.  Honestly, right now, it feels like I am going for more selfish reasons than anything else.  I am there to "help" the country, but what gives me that right?  What makes me the authority?  Is it because I have a degree in Cross Cultural Studies from Whitworth, is it because I have the magic blue passport, or is it because I can actually help.  Also, why am I going to Honduras?  I want to see these people that have helped shape who I am, but is it being too pompous to travel half way around the world twice in a year to see these people that have never been further than a 3 hour bus ride from their village?  Am I bringing anything to them or is this just for me?  How can I bring something of value to their lives?

4) I also want to know if this is what I am supposed to do more of.

So, that is just a few thoughts to kill some time today.  Thank you all for send off messages and prayers.  I love you each dearly.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

8 months later and going again

Well, it is a little strange to be doing this again. I have sat down a few times and worked my way through my messages again. It is strange to go back, to remember the stuff that struck me, and to now be a long way away from that. It is kinda scary, but yet awesome to go back and read stories that I had forgotten. It is awesome because the memories flood back with such a richness that really allows me to relive those moments. They also scare me because they make me realize how much I have forgotten. There is no way that I could even joke with myself to make believe that I can remember everything, but it is always sad to realize what you have forgotten.

As for a quick roundup on what has happened in-between these postings (though most of you already know this or may have only met me during this "in-between time." I spent my summer as a counselor at Camp Spalding just north of Spokane. It was an amazing experience to be surrounded by so many people who love Jesus so much and it was a blessing to be able to avoid the "standard" american life for a little longer. CASP was a very "this world" experience where we focused on the plight of humans and were trying to figure out how to seek humanity and social justice. Camp was quite oposite. We were working for something that was a little more supernatural. I feel like it was a good time for me to talk to God and to see what he thinks about life. I had a lot of fun, but by the time it was over, I feel like I had been separated from a lot of what I was fired up on when I got back in May.

After a family vacation to Canada, I moved into a house in Spokane with Cory and Caleb (who are getting their Masters in Teaching. From my first day there, I dedicated myself to living a simple life. I don't own a car (though thank you Alice for letting me borrow one during this snowy Christmas season) but have mainly used an old bike that I found in a shed at camp. I am trying to save up a good chunk of money to pay the government back for my student loans so that I can go abroad (and therefore continue writing for "the blender").

So that brings me to why I am writing again. On January 10, I'll be getting on a plane to go to Central America again. I am going to El Salvador with Mike Johansen to be an elections observer for the salvadorian municipal elections. We will be working with an organization called CIS (Centro de Intercambio y Solitaridad http:www.cis-elsalvador.org/ ). We will be working with them for a little more than a week. At this point it looks like a few days of culture and training in San Salvador, then a few days observing in a smaller town and then back to write reports on our municipality. I am really excited about this job because it is something that truly interests me and because I think it is super important. About 70% of salvadorians don't have faith in this or the presidential election in March. ARENA and the FMLN (the two main parties) are the two most opposed main parties in the Western Hemisphere. They are both slandering each other in ways that put McCain and Obama's mudslinging to shame. This is only a year after 60 people were killed in the elections process a boarder away in Guatemala. Of course this is a country that is full of gang violence and only 16 years away from signing a peace treaty. Not to make it sound more dangerous or to blow anything out of porportion, but this is an important time for the country. The FMLN is leading in the polls and it will be facinating to see what happens.

After observing, we are hoping to hop the border to Honduras and see our families there. I got a letter from the Gutierrez family (my Honduran family) a couple weeks ago. They were really hit hard by the heavy rains this fall. Some of the CASPers have been talking about finding a way to help out and so I hope that Mike, Richie (separately going down) and I can give a little better picture of what was/is going on.

Well, this is getting long (which is a great habit of mine), so I'm going to conclude. I am excited to go back and I hope that you can share my excitement too. Keep checking back, I won't flood your inbox, but just want to keep you posted.

Prayer Requests
  • safety: when I tell people what I am doing, I usually get the "won't that be dangerous?" question. I don't think that I will be in too much danger. I will be smart about it and I pomise to not do too much stupid stuff. But I do want the safety blanket of the Big Guy too.
  • A good election: duh
  • good times with the family: also duh
  • That I can use this time as a way to grow and know better where I am supposed to go with my life
  • God shows more of himself
Thanks for reading. I'm not going to make any promises about shorter posts, but I'll try to keep you posted. I love you.