poco a poco

Wow, it feels like so much, yet so little has happened since I last wrote. How is this possible?!
The thick and fluid Castilian accent which I mentioned in my last entry is no longer the one that baffles me. As a matter of fact, I understand Jardi and Maria much better these days. It is the rural El Salvadoran accent which has become the biggest challenge. This past Tuesday, I traveled with 2 FUNDAHMER employees in a pick up truck overflowing (literally) with new acquaintances and friends, to the community of Tierra Nueva. In this not so easy to reach community where many children run around bare bottomed and barefoot on the dusty terrain, we attended a meeting for a sustainable agriculture cooperative, an extension of FUNDAHMER. The accent is sinuous and melodic and I enjoy listening to it very much. But the way their words run into one another made it very hard to decode.
While I am on the topic of Tierra Nueva, I should tell you a bit more about this excursion. The overflowing friends and acquaintances I mentioned were folks we picked up along the way, who were already members of the cooperative. Gracia, a Grandmother from La Libertad and her Grandson Brian rode in the truck next to me, the other 8 or so piled into the back. If you have ever traveled in a Latin American country, you will know what I mean when I say that there always seems to be room for more in the bed of a pick up. This theory was proved to be correct when we gained about four more on the back way back down the mountain, a story on its own which I will get to in just a moment.
The meeting of the cooperative, regardless of the modest amount I managed to translate, was a learning experience nonetheless which gave me a glimpse into El Salvadoran communication. Please forgive this general hypothesis, as surely it does not apply to every Salvadoran citizen. But during this meeting, in the quite little clearing where we gathered in the shade, I noticed there were only about 3 voices being heard in a group of 25. Neftali, one of the education employees here at FUNDAHMER, confirmed my suspicion that many people in El Salvador do not use their voices to their fullest potential. He told me that this is very common among Salvadorans and could possibly be a result of years of fighting, machismo culture, political corruption and so much more. What ever the cause, Neftali and many others at FUNDAHMER are working very hard to give people back their voices and show them the power of contribution and civic participation. I was pleased to here that one of their main focuses is popular education, a practice that I am becoming very excited about.
Before I ramble on too long and risk losing your attention, I hope I have not already done so, I should probably explain a little more about my current situation here at FUNDAHMER. The day after we arrived in San Salvador, I went out for pupusas –a yummy local comida filled with beans, cheese, you name it and topped with curtido, a mix of cabbage and other scrumptiousness- with Armando and his lovely family. Over dinner, Armando mentioned a stomach ache but after watching him chow down 3 pupusas I assumed he was feeling better. The next day however, when he didn’t show up to work, I found out that he was in the hospital undergoing surgery for appendicitis. Armando getting sick is apparently a very rare occurrence and everyone seemed shocked b/c it contradicted their vision of Armando Marquez the superhuman.
Before Armando went into the hospital, we had only had about 45 minutes during my training and a brief moment over dinner to talk about prospective projects or community placements. Monday morning after discovering the news, I was feeling really awful for my new companero, and also a bit lost about how to move forward. Everyone at FUNDAHMER has been really helpful and they have helped me realize that things will happen, even if they happen “poco a poco”. “Poco a poco” is a saying that is used a lot here in Central America, it means little by little. It is also a way of life that I am still adapting to.
FUNDAHMER is an organization that over time has located and distributed funding, resources and support to a myriad of projects throughout El Salvador. They support and initiate projects in education, sustainable agriculture, human rights, women’s rights, civic action and the list goes on.
Sacacoyo is a mountainous community in La Libertad which Armando mentioned as a good location for my project. However, he also mentioned having a few other ideas. Therefore, I still do not know which project or community I will be working in for the next 11 months but things are unfolding “poco a poco”. I am trying to make the most of this ambiguous time, by getting to know the other members of FUNDAHMER and the communities. I have been recruited to work with the education team, for the time being and I now have a calendar full of community visits and events. I also start language classes this week at a school across town that incorporates social issues and local and national history into the curriculum.
Being in a city has had its advantages and disadvantages, but for the most part, I am enjoying San Salvador, and I am happy to start making connections with the people here. Sunday, I traveled to San Julian to attend a CEBS workshop with Miguel and Don Pedro. Later in the day, I went with two FUNDAHMER employees to the communities where they live to collect a group of youth and bring them to Parque Balboa in Los Planes. We played soccer, I taught them how to play hot potato, though we called it papa caliente, we watched a comedy show and enjoyed pupusas together as the sun and dust settled.
Yesterday, I traveled with Anita to one of her appointments, partly due to a false interpretation on my part about where she was headed. Regardless, it turned out to be productive because as she was in her appointment I began to brainstorm about Sacacoyo and the possibilities for this new community center. Apparently, there is a centro juvenile (youth center) that is in its last year of being built. The walls and roof have been built, but it lacks a name and life. This prospect of a blank canvas excited me a lot! With the information I have observed and gathered in these meetings, my training and community visits, I began to create yet another prospective plan of action. Apparently the building of this community center is being funded by an organization in Sweden. In order to be granted another 3 years of funding for this project, FUNDAHHMER needs to prove, by the end of the year, that the facility is being used productively by the youth and that the people of Sacacoyo feel a sense of ownership and community for the space.
The notes I jotted down as I awaited Anita’s return surround a vision of a creative center where youth will learn to actively use their voices to determine their own future, and that of their community and country. I would like to create an environment that the whole community feels a part of and ownership for. I have visions of sculpture, photography, painting and story telling to honor history and encourage involvement with the future.
On the bus ride back, I picked Anita’s brain a bit more about what has happened thus far with Sacacoyo and the construction. We also discussed expectations and hopes for the center. It turns out that the FUNDAHMER objectives go hand in hand with just about everything I was brainstorming. Anita also mentioned wanting to create a sense of responsibility for the environment, which is what my first project proposal was all about. So now I wait and continue to ask questions and involve myself in anything possible as we all anticipate the recovery of Armando and as I learn more about this peculiar and fascinating little country that runs on diesel fuel and coffee.

Again, I send my love and hope that some day you will all know they joy of pupusas and curtido.
yum