For those of you who have attended a quinceañera before, they are an event unlike any other. In many ways, it’s like a wedding but everything is pink, but much closer to a bat mitzvah. This was my first time attending such an event and I kind of feel my future quinceañeras just will not top it. It was in my community, it was my host sister and I knew everyone there (pretty much)! I dressed up for the first time in my community with a dress AND heels! My host sister did my hair, we went all out. The party was an absolute blast; we had chicken (big deal), tortillas (of course), rice, coleslaw like mixture, and sodas. Plus ice cream!
I felt so lucky to have shared this moment with them, witnessing the youngest daughter having her Quinceañera. It made me feel a part of the family. Quinceañeras here are a big deal, since most “marriages” do not necessary happen; you just move into your boyfriend’s house with his parents and start having kids. So in reality, it’s the only time maybe in their entire lives they get to dress up and have all the attention on them for once. It’s such a different life here. The restaurant we had it in was “gifted” to us for free, whereas in the United States you would have it at a hotel or rent a banquet hall. Not always necessarily, but most of the time. The “father” or head of the family has lived in the U.S. for 8 years. At one point I caught Erika (the birthday girl) standing aside waiting for the party to start, talking to him on the phone and crying. I cannot imagine growing up knowing you have a father, having him be alive and well but having few memories of him. But, he is the bread-winner of the family, they always say hopefully in two or three years he will return to El Salvador. He also makes all the decisions for the household, even while living so far away. I will believe it when I see it. It’s sad in many ways, but for them they see it as the way it has to be.
After the party, there was a Western Security Conference for my region with our Security Officers, Country Director and other staff. Now with so few volunteers in country, the staff to volunteer ratio was about even…pretty sad. But, I volunteered/was selected to be the Security Warden for the region…which means I help activate the EAP (Emergency Action Plan) if for example there are political protests, natural disasters (which happen here ALL the time) or in case we have to be evacuated. I am pretty excited about my new responsibility. I got a cool folder AND pens. ;-) I have also joined a committee called GAD (we government agencies love abbreviations, Gender and Development) which as a committee we are planning to collaborate to organize a youth camp in August/September for educating youth on HIV/AIDS prevention as well as healthy living habitats. Should be fun!
pouring rain one day...Peace Corps also has a scholarship program called WYD (I know, these never end…Women and Youth Development) which I actually believe is one of the best programs PC does here. They fundraise to give scholarships to kids with great to excellent grades and community involvement who cannot afford to go to high school or college. They give $250 to High School and $450 to University students per year. This usually covered their class fees, some supplies and transportation (almost all kids commute).
(there was an issue with a shortage of mattresses...so every volunteer brought their hammock to sleep on...this is hammock village)
Since so many volunteers had left the country and still had scholars nearby, WYD does a camp at least once a year for these scholars to have the opportunity to meet other intelligent kids, learn small business ideas, and other activities. I somehow went from having no scholars to having 6. Although 5 are graduating this year (all being in high school) and I adopted another super sweet girl who is in University in San Salvador. As soon as the WYD committee opens up a new account to donate for scholars, I promise I will send out the link for support. :-)
Besides that, I have an inter-year training with my program in mid-May at the beach which I am really looking forward to as well as some project ideas in the planning. I am currently growing some ganas to apply for a bunch of grants to receive within the next 6-9 months. What else is new? The other day my host brother asked if I knew how to do Yoga. It just so happens I was gifted a really beautiful yoga mat (I kind of want to bring it home with me) from a previous volunteer and a little booklet. So the other day my entire host family (okay the kids next door, my host sisters and my host brother while Mama Mirian watched and laughed) all tried to do yoga. It was super fun and hilarious. I may no longer be a cheerleader, but they were amazed on my flexibility, I just told them to cut the amount of tortillas they eat daily in half! :-) They all laughed. We were all supposed to go a school trip to a water park with Erika’s school on Friday, but her father in the states decided they were not allowed to go. When I found this out from my host mom, I was appalled and actually became very angry. I have not been that upset in a long time. It was not until now that I learned my host mom and my host sisters, whenever they want to leave the community to go to the pueblo (nearby town) or to Ahuachapán to buy things, they have to ask for permission from a man who lives in the different country and has not seen any of them for 8 years.
It blew my mind. Can you imagine as a wife asking your husband every time you wanted to leave the house to go to the grocery store, play cards, visit your friends, or even go to a party for permission? I was so upset, though after a few hours, I apologized to my host mom how I acted, I just had to explain that it is completely different than my culture in the states. Men don’t have that much control over their wives and are very independent. I have a whole new appreciation for American culture and my freedom. Yes, I can no longer go to San Salvador, yes I now can only take Peace Corps private transport outside my department, but I can essentially leave my community whenever I want to. I think it’s mostly a cultural thing of the men wanting to have control over their household, even being so far away. I know a lot of families in my community are like this, but not necessarily all.
Even 9 months in I am still learning how good I have in the United States and how I will continue to learn the benefits of living here as well as the drawbacks. If you ever have anyone complain about the U.S. for some reason or another, feel free to give them my contact information, because they have no idea how good they have it. I am happy here, but there are still everyday challenges in living in El Salvador. I can feel the two years going by faster than I expected; I always try to embrace and accept every learning experience as a good thing. I hope you can do the same, but just remember to take everything with a grain of salt, or maybe part of a tortilla. ;-)
Thank you for sharing your thought, observations and world with us back home. I hope all is well with you and your families.
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