Tuesday January 13, 2009
Today has been a beautiful day here in the mountains. Once again I was up and going very early. I had about an hour to relax and listen to the beehive of activity around here in the mornings. The air is cool and the clouds hang over the mountains like a soft blanket.
After breakfast we traveled down the mountain to visit the Segundo Montes community and to experience a few of the local points of interest. I believe that our original plan for this morning was to take a hike in the mountains. I think that I would have enjoyed that greatly, but I also believe that the decision not to go was the best for our group overall. The first stop was a textile cooperative run exclusively by a group of local women. These women operate a clothing business where the clothing is primarily produced from cloth dyed with Indigo.
Indigo was the primary export of El Salvador for many centuries after the Spanish discovered that El Salvador was the perfect climate to produce it. Indigo remained the primary export until Germany invented an artificial dye that could be produced and sold much cheaper. I think that I should note here that the production of Indigo essentially deforested the lowlands of El Salvador, a condition which they have not recovered from to this day. After the Indigo production essentially ceased, the primary export changed to coffee, and once again, the deforestation process was repeated in the mountain regions where the coffee grew best.
The clothing that these women made was quite beautiful and several of our women took advantage of the opportunity to purchase these hand made garments.
We then went to a small museum which was essentially only one small room. This museum was demonstrating the struggle of the people during the armed conflict as well as the hope that El Salvador had for the future. We then went to a small radio station that I believe was possibly the child of Radio Venceremos which broadcast during the war. It has been in existence for 19 years. I was fascinated to listen as the manager of the station described how in the beginning they could only afford to broadcast with loud speakers hanging from the roof of their building because they couldn’t afford to purchase the necessary transmitters and antennas. They next advanced to broadcasting with only 20 watts of power. They now broadcast at 1000 watts, which is pretty good for a small station even in the United States.
We then went to another cooperative where several groups were working together to produce hand made wood and craft items. These included everything from furniture to jewelry. Their work was quite extraordinary. One of the highlights of the day was when we visited the house of a man who made hammocks. Hammocks can be found everywhere in El Salvador, and they are very beautiful. It was a real treat to watch as he worked on one, and to learn that it could take a week or longer to make one hammock. He sold them for around $45.00 so even working at 100% capacity he could only produce about $180.00 per month which is essentially the minimum wage in El Salvador. Kate bought one to take home, and I was glad that someone in our group did that, I Don't have $45.00 left or I would have bought one, I would have looked pretty good this summer out relaxing beneath the trees.
Just down the street from his house was the local library. It was sad for me to hear that because they have so few books, the children can only use the books in the library, they aren’t allowed to take them home. It was also noted that many members of our group (including me) have more books in our own personal library than this library does for the entire community. This was especially sad for me to see. My first thought would be to just donate a bunch of books to the library, I think back to our church’s last garage sale, we ended up taking boxes and boxes of books to the Good Will Store. The problem is, that all of these books were in English and although the kids here could benefit from some English books to practice working on English skills, the library really needs books in Spanish. The other challenge would be shipping them down to El Salvador. The cost for shipping even a small box of books could be almost prohibitive. I love books, and it was sad for me to see that these children are so limited in their access.
We ended the morning in conversation with Miguel Ventura who I believe is a priest, sometimes the names and their rolls get a little jumbled in my mind. He talked to us about the role of Liberation Theology, his work, as well as their relationship with the Vatican. I have to admit that perhaps it was because the room was so warm, maybe it’s because I haven’t been sleeping all that well, but it took every ounce of the strength that I had available not to close my eyes during the presentation. (Actually I did close them, and I wasn’t the only one) I think that many of us are beginning to grow weary.
After lunch, Cesar brought a wonderful group of young people to meet with us. These kids, at least I would call them kids, were all between the ages of 14 and 23. They were part of a dance group and a band who specialized in playing music from their El Salvadorian heritage and dancing traditional El Salvadorian dances. This was truly one of the highlights of the trip for me. These kids were awesome and it gave me such a joy to see their passion for their culture and their appreciation for their heritage. I think what I appreciated even more, was the opportunity to sit down with them before the concert and learn as much as we could about them.
I asked several questions, but the one that I most enjoyed the answer to was, “Tell me what you do for fun.” I had to chuckle a little bit, when some of my colleagues were asking questions such as, “What do you feel will change in your country if the FMLN takes control of the government in the upcoming elections?” Oh please, these are kids, I want to know about them, about what they like, what they do for fun, do they enjoy sports or just music, tell me about your school! Do you get the sense that I can get a little frustrated with some of my traveling companions from time to time? (I know that they get frustrated with me too, they told me so, so I guess were even)
The music was quite exceptional and the dances were awesome. I have to admit that I think what I enjoyed the most was the detail and intricate handiwork represented in the dresses that the girls wore. After years of dress shopping, buying formals and having them made for my daughter, I grew to appreciate the work that goes into making a dress. These dresses were beautiful and I could tell that they were made with love. Especially when you consider that these kids come from families who have next to nothing materially as compared to our families.
The evening consisted pretty much of eating dinner and getting beaten by Dong at ping pong. (nice rhyme:) We haven’t had any computer access for a couple of days and my phone hasn’t worked since we have been in the mountains. I will have to talk to the Verizon guy about that. Tomorrow we leave for the Nueva Esperanza community. Now, Cesar says that this is his favorite place in El Salvador, but they are talking about it being very hot, out houses for bathrooms, and showers taken with a bucket. This has me a bit concerned :)
Today has been a beautiful day here in the mountains. Once again I was up and going very early. I had about an hour to relax and listen to the beehive of activity around here in the mornings. The air is cool and the clouds hang over the mountains like a soft blanket.
After breakfast we traveled down the mountain to visit the Segundo Montes community and to experience a few of the local points of interest. I believe that our original plan for this morning was to take a hike in the mountains. I think that I would have enjoyed that greatly, but I also believe that the decision not to go was the best for our group overall. The first stop was a textile cooperative run exclusively by a group of local women. These women operate a clothing business where the clothing is primarily produced from cloth dyed with Indigo.
Indigo was the primary export of El Salvador for many centuries after the Spanish discovered that El Salvador was the perfect climate to produce it. Indigo remained the primary export until Germany invented an artificial dye that could be produced and sold much cheaper. I think that I should note here that the production of Indigo essentially deforested the lowlands of El Salvador, a condition which they have not recovered from to this day. After the Indigo production essentially ceased, the primary export changed to coffee, and once again, the deforestation process was repeated in the mountain regions where the coffee grew best.
The clothing that these women made was quite beautiful and several of our women took advantage of the opportunity to purchase these hand made garments.
We then went to a small museum which was essentially only one small room. This museum was demonstrating the struggle of the people during the armed conflict as well as the hope that El Salvador had for the future. We then went to a small radio station that I believe was possibly the child of Radio Venceremos which broadcast during the war. It has been in existence for 19 years. I was fascinated to listen as the manager of the station described how in the beginning they could only afford to broadcast with loud speakers hanging from the roof of their building because they couldn’t afford to purchase the necessary transmitters and antennas. They next advanced to broadcasting with only 20 watts of power. They now broadcast at 1000 watts, which is pretty good for a small station even in the United States.
We then went to another cooperative where several groups were working together to produce hand made wood and craft items. These included everything from furniture to jewelry. Their work was quite extraordinary. One of the highlights of the day was when we visited the house of a man who made hammocks. Hammocks can be found everywhere in El Salvador, and they are very beautiful. It was a real treat to watch as he worked on one, and to learn that it could take a week or longer to make one hammock. He sold them for around $45.00 so even working at 100% capacity he could only produce about $180.00 per month which is essentially the minimum wage in El Salvador. Kate bought one to take home, and I was glad that someone in our group did that, I Don't have $45.00 left or I would have bought one, I would have looked pretty good this summer out relaxing beneath the trees.
Just down the street from his house was the local library. It was sad for me to hear that because they have so few books, the children can only use the books in the library, they aren’t allowed to take them home. It was also noted that many members of our group (including me) have more books in our own personal library than this library does for the entire community. This was especially sad for me to see. My first thought would be to just donate a bunch of books to the library, I think back to our church’s last garage sale, we ended up taking boxes and boxes of books to the Good Will Store. The problem is, that all of these books were in English and although the kids here could benefit from some English books to practice working on English skills, the library really needs books in Spanish. The other challenge would be shipping them down to El Salvador. The cost for shipping even a small box of books could be almost prohibitive. I love books, and it was sad for me to see that these children are so limited in their access.
We ended the morning in conversation with Miguel Ventura who I believe is a priest, sometimes the names and their rolls get a little jumbled in my mind. He talked to us about the role of Liberation Theology, his work, as well as their relationship with the Vatican. I have to admit that perhaps it was because the room was so warm, maybe it’s because I haven’t been sleeping all that well, but it took every ounce of the strength that I had available not to close my eyes during the presentation. (Actually I did close them, and I wasn’t the only one) I think that many of us are beginning to grow weary.
After lunch, Cesar brought a wonderful group of young people to meet with us. These kids, at least I would call them kids, were all between the ages of 14 and 23. They were part of a dance group and a band who specialized in playing music from their El Salvadorian heritage and dancing traditional El Salvadorian dances. This was truly one of the highlights of the trip for me. These kids were awesome and it gave me such a joy to see their passion for their culture and their appreciation for their heritage. I think what I appreciated even more, was the opportunity to sit down with them before the concert and learn as much as we could about them.
I asked several questions, but the one that I most enjoyed the answer to was, “Tell me what you do for fun.” I had to chuckle a little bit, when some of my colleagues were asking questions such as, “What do you feel will change in your country if the FMLN takes control of the government in the upcoming elections?” Oh please, these are kids, I want to know about them, about what they like, what they do for fun, do they enjoy sports or just music, tell me about your school! Do you get the sense that I can get a little frustrated with some of my traveling companions from time to time? (I know that they get frustrated with me too, they told me so, so I guess were even)
The music was quite exceptional and the dances were awesome. I have to admit that I think what I enjoyed the most was the detail and intricate handiwork represented in the dresses that the girls wore. After years of dress shopping, buying formals and having them made for my daughter, I grew to appreciate the work that goes into making a dress. These dresses were beautiful and I could tell that they were made with love. Especially when you consider that these kids come from families who have next to nothing materially as compared to our families.
The evening consisted pretty much of eating dinner and getting beaten by Dong at ping pong. (nice rhyme:) We haven’t had any computer access for a couple of days and my phone hasn’t worked since we have been in the mountains. I will have to talk to the Verizon guy about that. Tomorrow we leave for the Nueva Esperanza community. Now, Cesar says that this is his favorite place in El Salvador, but they are talking about it being very hot, out houses for bathrooms, and showers taken with a bucket. This has me a bit concerned :)
No comments:
Post a Comment