A cold day in July

Tuesday, June 28: One member of the Wakonda delegation was extremely sick this week and visited the doctor this morning. I know illness of this caliber is a first for Bob and Pastoral Team. We were all very worried. The delegation visited the marginalized schools and the coffee roaster in town while I posted that last journal entry. In the afternoon I tagged along to the women’s prison. We sat in a circle with the women. Everyone introduced themselves and the women showed us their stitching projects to sell. The delegation brought them bags of personal items and each woman got a a little doll. They went wild for the dolls. Some of the women said they planned to give them to their daughters, others will keep them and have some company. It was a great visit, the women really seemed like a family and to help each other out. We visited the health center/clinic that is close to Lynn and Paul’s school. We saw the pharmacy full of half-empty shelves of very few varieties of medication. In the evening our health-care theme of the day continued as three members of Provida, a local health promotion group, stopped by the house to talk about what they do and about the health needs of the country. This was an extremely interesting conversation. We learned that 86% of the population in this region (Usulutan I assume) are living in families of 6 persons and are “surviving” on about $1 per day. The major project Provida is involved with now is nutrition. The volunteers in the organization go door to door in every community, spend 30-45 minutes chatting with each family and promoting better health by providing information about keeping latrines and water clean, how to grow the most nutritious foods on their small bits of land, etc. One member of the delegation asked what major element is missing from the diet of most children that would improve the problem of malnutrition in the country. The doctor who visited replied half-jokingly but in complete seriousness, “food.” It truly was an enlightening conversation.

Wednesday, June 29: We left Berlin to take the delegation to the airport. Then Paul, Bob and I arrived at Daniela’s and had several hours to kill before we went back to the airport to fetch Paul’s mom, the lovely and talented Ms. Kathy Mahler. I read about 200 pages of Oscar Romero: Memories in Mosaic. This is another interesting book, especially the beginning when many people tell stories about Romero that cast him in a rather negative light. Romero was not always the hero of the poor. In fact most of the campesinos were extremely disappointed by his promotion to archbishop of El Salvador. Of course that all changed. We went back to the airport to get Kathy and saw another dead body. This one was in the middle of the left lane of the highway and seemed to have been hit by a vehicle. Total summer body count: 2. Anyway, at the airport we ran into the puppeteer, Jose, who had just returned from Spain and was picking up two pieces of his luggage that the airline lost the day before. I had never met him but he and Bob chatted for a long time. But I was happy to get the customary cheek kiss at greeting and departure so I was just fine with me. I enjoyed a delicious ice cream cone while Paul opted for Pizza Hut—in El Salvador. We spied Kathy through the window. She was waiting in the customs line but when she caught sight of us she lit up! It was nice. Being at the airport so much this day made me really excited for my return to the Des Moines International Airport in the late evening of Monday, August 15th ( I believe around 11pm). I love the DM airport because it always means that I am there to pick up someone I have missed or that I will be arriving home to people waiting there for me. So wink, wink friends and loved ones, party at the DM int’l airport when I come home. Anyway, we took Kathy to our favorite hangout in San Salvador, you guessed it, La Ventana. And what do you know; Eduardo was there (which meant 2 more delightful cheek kisses). He met Kathy and later Bob, when he stopped by to join us. Bob, the boss, approved of our friendship with Eduardo, and even said he would try to get him some translating jobs with CIS. Good day.

Thursday, June 30: We visited the artisan town of La Palma which is known for the brightly colored paintings on wooden crafts, etc. There was a lot of road construction on the way and even a herd of cattle or two, slowing down our pace. We had a nice time at the little market. I bought something at almost every shop in this market because it is hard to buy from one and not the other. Thus, I spent all but $2 of my cash. Fear not, it only amounted to about 35 bucks, and there is a lot to be had for that much money here. Because Paul got carsick on the way up the winding mountain roads, Bob let him drive on the way down. Let’s just say that Kathy and I have said our share of frantic prayers for the year. He took the curves a little fast and may have defied gravity once or twice. And of course, Bob slept through the entire ordeal and didn’t notice it one bit. On the way back to San Salvador we stopped at El Paisenal where Oscar Romero’s best friend Padre Rutillo Grande was murdered with his driver and a young friend. Grande’s murder is the main reason why Romero began his turn-around to be committed to the rights of the poor of El Salvador. That evening we were invited to the home of Vidal and Stella Gonzales for dinner. They are the owners of Don Justo Coffee. We had a great time. The evening started with a few shots of delicious tequila (Bob and I had to teach Kathy how to do it, that was great), and some political discussion. It must have been the tequila but I was excited to jump into the conversation, in Spanish no less, when we decided to change the subject, oh well. Stella made a delicious dinner—potatoes, broccoli, beets, cauliflower, (and roast beef with mushroom sauce—not for me). To finish we had fresh home-made apple-pie—Salvadoran style, and fresh coffee prepared with a miracle coffee/espresso maker. What a machine. What coffee! We met 2 of their sons, Justo and Emilio. Emilio looks like a skinny Salvadoran version of Nate on the Knox Ultimate Frisbee team, so that was interesting. All in all, another good day—big surprise.

Friday, July 1: What a day! We headed out for Guatemala at 6 am. Our mission was to buy fabric at the market in Ciudad Guatemala (Guatemala City). We took Bob’s friend Elizabeth who lived in Guatemala for a long time. She was our guide and more importantly provided entertainment in the car ride. She was great. We had no trouble passing from El Salvador to Guatemala in the morning, and once we arrived to the city got our shopping done in 20 minutes. We got 30 yards of beautiful fabric. We decided to let Bob nap in the car for a little longer so Elizabeth took us to the national palace which was just across the street. She told us it is called the guacamole house because of its pale green color. We joined a little tour group inside and killed about 30 minutes. The building is less than 50 years old. It was a lovely tour. For lunch we ate banana splits (because it was the only thing we could afford with the Guatemalan money we had left from shopping). Across from the ice cream shop was a park where Elizabeth used to take her kids on Sundays for pony rides. She was sad and nostalgic as we left the city. It was sweet and sad because three of her sons live in the U.S. and she can’t see them as often as she likes. So I guess that means, for Mom’s sake, that I’ll stick around the states for while… ha. Kathy drove for a while on the way back into El Salvador, and even through heavy rain it was less scary than when Paul drove (Kathy tells me that she offered to drive not only to get out of the back seat but also to avoid Paul’s driving for another day) (oh, and of course, Bob slept the whole time… snored a little too). Now the fun begins: (Deep breath) we walked into the Guatemala side of the border to do the exit procedure and there was some problem with Kathy and Paul’s passports. I thought that since they went to a different line on the way through that they had missed something and that I would be fine. However, then I stepped up to the window and the man pointed for me to come around into the office to join the others. We had no idea what was going on. There were just stern looks and lots of Spanish. Fortunately, Elizabeth was there, and Bob too I guess. Apparently, we were illegally in Guatemala because we had not stopped on the Guatemala side on the way in. Whoops. So first we thought, great, immigration prison. Then we thought, great, immigration fine. Then Elizabeth helped sweet talk us out of all penalty whatsoever. (Sigh of relief). The immigration people stamped us into the country and immediately out. So then we headed over to the El Salvador side, thinking that it would be easy compared to this nightmare. We waited in a line for quite some time and then found out that—lucky us!!—we returned to the country on the very first day that the country was charging entry visas. Great. So no big deal right, pay the 10 bucks and be done. I told the nice lady that I was leaving on August 15th so she gave a 45 day visa. But she gave Paul 60 days. We counted the days and what do you know, I need 46 days… so that has been a bit of a worry. Bob says that next time we are in San Salvador we will stop by immigration and get one extra day. Or we could go on an out of country excursion again! The day improved when we had returned to San Salvador and ran into Eduardo on our way to the grocery store. So my two cheek kisses made everything ok. Kathy and Paul had a fun evening babysitting Dayana, Daniel and their cousin Valeria. I finished my book and fell asleep to the sounds of a drumline parading through the streets.

Saturday, July 2: It really is hard to believe that it is already July. We watched a little CNN before we departed Daniela’s in the morning. I found it rather ridiculous and even a little disgusting that the whole time we were watching, maybe 30 minutes, was devoted to yet another missing person. Yet another white family in trouble in the poor little United States. Yes, missing children are important but certainly a news company such as CNN could include more in their programming than distressed white girls on vacation in Aruba and run-away brides. For example, Sandra Day O’Conner’s retirement, exactly how screwed are we now, that is news I am interested in. (Excuse my rant, but please add your comments if you feel so moved). There was a parade down the street featuring the high school band followed by the athletic teams. The others went down to watch. I watched a little from the door but then sat inside and enjoyed the Salvadoran marching band versions of “Eye of the Tiger” and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.” Kathy opted to ride in the back of the pick-up on the way back to Berlin, and certainly had the hair to prove it when we arrived just in time for lunch. I spent the rainy afternoon watching Fiddler on the Roof on Kathy’s laptop. We had some nice discussions at dinner. And my day was made best of all by a postcard from Brian—I sure love getting mail (wink, hint, nudge). After dinner Lynn and I started the first night of our Godfather movie marathon. We both enjoyed the first film and look forward to the rest.

Sunday, July 3: Celebrate! We attended the Celebration of the Word service (all in Spanish!) I read a little in the morning. After lunch we had cake to celebrate Balmore’s birthday. It was a lot of fun. Lynn and I also asked the Pastoral Team about interviewing them for my project this week as Lynn (my translating buddy and all around great gal) will be leaving soon. I finished the Romero book and started Reading Lolita in Tehran. Kathy took Lynn and I for a beer in the late afternoon and we sat at La Tienda for a long time chatting. Bob even joined us for a little while. Having Kathy here makes me miss my own mommy a little, and it doesn’t help that I caught a cold today. Lynn and I watched the first half of the second Godfather movie and then had to call it quits, 200 minutes is a little long for one Salvadoran evening.


Monday, July 4: Another 4th of July abroad. It has been overcast all day, as far as I can tell. I got up for a little breakfast and then returned to bed for a few hours to read and sleep. My cold is still terrorizing me today so I have not done much but read, rest and work on this post. I had a fever at lunch time and once again headed back to bed for a few hours. Along with most experiences here, having a cold is interesting. I don’t have boxes and bottles of medication (purchased over the counter or retrieved from the pharmacist) to keep me going all day; nor do I have any reasons to do so. It is mostly interesting to see how my body heals itself without these medications, without throat lozenges, and even without “real” orange juice. Lots of water and lots of rest, along with the occasional ibuprofen for the headache and fever and a decongestant supply of a total of 3 little red pills and of course my signature enormous box of tissues are my body’s ally for this battle. I also just remembered that it is "winter" here so I suppose I have hit the cold season in two countries this year, just my luck!

Now for a plea: This week marks my 5th week in El Salvador, the middle of my stay here. I have enjoyed occasional comments and emails from friends but really do miss hearing news of the people in my life from that country over there. So please, drop me an email and let me know how you are and what you are up to these days. I am enjoying every minute here but feel a little out of touch with the life I will be returning to in a few weeks. Also, apparently mail arrives from the US to El Salvador a little more quickly than vice versa. (wink, wink).

With that, happy fourth of July!