Peggy's 73rd Birthday Dinner

Peggy enjoying her birthday cigar with her favorite companion...La Luna

Eva and I during a laughter intermission

At the end of our road trip, we rolled into Suchitoto as the sun was setting.  We landed at our favorite restaurant.  It was nice to be “home.”  We ordered our favorite dishes.  Peggy lit up a cigar, as she does on every birthday.  We each celebrated by drinking a beer and toasting to her awe inspiring, life changing, presence on earth.

Me, Eva, Rosa, Selena, and Peggy at Villa Balanza

Copan Ruins

 

Copan is known as the “Paris of the Maya World.”  During the Classic Period (AD 250-800) it dominated the region.  This site is rich in hieroglyphics.

Homes of the rich and famous Maya families

I love visiting ruins without researching in depth beforehand.  It invites my imagination to play with the artifacts and ruins and to fantasize about the lives of commoners, royalty, religious, etc.  Then I’m often rudely awakened by archeologists’ facts and conclusions.

Stairway covered in hieroglyphics

I am amazed by the Maya people’s organization.  They populated vast landscapes but were politically organized.  A king ruled each section and the kings held routine meetings.  Like many civilizations during this time, they were advanced mathematically and astronomically.

 

View from the top of a Maya monument looking at their common area

Serious statue in the museum.  Everything is monstrous in size!

Long day of walking...

Honduras - Guatemala Road Trip

Beautiful hills in Guatemala!

The December 26^th, Rosa, Eva, Selena, Peggy, and I drove Sister Pat to her Franciscan community in Gracias, Honduras.  Pat and Peggy worked together in Chili when they were young and in El Salvador during the war.  Now Pat is lives with her community in Iowa but is visiting.

We stuffed ourselves into Peggy’s car and busted out of Suchi.  We drove through the beautiful Salvadorian, Honduran, and Guatemalan mountains.  We passed tiny towns with indigenous people, vibrant fruit stands, and odd-looking animals.  We were driving in the clouds most of the trip.  The air was fresh, the sky was mysterious, and the laughter was pure.

The first night we stayed with the Franciscan sisters in Gracias, Honduras.  Pat read our palms after dinner.  Ha!  My life is unique but she can’t remember what my special line means.  My long fingers say that I’m especially intuitive.  My lines say that I direct my life emotionally but have a similarly strong intelligence.  

Sister Pat, Sister Peggy, and Rosa (My host!) at the Franciscan Home in Gracias, Honduras

We concluded the night in song.  Erica, a novice, played the guitar.  Pat played beats on the table.   The rest of us sang.  We mostly sang Salvadorian songs as that is what they know by heart but Sister Brenda lent me a songbook so I could join in the fun.

Rosa and Peggy in a mototaxi on the way to Copan

The next day we battled our way through the patchas/fallas/potholes to the Copan Ruins.  We wound through the mountains, admired waterfalls, and gazed at the lazy river guiding our path.  After exploring the ruins, we relaxed for an evening in the little town of Copan Ruinas. 

Eva, Rosa, and Selena loving Peggy in Copan Ruinas

We began celebrating Peggy’s 73^rd birthday the next morning.  We settled on an “easier” route for the way home, one with less patchas.  But somehow we got off track.  It took us the same amount of time as our trip there but we curved in and out of borders more than expected.  First Honduras/ Guatemala, next Guatemala/ Honduras, and then Honduras/ El Salvador.  We were like a stitching needle threading our way in and out of countries.  Each of the borders had their own money schemes.  At one point, Peggy and I were in holding for an hour.

Thankfully we ended up at the border entrance closest to Suchitoto and the last part of the journey was a breeze.

Lots of cows and beautiful countryside in Guatemala

Navidad in El Sitio

Short History of Communidad El Sitio

On January 16, 1992 the government agreed to give people the land on which they had resettled, as most were forced from their homes during the war.  People from El Sitio first repatriated Nuevo Copapeyo with many others from the Mesa Grande (refugee camp in Honduras).

While in Nuevo Copapeyo, Peggy spoke with Mercedes (Community Organizer) and a small group about unpopulated land outside Suchitoto.  The group moved and created Communidad El Sitio, named after a tree in the area that was a common meeting place for the gorillas during the war.  They built Peggy a home alongside their own.   

Mercedes explained this to me in Spanish.  My translation may not be fully accurate.

Navidad in El Sitio

Peggy drove Sister Pat and I about forty-five minutes outside Suchi’s center to El Sitio.  We spent the day with Mercedes’ family.  She has six kids (around my age) and most of them have kids.  I have spent time with individuals from this family throughout my past two months here, so the huge gaggle of people wasn’t overwhelming.  I guess my training with the Buccola Crew was helpful too.

We ate extremely fresh chicken sandwiches and tamales.  We drank “coffee” that was actually burnt sugarcane but tastes like coffee.  We relaxed in hammocks.  And we sat and talked for hours.  My favorite conversations were based around stories Mercedes shared from Mesa Grande.

She talked about learning to read and write so that she could send notes to her husband fighting in the war.  She talked about taking care of kids whose parents were out fighting.  She told a story about when she and her husband found out they had the same birthday, after having been married for over twenty years!  They were illiterate like their parents, so they couldn’t read the birth certificates.

Paola snatching a shirt full of candy from the Penyada.

Little boy/angel processing to the Chapel.

When the sun went down, children in the community dressed in costumes for the Posada and sang Christmas carols while waiting for families to gather.  They acted out the Biblical Christmas story and processed on the dirt path (main road) to the chapel.  When we arrived, they performed the Posada with some characters inside the chapel calling and responding to the characters outside the chapel.  They completed the production inside and celebrated the Liturgy of the Word.

Posada call and response at the Chapel door.

Nativity in the Chapel

Afterward, there was an all night dance party in a local family’s yard.  Mercedes gave me a sip of their local moonshine.  I danced until 2am and was one of the first to leave!  There were still little kids running around, lighting fireworks and babies awake next to the loud speaker! 

I stayed the night with Mercedes’ daughter and granddaughter, Amenta and Xiamara.  We had a live chicken under the bed.  I found the next morning that Christmas day is similar to every other day.

Amenta, Xiamara, and Hector before the Posada

Sunday Afternoon Harp Performance

Yesterday afternoon I was blessed by the sound of harps, warm wind, and laughter!  Ha!  These kids first picked up the harp eight months ago.  On Sundays they take lessons over Skype with ladies from Canada.  You will see their Salvadorian teacher in the videos.  He is a guitarist who learned to play the harp with the Canadian women this past year.  Once every couple months Wendy (lovely harp teacher) flies down and teaches intensive lessons at the center.

My favorite song in their lineup.

Check out the view!  Is it really Christmas season?

Santa Lucia's Feast Day Eve

Mom and Dad, remember when Kelley and Tim called home from Pamplona, Spain and started by saying, "We are ok." And followed with, "We just ran with the bulls."  Mom and Dad, I'm ok.  I just survived the craziest, most dangerous/crowded fire.

Really, these people are crazy.  Today is St. Lucy's (Suchi's patron saint) Feast Day.  Last night the carnival came to town.  The rides looked like they were from the 70's and haven't been maintained since.  I was sure kids were going to fly right off the tracks.  People traveled from all over El Salvador to join our celebration.  We talked to people who even flew home from the states and others who walked three hours to spend the evening in Suchi.  The church looked like it belonged in Vegas as it was illuminated with neon lights that changed color every few minutes.  We packed people in to the plaza.  We couldn't move anything but our heads to look up at the...wait for it...FIREWORKS!  I've never seen anything like this.  This was like Barrio San Jose's firework show on steroids.  There were many, many more fireworks, about an hours worth.   They sounded like bombs dropping, the whole earth was shaking, fire was raining on our heads, and we couldn't move. 

They also celebrated with firey toros running around.  They presented saints throughout the plaza on tall, post-like contraptions.  One by one they would set them on fire and they had their own firework show around the saints.  The saints were shooting fire at the stagnant, imprisoned crowd.  It was very beautiful yet frightening.

For the grand finale, there were huge signs with messages like "Feliz Ano Nuevo Suchitoto" and "Que Viva Santa Lucia."  They started spewing fireworks, then lit on fire, then POW, shed skin and another sign would pop up.  These are actually signs on fire, not fireworks in the air spelling things.    Side note for Corvallis people:  If you remember the Pepsi plant at Christmas, it was like those moving figures...ON FIRE...shooting at you!


I have a friend with photos of the firework setup.  I'll try to post them this week.

After, Suchi hosted a huge disco, reggaeton, rave that went until 3am.  Again, I chose to dance my hiny to bed.  It is a three minute walk home but the base was shaking my bed.  These people are crazy and it's all for St. Lucy.

We celebrated this morning with mass.  The place was packed, similar to the plaza last night but St. Lucy didn't shoot fire at us this morning.

Five of the twelve priests that celebrated mass in Iglesia Santa Lucia this morning.  The presiding priest was a Spaniard.

Barrio San Jose's Evening and Rosa's Birthday

8pm Barrio San Jose paraded throughout Suchitoto once again with the marching band.  This time with our float and beautiful Barrio Princess.  Check out the pencil she's using as a handrail and the Santa thrown in for good measure!  My guess is that it wasn't a good health decision to pound our feet on the cobble stone streets and suck exhaust for an hour.

When we returned to our barrio, we hosted a huge firework show.  The fireworks themselves looked professional but the launching and fire safety was far from it.  Sparks were flying everywhere, sengeing clothing, etc.  There was even a point when they lit the toros.  These are bulls made out of sticks that have fireworks taped all over them.  Lucky little boys are chosen to place their heads under these toro figures, hold on to them and run through the crowd.  So imagine this...these boys are on fire, running through hoards of people, with fireballs shooting from their headdresses.    This is the intermission portion of the huge fireworks that rain sparks on our heads.  These people are crazy!  After there was a dance but I chose to dance my little bum to bed instead.


The next day we celebrated Rosa's birthday.  She is our teacher-friend.   I move in with Rosa next week!

 Sister Peggy's attempt at the penyada.

Eva (Rosa's best friend) attempting to swing at the penyada that is already on the ground!

 Rosa with her Tiramisu birthday cake!  I love this girl.  She's very direct, loving, silly, and faithful.  I can't wait to spend more time with her.

Bario San Jose's Oferenda

Suchitoto's patron saint is Santa Lucia.  Tuesday is her feast day and Monday is Our Lady Guadalupe's feast day so Suchitoto is on fire (literally!).  The city is split into seven neighborhoods.  The days this week are divided amongst the neighborhoods.  Each day follows a schedule similar to the schedule below.  Today is my neighborhood's (Bario San Jose) day!

3am: Meet for coffee, sweet bread, and conversation.  This morning we had over 250 residents just hanging in the art center parking lot.
4am:  Residents present the neighborhood's oferenda
4:30am: Fireworks begin to signal the beginning of the procession
4:45am: Residents light devotional candles and marching band launches into song
5am: We process behind the oferenda and marching band, weaving through Suchitoto's cobblestone streets in the dark with our candles.  The marching band plays hymns!
5:15am: Reach the Plaza (regularly a two minute walk) and the neighborhood lights huge fireworks in the square.
5:30am: Neighborhood celebrates a mass together for St. Lucy.  As we walk in, the mass shouts "Viva Santa Lucia!"  We respond "Que Viva!" and repeat.
9am: Neighborhood sponsors party for the kids

Listen to the marching band!

 Oh yeah!  Lovin' it!

Bario San Jose's Oferenda

 Gathering in the Plaza

Marching to the church (Not light yet)

Ill write more about the evening festivities tomorrow...

Time

I never feel like I have enough time, moments, hours, even years.  There are so many people with whom I want to talk and laugh, thoughts I strive to formulate, miles I long to run, books I crave to read, grad programs I itch to join, openings on which I thirst to meditate.  Really, this is my dilemma right now.  Last year, there were vastly different tasks but still never enough time.

So often I live by the clock.  I try to finish one thing before meeting another.  Some days I feel as if I’m rushing more than I am actually listening or accomplishing.  Rushing is a waste of time! While trying to meet all my expectations, I do nothing of substance.

People whom I admire gracefully balance time.  They nurture their own talents, listen to others, and attend to surrounding needs.  They are active, engaged, productive, mindful, aware, and grateful.  They never seem rushed and always have time for spontaneous conversations and moments of beauty or despair.  Father Martin, Sister Peggy, and many others are masters at balancing time. 

One can master time by prioritizing the wellbeing of people (self/others) and welcoming moments of gratitude.  I think that’s the secret!

Skateboarding and Soccer!

I get to run the skate park twice a week!  It is a blast.  The kids don't have professional skate examples, so they are exploring and teaching each other tricks.  They are so polite with each other too!  When they roll along, unable to control their boards, they shout "Con permiso! Con permiso! Con permiso!" This means "Excuse me! Excuse me! Excuse me!"

Karla (Below Left) is one of the two girls who join in the fun.  She's also a steller DJ for us!  All tunes come from her phone!

Jesus (Above Right) is fearless in mastering tricks on the board!  He must be five or so years old.

Juan (Left) is Jesus' older brother.  He carries the same fearlessness as Jesus but has more experience and therefore, more skill. 

A few good men at the art center created a soccer field for my girls soccer class.  It is a blast!  Boys usually dominate the soccer fields (pavement squares) in school and the streets, so I developed a soccer class for girls only.  It is very lax as most of the girls have never played before but we have a blast together.  They started a bit timid but we are rolling now!  They beg for more time after class.  I love it!

Purpose, Goals, Objectives...

What is my purpose here?  When I arrived, my original goals were:

·      To open myself to experiences (individuals and communities) by listening, observing, and asking questions.

·      To learn, study, and practice Spanish in order to hold fluid conversations and develop deep relationships.

Of course, I will continue to strive toward these goals but the productive person in me is looking for objectives and benchmarks.  What is my role?  What am I doing?  I understand that there is profound grace in the above goals but I also know that I have much to share.

At this point, I am impatient with my Spanish ability.  I do see improvements each day but I’m also very aware of my inability to understand all.  I am conscious of the patience others hold while communicating with me.  People give me the time I need to stumble through words (or maybe just sounds and actions) in order to express myself.  I yearn to dive in, to do something substantial, to share myself. 

I grow especially frustrated when I’m fascinated in or curious about the topic or speaker.  My yoga class is already developing a sense of community and I’m thankful for each individual but when we talk before and after class, I know that I miss parts of conversations.  Sometimes the conversations are on health, sometimes spirituality, always from the individual’s life experience.  I’m extremely interested and would love to understand more fully what they are sharing.  Before facilitating a group focused on discussion (one of the hopes for my future here), I need more time to develop my language ability.  I pray for patience.

Left:  Sister Peggy created a beautiful Advent wreath for us!  Below: Our prayer space in Sister Peggy's house.  Love the colors!!!

I have hope and see improvement.  Last Sunday, I facilitated a prayer group for the volunteers, Sister Peggy, and three Salvadorian teachers who host volunteers.  Throughout our hour together, we shared in Spanish.  I love moments of grace that shine through the language obstacle.  I understood the prayers offered and felt the blessed space.  Moments like these feed my excitement for this new place and the opportunities to come.

I’m striving to develop my Spanish skills to develop such environments, to share in graceful moments, and to learn from the Salvadorians.  At the moment, I do what I can.

My goals are vast, immeasurable, and almost indefinable.  I’m more comfortable with objectives and knowing when I’ve met those objectives.  For now, maybe there is more growth in this discomfort than pushing forward to reach an objective and to do.