Hola!

Howdy Folks!
So, as my last post indicated, I was getting really busy, and I have to admit to everyone that I kind of let it get ahead of me. Some of this work is a real killer, and I'm finding out that I am not a natural teacher. That doesn't mean I can't teach, it just means it's really hard, and it honestly takes a lot out of me. It's been very difficult to remain upbeat, as the students start to slack off. I started to get really down on myself about this phenomenon, but then I realized that there is less than a month left of school here. All of these kids are already most of the way into vacation mode, same as I was when I was a ninth grader in May.

School ends at the beginning of November, and I'm really looking forward to the chance to to recharge the batteries. I have been kind of non-respondent lately, and have been feeling a little bit junkie in general. I'm hopign that this will be a passing condition, so don't give up on me just yet. It's tremendously lonely down here, and it really helps to get emails and comments, even if I'm not always a real champ about responding.

On an upbeat note, my adopted mother Yolanda is back home, and in good spirits, and much improved health. Your prayers worked! Thank you so much!

My real parents are flying in tomorrow for a week long visit, which I'm looking forward to a lot as well. It will be great to see family again.

Here's a picture of me desperately struggling to keep the attention of my class, which usual involves making a lot of funny faces and noises.

Whoever put 168 hours in a week lacked ambition.

Hey all!
So, I've been really busy lately, which is why I haven't posted for a few days. Sorry!
Lately I have been trying to get a lot of things going on.
My three original English classes are going strong, good attendance, and I'm really starting to feel like the kids are getting engaged. This is hard work, because they are all really shy about speaking in English, bu tif you get them to do it, they're really quite good. Sometimes you have to force them into it, but I try not to push too hard on the really shy ones. But after you get everybody up in front of the class in pairs to demonstrate a conversation, they begin to realize that they are all in the same boat, and they're loosening up with it. I can't wait to see where it goes!
The new class scheduled to start last Wednesday had an attendance of zero, which was tremendously disheartening, but I'm printing up fliers to pass out in the community. That particular church is struggling with attendance (San Rafael) so it's really important to try and breathe some life into it.
The Headstart kids are doing a lot better lately too. Their new favorite song is Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes, especially when we do it at a breakneck pace. Today they did the alphabet really well, even though some of the letters come out funny because mnay of them are at an age when there aren't a lot of front teeth.
I have also set up an after school study room in the Church at San Jose El Congo, which is starting to gain participants. Many of the kids there live in houses where there aren't quiet places to study and to homework, so it works really good for them to have a special area set aside for that sort of thing. I am also providing snacks, and it is truly remarkable how much easier these kids can learn and pay attention with a few extra calories thrown on the fire. I never realized the things I had taken for granted!
On Saturday, I woke up early to go into San Salvador with two of my students for an art class, which was a great time. We spent the whole day out together, and while I was pretty close with one of them, Jose Luis, before, I really felt like I formed a great connection with Alejandro too.
Sunday was the Patronal Festival of San Miguel in Quezaltapeque, where the other YASC missionaries are working Leigh and Andy are really doing a wonderful job there, and I'll put up a link to their site and some of the other YASCers when I figure out how.
I am working on curriculum, and I'm trying to get it into a sort of order that is reproducible so that they can use it there when they start English classes in a few months.
I have written twenty pages of an unrelated novel as my leisure activity. If you want to critique the first draft, I would love input!
I'm riding my bicycle to EL Congo once or twice a week for exercise.
My adopted mother Yolanda has been home sick, due to blood pressure. I ask for your prayer's for a speedy recovery. She is a wonderful woman, and I wouldn't have lasted ten minutes here without her help and care.
Thanks to everyone for your continued support! It means more than you can possibly know to hear from all of you!

Food for thought.

Today I was supposed to start English classes at San Rafael in Santa Ana. The class started at 10 o'clock sharp. At 10:30, when nobody had showed up, closed the front door, and took down the sign. When I left, I stopped on the side of the road to talk to my friend Paul, a heavy set middle aged man who spent 18 years in the States, and speaks English really well.
Paul and I talked about a lot of stuff for about half an hour. He's a cool guy, really funny, and really friendly. Unfortunately, despite moving to America legally, he got shipped back here for the minor sticking point of four felony convictions. He was very impressed, and more than a little surprised that I had no police record whatsoever. He's a really nice guy though, and it's hard to picture him in jail for eight years (he was.) We talked about wages, global inequality, and the problems that El Salvador and The United States have in common. It was a really important lesson that people are just people. If I don't learn anything else for a year (I already have and I will more, though) I fell unbelievably fortunate to have a great new perspective on people.
Paul told me that he made eighteen dollars an hour driving a garbage truck in LA, a little over 50 hours a week.

That's about $3,500 a month after taxes.

Minimum wage in El Salvador for agricultural work is about $150 a month for hours even longer.

People in the factories that make our clothes make about $200 monthly.

I failed Calculus last semester, but I'm pretty sure that's about a years worth of Salvadoran wages made in a month of driving a garbage truck in LA.

Check your labels sometime for El Salvador. You probably have at least one.


I'm going to try and avoid serious browbeating, but think about this the next time you hear a discussion about immigration. If you're a parent, ask yourself what you would be prepared to do if your child was starving.

A fun day.

So yesterday, Sunday, was a good time. I went out to San Jose El Congo for the tail end of the parade and festivities, which were great. parades are a really big deal all over the country, apparently, so again I found that pretty much everyone in the area with legs had marched. The whole thing ended at the school, where the marching band did a little concert marching in place, and a general party ensued, complete with high decibel dance hall. After that, Padre John and I took the truck up to the church, where we had some time before the service. Since all of the kids were down at the festivities, I went out into the woods for a hike.
Taking a little bit of time alone in nature has always been one of my favorite activities, and I felt incredibly recharged afterwards. The landscape here is beautiful, with tremendous rugged beauty, and my favorite, a lot of wildlife. Lizards, Birds, and butterflies are everywhere. I went pretty far afield, and found an orange tree bearing fruit. I sneakily grabbed one, trying to push any thoughts of metaphors from Genesis aside, and was not disappointed. Oranges in Massachusetts are not fresh off the tree, and now I know the difference. Delicious.
I made my way back to the church an hour before the service, and spent the in between time being a carnival ride for the little kids who were to young to be dancing to the Cumbia down the hill (Levantame!) Service was lovely, if a little sparsely populated.
On the way home Padre John and I stopped at Goldtree, the largest hardware etc. store in Santa Ana. Think Home Depot's little brother. I picked up a plastic chair and desk for my own room, which means I don't have to type in bed, and also three plastic tables for San Jose El Congo. These are going in today. Why? Well, thats my next new project, which is kicking off today, and will be explained later! Ha! Wish me Luck with it!!!

Dia de Independencia

Yesterday was the National Day of Independence from Spain across Central America, including here in Santa Ana. With the thought to see some of the local flavor and festivities, I headed out for a walk around town. I was not disappointed. The highlight of the day, well, actually the sole activity of the day, is a massive parade that winds it's way through miles of the town, with a lot of time on Avenida Independencia. As far as I could tell, everyone who has a pair of legs marches, and it took literally hours. I walked along it in the other direction for a long time snapping pictures. There were times when I was literally pressed in on from every direction by bodies, I've never been in such a dense crowd. Street vendors were out in force, and a good time was had generally by all. Got a few pictures of the event!

I'm back!

At last! I have internet at my house, and so the blog is reborn, with greater enthusiasm than ever before, and pictures to boot!
The last few weeks have been packed. Sorry I wasn’t able to recount in real time, but let me catch you up.
So, I haven’t been doing as much work with HeadStart lately, but I’ve been busy with a whole bunch of other stuff. I teaching extracurricular English classes to kids ages 10 through eighteen, with the occasional adult sitting in to learn too. I teach one a week at San Francisco de Asis at El Pital, and two a week at San Jose El Congo. San Fransisco has a steady attendance of about fifteen, and San Jose around twenty five. Padre John and I are both thrilled with the turnouts!
Next week I’ll be starting two more classes a week at San Rafael in Santa Ana this week, so I’m going to be really busy now. I’m creating the curriculum as I go, which is a challenge, but I feel like I’m doing pretty well with it, and the kids are responding well to it. They learn so fast!
Here’s a picture of a couple of my students volunteering to read a ten-or-so-line dialogue in English (insert note of pride in voice here!) Note also, the beautiful new bike in the foreground, my twenty five dollar pride and joy.


I’m also doing a fair amount of tutoring in math at San Jose El Congo. Math is one of the more troublesome subjects here, but the kids are getting it really well with help. I am thinking about ways to expand this by installing an after school study room in the school building more to come!

I'm trying to fight the urge to stuff some of the little ones into my luggage. It's tough sometimes.

I'm making lot's of friends too!

I think this guy only likes me for my food though...



More to come!

Some good news

OK, still no pictures, but...
I went to the telecom offices today, and I will be getting an Internet connection at my House in Santa Ana starting September 1st. This will make this blog much better, not just because I'll be able to add pictures much easier, but I'll also have time to post every day, which is great because I have a ton to say, and the cybercafes have bizarre hours.
This week I am running a few meetings to set up the extracurricular English classes I'll be teaching starting next week. This will be great work and I'm really excited for it.
More soon, and please bear with me while I get this working right!