Bienvenidas

I was alone in this huge house for a short time after Margaret Jane returned to New Jersey, and I felt like a small marble in a very big box, just rattling around.  Peggy O'Neill introduced me to Maria del Carmen, who wanted to move to Suchitoto and was looking for a place to stay, and I am so glad that she's moved in.  Here she is in the patio, in the shade of the lemon tree:

A Salvadoran, Maria del Carmen was once a Hermanita de Jesus de Carlos de Foucauld (Little Sister of Jesus of Charles de Foucauld), has been a peacemaker and community organizer in Chalatenango, and supports herself by creating beautiful cards with dried flowers and leaves.  She's my new Spanish teacher - and it makes a great difference to be speaking Spanish at home.  She'll also be volunteering with children at the Centro Arte para la Paz.  And she has amazing stories to share. 

We're going to be joined tomorrow by Melinda from the University of Santa Clara, an artist who's also volunteering at the Centro Arte para la Paz over the next couple of months and who will live here.  Happily she speaks Spanish - I understand her parents are from Mexico - so that will be the language of the house.

Que alegría, what happiness, to share the house with Maria del Carmen and (prospectively) Melinda, to create a new community in this beautiful space.

Giving Thanks

So much to give thanks for!  Friends and family and community, work that I love, health that lets me do it, God's daily gifts and blessings.

Today we shared Thanksgiving dinner with Peggy O'Neill, four delightful norteamericanas (Diana, Laura, Molly and Millie) who volunteer at the Centro Arte para la Paz, and Xiomara, a young Salvadoran staying with Peggy while she goes to high school.  Thanks to a store that knows about gringo necessities, I was able to find a frozen turkey and cranberries; my favorite bakery provided pumpkin pie; and I spent a glorious day cooking (Margaret Jane spent a day perhaps somewhat less gloriously, but infinitely more usefully, cleaning up after me). 

We ate and talked and remembered our families in the United States and prayed together the beautiful Thanksgiving prayer that Carmel Little sent out for all the Sisters and Associates of St. Joseph of Peace.  I sent everyone home with bags of turkey and there's still more leftover turkey (and roast vegetables, mashed potates, etc.) than I can imagine using.  Thank goodness for freezers!  I can't imagine cooking like this on any other day - and I can't imagine not creating a Thanksgiving feast.

Dog days

In winter, the rainy season (going on right now), we rely on the rain to cut the heat and bring in some natural air cooling, like the swamp coolers I remember from my Albuquerque days. But for the past couple of days, it hasn't rained here in Suchitoto - thunderstorms all around us, but only heat and more heat, humidity and higher humidity here. Over at the Centro Arte para la Paz, Peggy's Luna did what any sensible dog would do in this heat - found the coolest spot on the tile floor and put as much of herself in contact with it as possible. Don't think I haven't considered it!

But I found a better antidote to the heat and humidity of these dog days in the harp music floating out into the courtyard. Wendy is here on one of her regular visits from Ontario, and she was teaching her students a few new songs and techniques. It must be the power of music, but they all look radiant and cooler than cucumbers. A concert's planned for next weekend - Margaret Jane and I will surely be there. Meanwhile, we hope for some rain.

Celebrating la tercera edad

La tercera edad, the third age, is what they call being a senior citizen here in El Salvador - and come to think of it, it makes a lot more sense and poetry than "senior citizen." Last week we had a fiesta for people in la tercera edad at the Centro Arte para la Paz, complete with a band that knew how to play the old Salvadoran standbys for dancing - though when we got into rock tunes, a little later, could see that these are my contemporaries. We all danced to the Beatles back in the 60s, and we all could keep that beat going. Some segunda edad folk even snuck in to enjoy the dancing with us - Arielle on the left in the photo above is one of Peggy O'Neill's full-time volunteers this year. Great fun - there were prizes for all, including the oldest person there, a man of 99 who I often greet on the corner of my street, and the woman with most children - someone claimed she had 14, though when she stood up she only mentioned 10. Other prizes were raffled, even the two piñatas. We were served coffee and a refrigerio (a snack, the first time I met this word I had a terrible time disentangling it from refrigerator, refrigerador) and had a good time.

I knew some of the folk there by name, others by sight, and many were new to me, but it was fun to be among my contemporaries in la tercera edad.

New works at Centro Arte

The events and openings at the Centro Arte para la Paz this year have been breathtaking - first the beautiful new museum in one wing of the old school, then the skateboard park, the landscaping of the outer grounds, two beautiful new entry gates, the exercise pavilion....and now! Just a few days ago, two relatively recent classrooms that stood on one side of the chapel were demolished, and now the foundations are being dug for a new combination of facilities: a large meeting room, dining room, kitchen, storage area, and two apartments for visitors.

For those who know the Centro Arte, the hostel is in the background of this photo, which looks across the courtyard toward Sister Peggy's house (now painted blue). And you can see a few of the men digging away, happy to be having this great building project to work on.

Peggy is, of course, already planning the next project. And given what I've experienced so far at the Centro Arte para la Paz, I expect it will happen ahead of schedule.

La Memoria Vive

Yesterday I had my first chance to see the new museum that is part of the Centro Arte para la Paz, and I'm delighted and amazed at all that is there, all that has been accom-plished. I haven't had time to do more than a quick look yet (this is one of the 150% of time periods when I'm getting ready for our November eye screening mission), but I can hardly wait to watch the videos and read all the posters and look at all the artifacts.

This museum is called "La Memoria Vive," or Living Memory, and it's a museum of Suchitoto history, with special emphasis on the living history that Suchitoto youth captured in their video interviews with elders, warriors, artisans, campesinos. Interactive video screens are scattered throughout the museum, offering interviews on different topics. And it's all very beautifully and imaginatively put together.

The museum opened September 26th, and already has logged 900 visitors, an impressive number in this small town. Best of all, it's attracting and educating the young people of Suchitoto, helping them to understand their own history. Congratulations to Peggy O'Neill and the talented staff of the Centro Arte who've made yet another dream become reality.

A field of dreams

A few months ago - sometime back in the early months of 2010 - Sister Peggy had an inspiration. There was the Centro Arte para la Paz with a big empty field, and there were the kids of Suchitoto with few places to play and use up kid energy in healthy ways. As anyone who knows Peggy can attest, she knows how to turn dreams into realities. Yesterday a small army of Suchitoto kids inaugurated the new skateboard park - a wonderful skateboard park with all the necessary jumps and rolls, painted by this summer's volunteers, waiting for fun.

Camilo showed the kids a skateboard routine including jumps and a handstand, and then it was their turn. Each hopeful skater had to pay attention to a careful list of rules, and each one got to try out the outfit - helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards - and one of the new skateboards or scooters, and they were off to the races, a bit unsteady but learning fast. This morning, Peggy says, there were 42 kids waiting for their turn. This field of dreams has become a field full of joyful energy. Keep dreaming, Peggy!

Bits of this and that

I'm almost off to the airport to pick up Kathy and Victor Garcia, here on a car-buying and mission planning trip, but first I want to introduce a new housemate, Korla Masters. Korla, who's just graduated from college, is here volunteering at the Centro Arte para la Paz until May, 2011, teaching English in El Sitio Cenizero and helping out at the Centro. She loves oranges, and was lamenting today, while squeezing oranges, that her attempts to eat locally in Minnesota will rule out oranges in her future diet. We agreed that this was a good reason to be here and now and revel in every Salvadoran orange that comes her way over the next nine months.

Korla told us about last night's concert at the Centro Arte, a combination of the Pop Ensemble of the El Salvador Youth Orchestra and the Coro de Manos, Choir of Hands, performing a combination of pop music and songs signed in Salvadoran Sign Language. Korla was especially delighted because her mother is the Pastor for a deaf community in Minnesota, and she grew up speaking ASL. SSL is different, she told us, but some of the sign interpreters also spoke ASL, so she was able to communicate, and was taped for a sign blog. It was an absolutely wonderful and uplifting evening, both because of the beauty of sign and because of the great stage presence and joyfulness of orchestra director Martin Jorge.

We also had the joy of greeting Pat Farrell, OSF, the newly elected vice-president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, here to visit her old stomping grounds in Suchitoto (Pat lived here for 15 or more years, working with Peggy O'Neill to start the Centro Arte) with a group of Franciscans and Franciscan Associates. Pat will be an inspirational leader for LCWR, and I'm sure her many years in El Salvador will come in handy, perhaps in surprising ways.

A little night music

Recently the ex-theater behind our house has turned into a sports bar, with very loud music sometimes playing long into the night (though, happily, not most nights). We're contemplating purchasing some ear protectors to help us get through those nights. I thought at one point, "this is what comes of having no zoning." But then I had to admit that if Suchitoto was zoned, our house - across the street from the market, around the corner from the ex-theater - would be in the commercial zone.

It was all the more delightful last night to go to a concert of Latino music at the Centro Arte para la Paz, where five generous and talented performers, Fabiola, Osiris, Diana, Anna and Eduardo - from Peru, El Salvador, the U.S., Germany and El Salvador - held us enthralled with tender ballads and a beautiful blending of Osiris' guitar with Ana's cello improvisations. Part of the delight was walking the five blocks to the Centro by lamplight and walking home again in the tropical dark, humming. A little night music.

Circus!

They danced, they clowned, they did flips and cartwheels, they swung on great ropes of cloth - last Thursday a young version of the circus came to the Centro Arte para la Paz, thanks to Gabriel and Romina of Charivari. Gabriel and Romina are talented Argentinians who have spent a month teaching circus arts to a great group of young Suchitotans. The audience - parents and friends and school kids - was properly impressed and enthusiastic, and the whole scene was captured by the kids in Rachel's photography class.

It's easy to see how much fun this was. The part that's not quite visible is how important this kind of teaching is in giving these teens a sense of their own talents and possibilities. They may not be destined for the Cirque du Soleil (or maybe one of them is, who knows?), but they'll all be walking taller and with a healthy look-at-me attitude. May the circus continue!

Maestra Margarita

Margaret Jane started her third English class today at the Centro Arte para la Paz - with that addition, she's now teaching on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Each class has three students, young people who need English as teachers, as guides for tourists, and for future work in the University. These have to be the luckiest English students in Central America: with donations from family and friends, Margaret Jane purchased Rosetta Stone programs, workbooks, and games for English learners, and she is always on the lookout for good materials for the classes. Each class includes individual one-on-one conversation with the maestra, computer study, reading aloud, language games and group conversations.

In this photo, Margaret Jane with her two newest students, Sulma and Rosa, both from the Marianella Garcia colonia of Suchitoto. Margaret Jane worked with their parents at the Calle Real Refuge; now she's bringing new energy and hope en inglés to the lives of the daughters.

New voices in Suchitoto

Last night Margaret Jane (newly back from New Jersey) and I went to the Centro Arte para la Paz for the presentation of Voces de los Cerros, Voices of the Hills, a collective theatrical work created by Suchitoto youth working with a group of theatre professionals from the Shakespeare Festival of Stratford, Ontario.

It was a glorious presentation. Using every angle of a simple wooden stage, the actors leapt, danced, talked and sang a saga involving the gods, hunters, tricksters and villagers. Beautifully staged, it showed off the talents and abilities of Suchitoto's young people, polished to production level in only six weeks.

We're promised more to come: Suchitoto Stratford: ESARTES is a new school of theatrical arts here, and will be adding its luster to Suchitoto's reputation as an arts center.

Padre Oscar

I've been mindful yesterday and today of a grand celebration in Suchitoto - Oscar Alfaro Melgar has been ordained, and, as Padre Oscar, is just now in the middle of celebrating his first Mass. Padre Oscar is the younger brother of Martha who keeps our Suchitoto house in beautiful order, and the whole family has been praying and preparing for this special day for a long time.



Padre Oscar's parish, San Nicolas Lempa, is far from Suchitoto, but he asked to be ordained in his home town, to share the joy of this day with his Suchitotense family and friends. His bishop was agreeable, and Suchitoto is always ready to have a fiesta. The celebration yesterday included an almuerzo (luncheon) for 100 at the Centro Arte para la Paz, chicken for most everybody else in the parish, bucketloads of tamales, and - I can hear them in my mind's ear - plenty of firecrackers.



I wish I could have been there, but Marta has promised to show me photos. Meanwhile, I've been visiting the Tacoma home of my friend Patti Moore and getting an advance tour of the house in rural Pierce County that she and her husband are fixing up. I'm about to go to church with Patti, and will be praying in thanksgiving for the gift of Padre Oscar to the people of El Salvador. May the spirit and courage of Monsenor Oscar Romero be his.

An El Salvador weekend

Our great mission team got on the plane very early this morning - at least most of them did: a few are relaxing at the beach or with family, Zach Pedersen is on the way to Panama, and Cathy MacKay has started a three-month language-learning stay in El Salvador. Kathy Garcia and I drove back to the base house in Suchitoto and well-deserved naps.

Between the end of clinics on Friday and the plane ride this morning, our team members expanded their understanding of this beautiful country. We spent Saturday in the capital, San Salvador, visiting the Hospital de Divina Providencia where Monseñor Romero lived and was assassinated in 1980; we heard the story from Sister Bernadita, a Honduran nun and the only person who makes Kathy Garcia look like a basketball player. At the University of Central America (UCA) we learned about the assassination of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter nine years later. And we took a little time for shopping and sightseeing.

Saturday evening we had the traditional pizza-beer-and-coconut-ice-cream dinner, this time at the home of Leslie Schuld, Director of the CIS (Center for Interchange and Solidarity), and got to hear Leslie's take on politics, economics, crime and development in El Salvador, knowledge borne of 16 years in the country.

Sunday was our Suchitoto day, beginning with an inspiring conversation with Sister Peggy O'Neill at the Centro Arte para la Paz. Peggy reminded our team that the medicines and glasses we offered mattered less than the attention, respect and dignity we gave our patients; and that our consciousness of the limitation of what we could give was also a grace.

After a few hours to walk and shop in Suchitoto, the team headed for our new Base House and lunch and time to sit under the lemon tree and relax. Then it was back to the Novo Hotel, our elegant weekend lodging, to debrief and pack and get to bed early for the long trip home.

¡Feliz Navidad!

Christmas Eve is the big feast day here, and I spent the day with Peggy and Pat Farrell in El Sitio Cenizero, a village of the Suchitoto municipality where both have long-time friends. The afternoon began with the traditional feast of panes con pollo - here's a photo. The trick is to eat it with your hands and NOT end up with the sauce decorating your clothes. I was partly successful. After that, a nap was necessary, and Mercedes, our hostess, loaned me a hammock where, I suspect, I snored blissfully. Later in the afternoon we sat and talked and listened to Mercedes' granddaughter, Aminta's daughter Lucita play the harp (she's one of ten children taking harp lessons at the Centro Arte para la Paz) while two other granddaughters and Pat joined in Christmas songs. And the conversation rambled happily along (what kind of dress should Paula have for her quinceañera? Not one of the those expensive, flashy ones you'd never wear again... They decided to buy satin and make a dress for her). For me it was a great pleasure that I could follow most of it. We got to watch Mercedes making a farmer's cheese which she served with glorious sausages and beans and tortillas for supper. And we sat and talked some more until it was time to go to church. The celebration began with the conclusion of Las Posadas, sung back and forth between the "innkeepers" inside the church and the singers accompanying the village's Mary and Joseph outside. Finally the doors were opened, and Mary and Joseph and all the rest of us went in. The communion service was led by an El Sitio man and included some Latino Christmas songs I'm getting to know, including one delightful one with this chorus:

Brincan y bailan los peces en el rio / brincan y bailan de ver a Dios nacido
The fish in the river skip and dance, skip and dance to see God born.

Then it was time for the firecrackers to continue (they'd been going on all day) and the dancing to start, and I'm told it went on all night long, but I was tired and headed for my bed for the night at 10:30 instead of joining in. Maybe next time!

Christmas day has been an anticlimax - we came back in the morning and great piles of firecracker paper covered the streets of Suchitoto, so I knew it had been just as noisy here, but the efficient streetsweepers were already tidying up. Church at 10 and then nothing much more going on. It's been a lonely day for me, because Christmas day is always the big day for both my family and the CSJP community, and I'm missing everyone. But it was an honor and a delight to be invited to share in a Salvadoran Christmas. One thing I really noticed: if there were presents, they weren't very big or very visible. This is a poor community in economic terms, but rich in all that matters. They know how to celebrate, how to have a feast.

Blessings

Alexine and I visited the crypt of the cathedral in San Salvador for the 10 AM Mass on the first Sunday in Advent. This is a special place, the burial place of Monseñor Romero, and the community that gathers here on Sunday is also special - full of people who revere Monseñor and try to walk in his path, women from the market, old men, students, delegations from the United States and Europe. Most of the music this Sunday was from the Misa Salvadoreña by Guillermo Cuellar, lively tunes mated with powerful lyrics. In the offerings, the Advent wreath was brought forward, martyrs were remembered, and a basket of food for the hungry was placed at the altar. Afterwards Alexine bought some medals of Monseñor, and the photo shows her bringing them to his tomb for a blessing.

We found another amazing blessing Sunday night when we went to the Centro Arte para la Paz for a concert. The first act gave the ten young students who are learning to play the harp a chance to show off their new skills - with "Twinkle, twinkle little star"! Who could imagine a harp concert in Suchitoto? The harps are the gift of a Canadian woman who has also taught a local guitarist, and he in turn has taught the children the first steps of harping. The harpists were followed by a group of young guitarists, a chamber music group, and a popular music group - all wonderful, but the harpists won our hearts.

Celebration

Today Margaret Jane and I headed down to the Centro Arte para la Paz for a celebration and exhibition. The celebration, which included a concert from the band Exceso de Equipaje (named, I gather, because the men in the band carry a little extra baggage on them). Their lively, politically charged songs were followed by certificates for all the students who had participated in a couple of classes at the Centro, and by an exhibit of the work of one of the groups, calls for earth awareness painted on bright umbrellas and murals.

I missed most of the event, though, because Margaret Jane and I joined Peggy and the sandwich maquila out in the kitchen, helping to make, wrap and stack 400 chicken salad sandwiches. Then I was invited to help fill plastic bags with a tamarind refresco. This is a very Central American way of serving a drink: you put a cup of the drink in a plastic bag, tie the top of the bag, and give it out with a straw for drinking. I've seen these, but never tried to fill one. I can now tell you that it takes a little art to fill the bag without covering yourself with tamarind refresco. I was fairly well covered with tamarind refresco by the time we had 200 little plastic bags bobbing in a big tub.

I'm heading back to Bellevue on Tuesday for vacation, family time, community time and some work time with PeaceHealth. My newly learned skills of pouring liquids into plastic bags are unlikely to be needed there.