Sunday, March 29, 2009

Futbol

Last night, after returning from the beach, I sat down to dinner with the Sister's. After dinner they turned on the TV (the only TV, it's in the dining room) and lo and behold, there was a soccer game on between El Salvador and the USA! The game was live and taking place in San Salvador (which would account for the heavy traffic we met when returning from the beach.)

I immediately started cheering for the USA as it was 1 - 0 in favor of El Salvador. The Sister's, not to be outdone, quickly took up the cheer for El Salvador. Let the trash talk begin! Did I mention the Sister's have been teaching me bad words in Spanish? I love these ladies.

We caught the game in the second half. El Salvador scored another goal (NO!) but then the USA came and made two goals. 2-2, the pressure builds and time winds down. I boast of the skill of the North Americans to pull together at such a late stage of the game, to which the Sister's reply the USA is only scoring because the goalie for El Salvador had been switched. Hmm... truuuuueee, that and half the El Salvador team had to be carried off the field due to injuries in the second half, and so the USA was playing second string players, but all that aside, the game ended in overtime as a tie: 2-2.

Great dinner!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Cook . . .

. . . in the kitchen with the expired soup mix.

Okay, I thought this was funny. Today's lunch included vegetable soup, which is a pretty common occurrence. I like the vegetable soup. Usually it is flavored with garlic. Today, I could not identify the flavoring in the soup other than ick. I ate the vegetables and then poured the broth down the sink. No one was eating lunch at the same time as me, so this act went unobserved.

As Solidea and I went to class we discussed the oddly flavored soup. It was good to hear she thought it tasted bad as well and it wasn't just me. She thought the package from which the broth came might have been expired. Knowing the state of some of the items in the pantry combined with the taste we experienced today, that is highly possible.

We continued on to class were we were moderating an exam for another of the Sisters. I planned on playing a song for the students to learn after the exam, but forgot my guitar. As I headed back to the house, I run into Sor Margarita Guillen who is heading to the house for lunch. Feeling a moral obligation, I warn her to avoid the soup saying that I'm not familiar with all the tastes of El Salvador, but this soup tastes like it's expired. At this point she laughs and confides to me that she doesn't like this cook! I couldn't stop smiling, she cracks me up.

But her confession confirmed a suspicion I've had from the beginning of February when this cook started: that the Sister's didn't like the food. A different feel came from them at meal times versus before this cook started. At the same time, Solidea and I like the food from this cook more than the other cook because she uses vegetables more, makes a salad every lunch, and the meat isn't as scary. :) (though I still avoid soups that have meat in them - that's just asking for trouble).

So I wonder how long this cook signed on for. :) I'm enjoying it, though I'm curious what the Sister's would prefer to eat.

Monday, March 23, 2009

A Maaaaaan!

So today, after several more run ins with Cecibel, the girl who loves to attack me with hugs and kisses and clingyness like some prized and coveted possession, I remembered the perfect video clip to represent her! It is from Who Framed Roger Rabbit and I had the good fortune to find it on You Tube. It's perfect! I couldn't figure out how to post the video, so here is the link.
Enjoy!


(It makes Solidea and I laugh, but we are the one's Cecibel loves to hound. Let me know if you find it as funny:)

Do you think I'm fat?

Will everyone still love me when I weigh 200 lbs? Maybe I'm exaggerating, a smidge, but I'm thinking I'll be at least 10 lbs heavier by the time my year is done. I'm already flabby and the food here is conducive to weight gain. Add into the mix no physical activity and you have a fat making machine.

So much of the diet here is based on carbs; they have tortillas with every meal if possible, and for lunch they usually have rice, pasta, tortillas, and sometimes add in sliced bread as well. They take the first level of the food pyramide seriously here! I noticed this right away, but slowly I've succumbed to the call of the carbs. And the evidence is my growing belly.

Which brings up another point, people here are not shy about size. They like to say "You're fat" and "I'm fat" to whoever happens to be around. Not for the faint of heart or the low of self esteem! The first word Sor Margarita Guillen asked me to translate was "gordo" and then all the sisters took great delight in telling each other they were fat. I then taught them the word "overweight." I think they like fat better.

The good news is, my clothes still fit, so there is still a chance to save myself! I have evaluated what I eat each day and am now attempting to 1)shy off the enthusiastic serving portions the cook likes to dole out, 2)substitute protien for carbs in my meals, or just forgo certain foods all together.

With luck, I will only occupy one plane seat when I return to my homeland!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Keys

I´m happy to report that my tendency to lock myself out of places has not changed. Monday, after myself and two other sisters went to pick Solidea up from the airport (yea!) I went to my room to sleep. I had an armful of notebooks to correct and put those on the desk in my room, then walked out while talking to one of the Interna´s.

Shortly after closing the door I checked my pocket for the keys (nervous habit). They weren´t there. Oh dear, they were inside my room. There is no way to open the door except for the key, there´s not even a doorknob. So, I was locked out of my room and I already knew there was no copy of the key.

I told Sor about my predicament and from there commenced the Great Unlocking of My Bedroom Door. You see, the walls of my bedroom do not actually meet the ceiling, there is about a foot gap. Big enough for an Interna to squeeze through, but unfortunately, the drop to the floor is more than the girls were willing to fall/jump. So, a long stick was recruited and a ladder. One of the girls climbed the ladder, I held the ladder, and she fished out the keys from the room with the stick.

I know what you´re thinking, ¨Karina, why weren´t you on the ladder fishing out your keys?¨ Well, that´s what I thought too, but Sor was in charge of this operation, and what she says goes, so that´s what we did. Took an hour. Phew! I didn´t correct any notebooks that night and am going to look for a place to make a copy of the key next time I´m out.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Quiet Walks

Today it is very peaceful on the school campus, nobody is here, only Sor Carol and I. Everyone is home to vote for the presidential elections today. As though to play along with that the weather has changed for the day: it is overcast, cool, with occasional light rain. The whole atmosphere of the school has changed for me. I went to the chapel to pray when a light rain began. I stepped out on the stairs to watch. When I re-entered the chapel it felt like walking into a cottage to curl up and get cozy – very welcoming.

I didn’t realize how much I have missed this, the ability to walk around without running into anyone, the quiet, the peace, simply listening to the birds in the trees. Walking around without aim, really looking at the place I’ve been living for the past 2 months (it’s 2 months yesterday), and discerning why I’m here.

I had a good talk with Jesus on that today. I thought about how a place doesn’t really have significance without people. People make all the difference. And I know I’m making a difference by being here in San Salvador, but what kind of difference am I making? What kind of difference do I want to make?

As I thought about this, I knew that I wanted to give these girls more than an ability to speak English, I want them to become self aware: aware of the dignity within each of them given to them by God, to cherish who they are and their talents, and not to compromise their dignity for any reason. I’m only here for a year, but I pray the Lord will speak through me to these girls His message of love and human dignity.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Teaching Uniform

So this morning the lady who works with the man who tailer made all the uniforms for the teachers found me and told me she has my uniform. Her timing couldn´t have been better as I was on my way to my first class. Well, uniforms wait for no man, so I went with her to try them on (I did manage to run to class first, take attendance, and give something for the class to work on).

I tried on the pants. Polyester. I tried on the shirts. Polyester. I tried on the vest and the jacket. Polyester. In all honesty, I started to sweat just trying the clothes on! How are the other teachers already wearing these? It is 90 degrees today and this is the normal temperature. I am going to die of heat stroke in the middle of a class. At least the pants and one of the shirts were too small so I can´t wear my uniform for another week. The cook told me today that this is summer and in May the winter starts and it cools down. When I looked up average temperatures during the winter in El Salvador it listed 73 degrees. That would be wonderful!

At any rate, I don´t think I´ll have the vest or jacket on until the temperature falls!

Presidential Elections

The Presidential Elections for El Salvador are this Sunday, the 18th. What does this mean for me? No Sunday English classes! Yea!

There are two parties with candidates for this election, the FMLN (Communists) and ARENA (Capitalists). According to the Sister´s, both are terrible, but ARENA is better because it isn´t Communist. The lesser of two evils.

With the elections so close, the ferver is rising and there has been a bit of violence between the parties. One that made the news a few nights ago was when the FMLN attacked the ARENA bus while it was driving somewhere. No one was hurt, but they smashed the windows and one person left a knife on the floor of the bus when they left. Yeah, I think I´ll stay out of politics here and just stay inside the school until the elections are over. Except for Mass of course.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Idle Hands

A few nights ago I began asking the Sister´s why they decided to become sisters. They said their choice to become a nun boiled down to the girls. Salesian sisters are here for the girls, just as the brothers are there for the boys. They do what they do to provide for a better future for the girls. They work and work and work to give girls here the opportunity for a better future. While they were talking the phrase ¨Idle Hands are the Devil´s Tools¨ came to mind. Definitely no idle hands here, tired hands, but not idle.

I am having a hard time imagining why someone would choose this lifestyle. I´m fairly positive these sisters don´t sleep, they certainly are not physically active, unless running to classes and meetings counts. One thing they are, is very busy. And not just a fruitless kind of busy, they are busy doing God´s work.

It made me think of all my activities prior to coming here. Now I´m not saying every activity was fruitless, but how much of what I did was just busy work? How much of the work I produced went to building God´s kingdom, to helping his people, to serving, and sharing His word? It´s one thing to be busy and not idle, but to busy doing God´s work? That is to be full of grace.

I think the most beautiful thing I have witnessed so far here is the attitude of the sisters. I remember the last time I worked this much, and it is not a period I handled with grace. These sisters, though - to steal a line from the Hail Mary - are full of grace. They are tired, and it shows, but the patience and calm with which they handle situations is amazing. Truely. I would be yelling or rolling my eyes. Like I said, they are full of grace. But that´s just from my perspective.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Learning English

And now a word from my students:

¨Done looks mas fall what Jim¨

¨How an lovally nothing¨

¨Where are the strange in the garden¨ (I have long pondered this myself)

¨He friend Jose bore smart of paper¨

¨He Jim fall asleep short in class¨ (I hate when this happens!)

Don´t worry, some of them can actually form a coherent sentence, these were simply the most amusing from the recent tests. :)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Guard Dog

I met one of the guard dogs Sunday morning. Not exactly intentional. I woke up at 5:15 AM to go out and walk around the school grounds. Didn´t actually get outside until 5:30. The dogs are usually called in at 5:15. Appararently the weekends are more relaxed.
I walked around the basketball court about 2 times. On my second pass I considered walking over to the chapel and further on but decided to keep it in the basketball court a bit longer. As I made the second pass I thought I saw a dark shape behind me and looked while walking. One of the guard dogs was walking behind me.
My heart jumped into my throat! From everything I´ve heard, these dogs are very aggressive and here is one just casually walking about 5 ft behind me. I decided I had walked enough and headed for the dormitory, keeping my pace regular and calm. I guess I didn´t seem to be a threat because the dog didn´t make any move to follow me, or even seem that interested in me. When I got inside I watched as the dog heard something and ran toward the chapel. Probably heard the girls calling him in for the day.
Not the exercise I was hoping for, but it got my heartrate up!

I made my first venture out for a walk this morning (after several days of reassurances by everyone that the dogs are brought in at 5:15 on weekdays) and am happy to report there were no encounters this morning.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Lent - Cuaresma

Let´s see how briefly I can sum this up.

I´ve been feeling very homesick. My thoughts include: I don´t like the city, I can´t go out on my own, I don´t have friends to hang out with, I have too much work with teaching, I don´t like teaching, and the Interna´s leave me hiding in my bedroom to avoid them (which I can´t as much now that Solidea is gone). Basically everything I had romanticized about missionary work has lost its shiny appeal. There is still appeal, but it´s not shiny.

Then I went to the teacher´s meeting Saturday morning, it started with prayer and reflection. I thought that was a pretty cool way to start the meeting! One of the readings that morning was Matthew 4:1-10, Jesus´time in the desert of fasting and prayer.

Wow. That hit home. Pretty sure God spoke directly to me there. Here I am in El Salvador, had just been thinking about how much I don´t feel I belong and want to go home to escape, well, all the responsability. And here is this Bible story about Jesus fasting for 40 days and how Jesus felt hunger! It must have been an intense hunger, and I realized that I could connect on a much deeper level with this story as I have an intense hunger for home. This is my fasting this Lent. And I choose this without knowing how it would tie into Lent. What perfect timing. And a perfect oppotunity to turn to God and rely more deeply on him.

I had a very good meeting with the teacher´s after that. Went out of my way to meet some teachers and had good conversations with them. I´m very happy about that since Solidea and I tend to form a rather exclusive group by only speaking English. In fact, I´ve come to talk to the other teachers a lot more now that Solidea isn´t here and I´m liking that. Slowly but surely, this language barrier is coming down.