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Things are pretty calm today – I just need to put together a slide show for a mission talk in Dexter on Friday and I’m almost done so I thought I would take a break from that to do some updating. Not updating exactly, but more looking back and filling in some holes.

I want to talk about the Central Pres delegation. I wrote a little – their arrival, the day in San Salvador, the mass in Las Delicias, the walk to the cross … but then I ran out of time (energy?) to finish out the week. Now the minute details are fading, but I can give some overall thoughts.

I really liked this group. I think I said before, that they were all new to El Salvador. Some had traveled to other developing countries, but I had the privilege of sharing what I know and love about this country. They had done lots of research. They had watched Romero – which gives a lot of background information about (obviously) Oscar Romero, the war and the climate of fear during the war. If you really look closely, so much of what you see in that movie is still true today. Not the violence per se – although there is still that element at times – only it is a little more subtle and often blamed on gang activity rather than political or social climate motivations.. But in the country – the homes you see in that movie are still, for the most part, the homes we have now. The struggle for work, the struggle to put a tortilla on the table for the children… the hardships of the total lack of basic survival resources such as clean water, medical resources, jobs … all still exist and in many cases, the problems are worse than before the war.

Didn’t mean to go off on that again. But it is an important piece of the education we all need in our effort to comprehend the realities of life in this very poor country (and truely – about 75% of the rest of this planet).

The Central delegates had done their homework. They were “prepared” – as much as anyone can be prior to a first time trip such as this.

And in spite of the large size (it is a real stretch to squeeze so many people into the Pastoral House reasonably comfortably) – they were a very cohesive group. Usually there is at least one person in a delegation that drives the others a bit wacky – or even one that you want to strangle by the time the week is up – but no so with this group. Everyone seemed to get along great. There did not seem to be any petty issues – nor large issues. Each one was respectful towards the other, and more importantly, respectful of the people and the culture in which they were immersed. . They listened well.

We took them to many of the usual visitations. We went to see some projects as a result of church partnerships… the water tanks/fútbol field/milpa/church/molinera in San Felipe Arriba, the beautiful new church and museum in El Recreo and the dedication mass for the retaining wall and water tank in Las Delicias. Those are a good variety of projects that really show the cooperative efforts and partnership between communities and churches. And they vary in size – some projects more humble than others. They also are a good way to explain the history of a partnership – initial conversations leading to project development then project completion. And then what happens next.

And as I said – they listened well. In each place we visited, people from the community came out (sometimes in droves) to talk with and help explain the partnerships from their perspective. I can talk till I’m blue in the face about my perspective, and from the eyes of a partner church, and the Pastoral Team fills in details from their viewpoints. But I love when we get to hear from the people in their humble and sincere words.

We also visited the 3 marginalized schools – marginalized in how they developed and the current minimal support by the government – these schools sprung up out of the needs that arose after the earthquake in 2001 – displaced people created communities out of literally cardboard homes on the outskirts of town – schools popped up because individuals wanted to educate the children – beginning under a tree, or in someone’s home … with unpaid teachers and no supplies – they have slowly built up to where the Ministry of Education now recognizes them as valid schools – MinEd now pays the teachers and they have constructed proper buildings on 2 of the 3 sites, and NGO’s help with school supplies and other things. These visits for me are always a treat. The children always greet us with “Los gringos están aca!” The gringos are here. And it is NOT an insult. There is true excitement and affection coming from all of them. Maybe coz they get to play with us for a while and get a break from their work! And they often benefit with new crayons or pencils or a playground ball or two.

We visited the coffee farm (the finca) where our coffee is grown. Granted, it is not harvest time till November, but we were able to meet the wife of the ‘over-seer’ of the farm and Blanca gave a brief rundown of the process from tree to roast.

We later visited the roaster in Berlín where I could explain that process. It is simple really – but involved and time consuming. Most people have no idea how a coffee bean comes from tree to our cup. And there were several people (if not all) who had never even seen a coffee tree before. I’m glad there were lots of cherries (un-ripe of course) on the trees. And we could open them up to see the two beans inside the cherry to help further explain.

In between our visits, we were able to stroll in the market, get some ice cream and spend time just talking.

And one of the side benefits to hosting a delegation from MY viewpoint is getting to know a wide variety of very fine people. And as I said before – this was a mighty fine group all around.

There were 2 mother daughter groups, one father daughter, one mother son, one father son, one brother sister and 3 ‘random’ individuals (a teacher, a doctor and a pastor).

And for some reason – I have noticed with any delegation I have been with – whether it be my own Heartland group (people who for the most part, I already know very well) or with a delegation of total strangers – people talk. Really talk. There is the usual fluff of course: weather, our families and other generic stuff. But something about being so far away from home perhaps, or being in a culture that is so different from our own – almost like another world… something about being together in a smallish home – sharing space, food, rain, sweat – we really talk. And NO topic is taboo it seems. No topic is too gross (although we sometimes try our best to out-gross each other in our sillier moments). These talking times are priceless. Maybe there is safety in being ‘strangers’ – so often, I never see our delegates again – sometimes we email for a while, but it is the rare few who become a part of our every day life. (I can name only 2 women whom I still see on a regular basis and consider good friends from a non-Heartland delegation). This time, I felt like I connected with a couple people. Time will tell.

My problem with staying connected is that it is so hard to find “time” to keep friendships going. When I’m back (and everyone else is back) – real life kicks in: work, family and all the other commitments that fill our time. That, and I meet SO many people in this work.

So that was Central in a nutshell. If I think of other things – or if any of my Central friends want to add comments to the blog or add to it – just make those comments and email me often!

I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to meet and work with these people.


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I just spent the night with the most amazing family. Last week, on the way to the airport to pick up the Heartland Church delegation, Alfredo, our driver and someone whom I am growing to love as a very kind friend, asked me where I was going to stay the night before my flight. He knew I had goofed and booked my ticket a day after the Heartland folks were to leave. I had thought they were leaving on the 14th, but their tickets got altered so my intentions were on target, but circumstances changed their flights after I had already booked my flight… so I was planning to either spend the night at Los Pinos, our favorite guest house, or with Damaris, Raúl’s niece. Since I hadn’t heard from Raúl – I had Los Pinos in mind. Alfredo and his wife and kids had other plans. He asked if I would like to spend the night at their house. That way I could meet the wife and kids.

I thought this was a most generous offer and I accepted. He was apologetic – saying it was small, but that they wanted to share time with me. And about 20 minutes into the ride to the airport – he turned to me very seriously and in his quiet but firm voice he told me: “Kati … escucha bien… “ (listen well). And he proceeded to tell me that I was not to worry about food or anything… that I was to be their guest. Basically, it would have been an insult to offer to pay for food. He was so sincere and so serious. I could not argue with him. I just said thank you.

I’ll write about the time with Heartland later – but my time with Alfredo’s family is fresh in my heart and I want to get it all down while it’s still warm.

After we dropped off the delegation on Sunday (was that just yesterday?), we drove back to San Salvador. And he dropped me off at his house. He went in with me to introduce me to his wife (Aracely) and his two daughters (Meybelline – 14, and Sandrita – 7). And we chit chatted a bit – then Alfredo had to go drop off the Microbus. So the ladies and I were alone. Aracely offered me coffee and I sat in the kitchen with all of them while she got the water boiling. It wasn’t awkward for too long. The girls wanted to talk and the topics were easy to find.

I need to say here, that those girls are the sweetest young ladies that I’ve ever met. They had quick smiles, giggles, and all the politeness, respect, patience … you name the good virtues, they seemed to have it. I am inclined to think they are as they are due to their parents. Alfredo is very soft spoken and kind (and all those) and now that I’ve met his wife – they are the perfect pair.

We sat around the table talking and laughing for over an hour until Alfredo returned. Then Alfredo and I and the kids went to the living room to chat and watch a movie – 101 Dalmations - in Spanish of course. I didn’t know Pongo and Perdi could speak Spanish, did you?

Aracely prepared lunch. Prior, they asked if chicken was ok… and they were describing the sauce and it sounded wonderful. I told them that honestly, there wasn’t a food that I don’t like… and I like to try new things, so don’t worry.

It took over an hour to prepare probably 2 – she had done some prep while we were all still in the kitchen. And by the time the movie was over, lunch was ready.

The girls ate in the living room, and the three of us in the kitchen. It is a very small kitchen. Maybe 10 x 10 with a table just big enough for the 4 of them, in the kitchen there was also a table with a butane stove on top of it, and a small table for stuff opposite the stove area. It did have a cement floor.

And lunch was delicious: chicken with a thin brown sauce, rice, tortillas and green salad – not with lettuce, but with a leafy green something the Alfredo really likes, and it had tomatoes and cucumbers. Not a cheap meal!

During and after lunch we talked a lot about more serious things. My time with the family in El Tablón Cerna prompted a conversation about immigration. It was interesting to hear both their views which pretty much coincided with mine.

We had spoken earlier about me visiting the girl’s school. They said it was only a 10 minute walk. I figured it would give us something to do – and I like to get to know the different areas of San Salvador. Alfredo explained that there is very little violence in his neighborhood because they are very close to where the rich people live. (Not the hugely rich, but more upper middle class). Therefore, it is well patrolled by police and very tranquil.

So about 3 p.m. we started walking. We all went. Alfredo was concerned about the dark clouds – so we all brought umbrellas. We made it to the school and we talked about that for a while… I of course, took more pictures… then we discussed dinner… they were planning pupusas. So Aracely and Alfredo discussed if we should walk to get them now while we were about half way to the Pupuseria. They worried I might be tired. But I like to walk so I said – ‘vamanos’… and off we went. We walked several more blocks… and the rains started. Not too badly. So we kept walking. This was not a really busy part of town for shops and Pupuserias… I think Aracely had a place in mind that she likes to get her pupusas. We ended up walking up one of those over the street walking bridges (a first for me here in El Sal) – still in the rain which is now pouring. We’re all a bit wet. And it turned out that the Pupuseria she wanted was closed. Hmmm. So after some A and A discussion, we headed back. We ended up getting them in a Pupuseria very close to the school.

It might have been tense --- because of the long walk and their concern for me … by this time, my shoes were saturated, my pants totally drenched up to my mid thigh and my arms were soaked too. My hair was dry though… all of us enjoyed the shower. I made jokes about needing some shampoo which made the girls giggle. (They never once complained and we must have walked at least a mile in the rain – and then back home again). Then I taught Sandrita the Singing in the Rain song. She was already dancing and prancing in the rain so it seemed fitting. Alfredo was giggling a bit at our silliness.

We brought our pupusas home, all of us changed into dry clothing and warmed up a bit. We were talking about movies some more (which really can be a help with language). And we ended up watching Alvin and the Chipmonks… and even THEY – those chipmonks - know how to speak Spanish! It was hysterical. I knew the tunes so I sang along a few times – making the girls giggle some more. We ate in front of the TV without utensils of course. You never eat a pupusas with a fork! It was 8:30 by the time the movie ended. And time to start the bedtime routine. They showed me my bed – there is only one bedroom in the house. With 3 beds. A bigger one for Alfredo and Aracely (and tonight… Sandrita also) and Meybelline’s bed which she gave up for me. So I got to experience sleeping all together as a family.

Which then got me wondering how parents find any privacy for intimate times. It’s none of my business of course, but lots of families – I would venture to say MOST families - share a common bedroom. Do you wait for the kids to go to sleep? What if they wake up? How quiet must one be? Etc. I’m just curious. And it’s not something I am likely to ask anyone anytime soon… Maybe someday I will know someone well enough to ask those kinds of questions. I bet I could have asked Aracely… I really like that woman. She is so kind. And she is also funny. She reminded me of my sisters. She could easily joke, and be serious, and laugh and just talk – and I bet we could have talked about anything in this very short time of knowing each other.

This family is incredibly open and inviting and hospitable. The girls also warmed up to me fast. But I bet they are just naturally like that. Nothing seemed forced or uncomfortable in that house.

When the lights were out and the girls and I were quiet, I could hear Alfredo and Aracely just talking quietly. There seemed to be much affection between them. And between them and the kids.

Theirs is a house full of love.

The next morning, mom and dad were up by 5:15. Alfredo needed to leave the house by 6:20. The girls needed to head to school about 7 or so. They asked me about bathing and I said I would wait till after them because they needed to prepare for their day faster than me. As it turned out, I could squeeze a shower in between mom and dad and the kids. The girls were still in bed by the time A and A were done. So I took advantage of the free bathroom.

The bathroom was outside the house, but very private as they go. The land that their house is on has six homes. Theirs is the first house from the door to the street. If you go straight up the cement stairs, there are 5 more small homes. If you turn right as you enter from the street, you run into their bathroom (the walls are lamina with a shower curtain door, a proper flushing toilet and a shower head from which a single large stream of not frigid water falls until about 9:30 a.m. – then there is no more running water for the day). The kitchen is a room outside the main house – with a separate door that can be locked. Their pila dishes and hand washing and laundry are outside the kitchen and main house. There is a separate door leading into the two rooms of their house: the living room and the bedroom. The fridge and kitchen cupboards are in the living room. They have a small TV and a boombox.

It really was quite comfortable. And I didn’t think it was overly small. It was tidy with fun things on the walls.

Alfredo left for work after I thanked him sincerely for everything. And the girls continued to get ready for school. Aracely said she would be back in a bit and we could have platanos y frijoles y coffee. I asked if I could walk with them to school.

It was fun to see the hubbub of the beginning of the school day. And then Aracely and I walked back, had some breakfast together and shortly thereafter my taxi arrived.

Alfredo had arranged with a friend to pick me up and he was right on time!

It was hard to leave. I really liked being with them. And they invited me back.

And I know I will.
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I have spent the night in El Tablón Arriba before – once under the trees when there were no solar panels (very cool) and once in the community center buildings. This trip – we spent our night in the homes of community members.

There were 3 of us who had some Spanish and 3 of us who had minimal. So we split into twosomes with one of each. Katie and Mickey were in one house, Eddie and Mily in another and Scott and I in a third. Scott and I sort of ‘insisted’ upon staying in the house of Juan – the president of the Directiva. He has a wife and 5 children in a one room building with plastic sheeting for doors and see through walls. The one large room is ‘divided’ by sheets and towels and blankets. Behind the blankets are beds where all the children sleep. In the ‘living room’ there are two hammocks hanging. This is where Juan and his son Victor sleep. Scott and I each had our own hammocks that were hung in this same room between the rafters and the other two hammocks.

We walked down to Juan’s house after dinner. We have what we call our re-grouping house. This house is where we had lunch, dinner and then breakfast. We also had our meetings there… it has a nice big area to create a large circle of chairs as well as a ‘decent’ bathroom and a place to park the truck. This is also the home where the Pastoral Team members strung their hammocks to sleep.

So – after supper Saturday night, in the rain, we all walked down and were deposited in our respective homes. Scott and I were the last. Juan was showing us the way.

When we got to Juan’s home, we needed to hang the hammocks. Scotty and Juan took care of that. I sort of milled a bit and talked to the kids. It was awkward for a bit… it was already very dark by 7:30 and we had no idea what the routine was for a family in a canton. Do they go to bed at 7:30?? Who knows. We didn’t’ want to be rude… we chit chatted with the children for a little bit… then Scott pulled out a glow stick. The kids really perked up at that. We ended up playing catch with it. There was a little oil lantern lit so we were not in total darkness – and the glow stick was a grand diversion. Even mom and dad played a bit. Then Scott decided to ask the family some questions… and I did my best to translate…

After a few minutes of relatively simple questions, Juan dropped a bomb. He said that in September, there will be the new Directiva – and he is planning to go to the States to work. I asked the stupid question… do you have a visa? Duh. Of course not. He has no job, no bank account… nothing more than kids (that the US Embassy does not recognize as something that makes people come back home). We had a lengthy conversation about this. I gave him my two cents worth after I checked with Scotty and his views. We have similar thoughts… I talked about the difficulties when one has no legal status… the dangers – poor working conditions, the discrimination, the danger of deportation or jail (if you are using falsified papers), the expenses, etc. I THINK they were listening. Juan and his wife … but I am not sure they heard.

One of the girls came out from behind the sheets (the kids had gotten bored with our conversation and had disappeared). But she came out with a watch and tapped at it to show Scott how late it was… about 8:30. So we said our goodnights and the little flame that was lighting our conversation was blown out.

We continued to enjoy the howling of the goose and all her babies jabbering… the dogs barked, the roosters crowed, the cows lowed and the horses whinnied all night. And eventually, Juan had peaceful sleeping noises. I’m sure I contributed to the noises with my snoring. It seemed like I didn’t sleep much, but Scott – the insomniac – assured me I slept quite a bit. Hmm. Maybe I’m noisier than I thought. Dang…

We woke up the next morning pretty early… before the sun rose. The day began with feeding the animals and worrying about a cow that had fallen and seemed to be in pain. One of the other cows seemed to be aiming when it had to pee. Then when it turned around so it’s rear was over the fallen cow and commenced to poop grandly on his fallen comrade, so we KNEW he was being nasty… dishes needed to be done and corn needed to be ground … it was a busy time… Scott and I tidied up, folded our blankets, took down the extra hammocks etc. I stepped behind the curtain to change my shirt… thankfully Scott had some baby wipes and that was the extent of my bath… I was going to wet down my hair with pila water, but the pila was full of pollywogs and all manner of critters so I chose to make do.

I was offered coffee. And when it was done, I got FRESH milk. Literally, 5 minutes from cow to coffee cup. So all the noises of the night before were forgiven!! (Although, I honestly like the noises of the country).
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Then Sunday a.m. we leave to head back to Iowa…
Wow.

I am going to wait till I get home to write more about this week. I’m really tired now and there just won’t be time to write until I get home. Not with what we have left on our itinerary.

So I’m going to beg forgiveness and make a promise to continue the writing after the 15th when I get home and hopefully get some sleep… and maybe take a hot shower first. But then I’ll get to writing…

So patience my friends… and I wanted to tell you this so you won’t worry about me… or get upset that I’m slacking off!

; o)
Hasta pronto!
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The trip was long and somewhat boring so I’m glad I slept a bit. And when I got to the terminal in San Salvador about 2 hours later, all the taxi guys were clamoring for my business so I got to Los Pinos in record time. And I did not have to endure the looks of my one armed taxi friend from the last trip to town!

When we got to Los Pinos, I waved to the 5 policemen hanging out at the end of the cul de sac … (Los Pinos is right next to a police station). And then I rang the buzzer. And rang it again. No one was there. I peeked in the little eye hole and the house was dark. Uh oh. I know they knew I was coming – I had confirmed it… so I called Bety – the owner, but there was no answer so I left a message. Then I texted Alfredo … not sure why. Maybe because he knows people who could come pick me up and get me someplace… and then I started walking to the little restaurant up the street. I figured I could get some dinner (it was almost 5 by now) and then maybe someone would show up in the meantime.

As I started walking down the street, who turned the corner? the woman who runs the kitchen and cleans the rooms. She apologized. She had several bags with veggies so she had run some errands. She didn’t know exactly when I would be coming so I told her that everything was just fine!

I texted Alfredo so he would know that all ended up well. Whew.

So by the time I got settled, took a shower and washed my hair, I didn’t have time to get supper. I decided to just ask Alfredo to stop so I could hop out to get a pupusa before we got to the airport to pick up the Heartland folk.

Alfredo was right on time again. This time in a microbus for 5 – not 15. What a difference. It was much cozier. And we did manage to stop at a pupuseria on the side of the road so I could get supper. My supper cost 40 cents. Alfredo treated. I got one pupusa which was enough for that late at night.

We got to the airport – and along the way, I found out I had NO money on my phone. And Alfredo had about 36 cents. We found out because I tried to call someone to verify a meeting for the next morning and couldn’t call out. I had just bought a $5 card about 4 days ago and KNEW I hadn’t made too many calls or texts… I figure that I must have forgotten to lock my keys and I “called” someone accidentally. I wear my phone in a holster on the waist of my pats. I wonder who I didn’t talk to?

So we had a minor problem in that when the group arrived, I would have no way to call Alfredo to say we were ready… so I suggested he just park and join me in the wait. I got us a couple of cups of coffee while he parked.

And the Heartland people were right on time. We were ready to roll by 8:35. That’s about the fastest immigration/luggage retrieval yet!

And how fun to get the hugs from my Heartland friends!!!
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So today is Sunday. And I do enjoy going to church and then walking the market afterwards. I spent some quality time in the chapel before breakfast and checked the lectionary. I knew the day’s theme so I was prepared. At a few minutes before 9 a.m., I headed to church. Along the way I met a friend from Virginia who wanted me to convey a message to their sister church. The sister church had to postpone their delegation from July to sometime in the fall. She wanted me to tell them that they are always waiting for them. They are sorry that they cannot come this month, but they look forward to their visit in the fall.

My work even extends to the streets… hmmm. That didn’t sound very good now did it?

So I continued on. I found my usual place, not too close to the front but not all the way in the back either. Some would call it in the middle. : o)

And I didn’t have to wait long because of my chat with my friend from Virginia. And I saw that it is Fr. Jacobo preaching today. It’s always a surprise which priest will be doing the mass. So I expected a short mass this morning. And I was right. We were done in just over an hour. Not too bad. So I had plenty of time to roam the market and talk to people and enjoy the life of Sunday Market Day. I had some old man trying to sell me shrimp – very persuasively. We were having fun – he knew I wasn’t going to buy, but he kept at it with great joy and flair – I think he was getting a kick out of talking to me. I continued on and bought some toothpaste… my tiny tube was running out. You can get Colgate here… but only one variety… And I bought some Nancy’s for the ladies and some fried banana chips for me and made my way back home. By now it was almost lunchtime.

I decided I needed to get my coffee work done – it is order time. So I spent the next couple of hours creating invoices and spreadsheets and otherwise getting organized for the July order. And I did a little reading. And I texted a friend for a while. And I talked to William for a while.

Then it was time for mass again. Our friend Dimas (all of 19 years old) who I lovingly call my son, decided a little while back he wanted to join the Catholic Church. His parents are evangelical, so this is somewhat controversial in his family – but he wanted to do this. So Fr. Cándido and Milagro gave him lessons, counseling and whatever it is he needed. They really sped up the process for him. Tonight was to be his baptism, confirmation and First Communion. Fr. Cándido was celebrating this mass. The church here normally celebrates mass every morning at 9:00 and every afternoon at 5:30 – and sometimes they incorporate other things. I figured we would be in church longer than normal since Fr. Cándido was officiating… and it was well over 2 hours when it was all said and done. Only about a half hour of the evening was devoted to Dimas.

It was very special. I took photos. It was a bit dark so I hope they turned out. I used the flash a couple of times, but it is SO intrusive during something so solemn so I abstained as much as I could.

Actually, the whole mass was not totally solemn. One of the alter boys was an absolute stitch. He kept giggling and he had to be prompted for all his duties … and Fr. Cándido seemed to have infinite patience! And the boy kept yawning even when he was holding the book for Fr. Cándido… and when he had to hold the microphone for the Father, he kept blowing into it for the noise it made…

Fr. Cándido explained to the congregation about the ceremony for Dimas. He was listing the sacraments that Dimas was to receive. And I listed 3 above, but there were 2 more… not sure what they were (partially because I’m not Catholic and haven’t a clue). Father joked that if he had a girlfriend, we could do the sacrament of marriage also! That got a good chuckle!! (I love this priest!!)

There was symbolic lighting of a candle, a gift of a crucifix got blessed, there was a dunking of the head, many blessings, prayers and laying on of hands and many questions to both Dimas and the congregation…

It really was a very special time.

About three quarters of the way through the mass (about 7:00 p.m.), the rains started. They had to turn up the volume of the microphone due to the noise on the roof.

I’m glad Dimas drove, Milagro and I got a ride back home where dinner by William was waiting for us. He had made a fabulous chicken dish with a special Salvadoran sauce, a multi veggie (no lettuce) salad and a great rice dish. Tortillas, too, of course. And there was Fanta and Cola. Dimas’ brother, wife and kids were at the table, his Madrino (Godmother), another woman and 2 kids, me, Milagro and William. All in all, a dozen of us.

After dinner, we all went into the chapel for photos. I decided (actually, Milagro suggested) that I take photos and that could be my gift to him. I plan to print and enlarge (any worthy shots) and put them in a special book for him. I’ll bring it back when I return. Maybe that’s my excuse to come back more quickly!

But who said I needed an excuse?

Overall, it was a very good day.

Note to Mike: I’ll skip the sad blog… because by the time the mass was done, my weepies went away. Nothing like a good 2 hour mass to cheer you up, huh?!

Note to everyone: Thank you all for reading and letting me share my stories. One and all, you give me a priceless gift just by taking the time to read and the occasional comment that is sent my way.


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I might even squeeze one more in!

; o)
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The most common complaints over the four days were headaches, back aches, sinus problems (a cold), lots of bug bites that create problems, a variety of infections, anemia, foot and leg pain, joint pain, muscular pain, diarrhea, gastric issues, parasites, and STDs.

The physical aches and pains are mostly a result of the difficult work that the men and women do here. The heavy lifting, the bending, the walking great distances on rough terrain with very inadequate shoes…

Most people have cold symptoms… it’s the rainy season. And in the dry season they have respiratory issues due to the dust and dirt.

Almost everyone said they had a headache.

The delegation did the best they could. I have no idea how they could possibly diagnose anything with so little information… some of the people that came had more serious problems and needed referrals to go to a real clinic. I hope they actually are able to go.

A few people and memories that stand out:

There was a woman who has been suffering from a yeast infection for over two years. You guys out there may not be able to relate to this, but ladies… if you have ever endured one of these … the burning and itching in parts most private…well, suffice to say, it’s horrible. TWO years!!!!

I had to go into the more private room where they did mini-exams when a man was getting checked for possible hemorrhoids. When he started unbuckling, I quickly turned my back… and I did need to translate a little so I guess it was a good thing I was in there. But good grief - how embarrassing! I’m not a medical person!!!

And I had to go in to two vaginal exams. I turned my back on those, too.

There was a young girl who had lots of thoughts of death and was hearing voices. We referred her to the one doctor who had some psychiatric background. He said he saw signs of schizophrenia. Wow.

There was a pregnant woman with obvious thyroid problems. Her doctor had told her that nothing was wrong. Even I could see her bulging neck.

There was a woman with a breast infection.

There were lots of pee pee and poo poo problems. (We giggled over my lack of ‘adult’ words for some of these things. But some of the words like ‘defecation’ – no one knows what that means. So really, poo poo was the better choice of words. Everyone knew what I was talking about.

I did learn lots of new words for body parts though. Very interesting.

Enough of that…

A funny moment with the group: there were actually many fun and/or funny moments. On the way back from the canton La Peña on the last day, I was taking Saúl (one of the translators) back to Alegria on my way back to Berlín. There were 2 trucks and an ambulance full of people and stuff from the day’s work behind us. Up ahead there was a police check point. I joked with Saúl that I ALWAYS got stopped. And sure enough… the 3 cars ahead of me passed right by them, but when they saw my face they waved me to the side. Good grief. I showed them my license and the license for the truck… in the meantime, the two trucks that were behind me went by and their eyes got all big as they saw me pulled over… I smiled and waved them on. The policeman was asking way more questions than normal. He wanted to see my documents. I told him my real passport was safe at the Pastoral House in Berlín but I had a copy if he wanted to see it … He asked me how long I was to be in the county… what I was doing … and he wanted to see my stamp for entry into the country. In the meantime, the ambulance went by and they got all ‘big-eyed’ as they passed. I waved them on also. Then the policeman tried to pronounce my name. He got Kathy just fine… but couldn’t do the Jayne… I told him in Spanish it was Juana… and pronounced it in English for him. Saúl tried to say it and had a hard time … the policeman tried and had a harder time, so we had a little mini lesson in the street. It was funny by the time we were done. I even had the policeman smiling! Then he sent us on our way.

The rest of our trip back was uneventful. I dropped off Saúl at the City Hall and saw a bunch of women heading to Berlín so let them hop in the truck and we were on our way.

Done and done. It really was a great 4 days. I learned a lot. I got some great speaking and listening practice in. I felt useful. I met some great people – gringos and Salvadorans: high up mucky-muck people and on the ground worker people. And all working together on behalf of the people in need here.

Very cool indeed.
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It really did make me laugh to think I could be of some service to the medical delegation. But I am so glad I tried. And that it worked out that I could spend as much time as I did with them. It really does make the process faster when there is communication. Go figure. I’m thinking that they need to really arrange ahead of time for translators in the future.

We did the first day in Berlín – right on the street. The next day we went to Colón – a canton of Berlín. In addition to translating, I also offered chauffer services. The Alcadia agreed to pay gas and the delegation contributed a bit more towards the end of the week because I drove a lot more than I thought I would. In Colón, we were set up in the soccer field – under 3 large canopies. They hauled out tables and chairs for us. That day, the team served over 350 patients.

Thursday, I had a meeting at the Pastoral House in the morning. They said it would be a short one. So I told the delegation I would find them afterwards. My short meeting ended up being over two hours. Es la vida. That’s life. Yesterday before I left the group, I was told that they were to work in a canton of Alegria. So I loaded into the truck, filled it with gas and headed out to Alegria – ten minutes up the road. When I got to the city hall, I asked where they were. They were in a canton of Alegria, but on the OTHER side of Berlín. Good grief. One of the men drew little directions for me and explained where it was. I thought I could find it. I know that road pretty well and the landmarks he was describing. But – when I left the office, a woman came up to me and verified that I needed to go to Zapotio… she said she and her family were from there and if I could wait about 20 minutes, they could show me the way. They were there in their truck for some business … cool. So I went and got a pupusa for lunch and prepared to wait. The kids waiting for the mom and dad and grandma were in the back of their truck waiting… and they were speaking English. So I went over to talk to them. Turns out they were from Houston and visiting their family in Zapotio. They used to live in L.A. (as did I way back when) and the older boy was born in Des Moines! How much of a coincidence is this encounter!! Wow. So we chatted for a while, I had my pupusa and later on, the mom brought me a chocolate covered frozen banana – a common treat here.

After about a half hour or so, they were ready to go. So I followed them back down the hill. They were going out of their way for me… they were actually headed out to San Miguel in the opposite direction! When we got to the turn off, I was thankful they showed me because the way that little road hit the main road was made it hard to see. An old woman got into the truck with me and we headed down the hill. A really STEEP road! And we traveled maybe a quarter mile down and down to the Catholic Church. And sure enough – there was the delegation having lunch. They seemed happy to see me because Pedro, Fachito and Maria couldn’t be there… so it was just them and one young man with minimal English helping out. So after lunch we went back to work. I worked mostly with one young lady, but would help the young lady on the other side of me now and again.

When we were done and beginning to pack up, the rains came in full force! So they finished packing and decided to wait out the storm. All we had were 2 pick up trucks and a motorcycle. And the pelting rain would not be good to travel in standing in the back of a pick up for such a long distance (about a 25 minute ride back to Alegria). So we waited. We chatted, took pictures, chatted some more, got a little silly, some dozed on the wooden benches… and we waited some more.

Finally, we decided we needed to go. Truly… the rain might never stop! The road was a gushing river… and I worried about getting up the slippery cobblestone street … but the guys from the city hall just said I needed to put it in piñon (double) and I could manage just fine. I took their word for that.

Most of the people fit in our two trucks and one other truck showed up. I had 6 other people besides myself INSIDE the cab of my truck. All of us smelling like wet dogs. And the window kept fogging up… it was quite the adventure.

I dropped the group off at their hostel in Alegria and politely declined lunch so I could get some work done at a reasonable time… I had a light dinner at the Pastoral House and spent some quality time with my computer and Microsoft Word.

Prior to leaving, I verified exactly where I should meet the group in the morning. This time, I did need to meet them at the city hall in Alegria.

Friday was our last day together. This last day was in a canton way below Santiago de Maria named La Peña. We set up in a school and it was a very busy day.

I’m going to finish this blog here because it is long enough. I don’t need more details of the work, because each day was pretty much the same as the next. The next story will be just a bit of this and that and random thoughts.

But we both need a break from my rambling and it’s almost lunch time…
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The storm had started about 6 p.m. and was stronger between 10 and midnight but lasted till at least 5 a.m. With solid rainfall the entire time.

But I really enjoy the sound of the rain on the roof. It is so nice to fall asleep to. And I love the rumblings and the light shows! So I was ok and safe and warm enough in my little office and bedroom. I had on my sweats and a sweater over my boxers and t-shirt. I also had 2 pairs of socks on. It was probably only 70 degrees. How quickly one gets acclimated to the heat and humidity here!! I’m becoming a wimp.

So now the reality check. While I was safe and warm in my office, listening and singing to the music in my computer… writing emails to friends, enjoying the storm, having a beer (yes… I bought one when I got my phone card after driving Otilia home … naughty me), some awful things were happening.

Over breakfast, Cecilia was telling me the news. Apparently, this storm covered the entire country. And it was a strong storm, and lasted all night. She told me that in San Salvador, a bus full of about 40 people was washed into a river because of a flash flood. It was too dark last night so they couldn’t do rescue efforts or look for bodies. They are looking this morning. And everywhere – roads are washing out, houses are being destroyed and people are dying as a direct result of this storm. Right here in Berlín, one of the local drunks died. He lives in the street – near where my friend Claudia works a block up from the main market area. He drowned in the street that became a river. It is the talk of the town and when I went up to the market to mail a postcard for my sister’s friend, and deliver a package to Claudia, there was still a lot of people and police milling around. It is so sad – the struggles here.


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