My Experiences in Chinamequita

so i've been in san francisco chinameca, affectionately called chinamequita to distinguish it from a city of the same name in another state, for 2 weeks now. the people are very friendly and have treated me so well. i've been giving english classes to 4 different groups a few times a week and i've been enjoying it. the students are extremely motivated, moreso than i remember seeing in my experiences throughout all of my edu.

the other day for my birthday the 2 brothers from my host family and some of the students through me a little party with a freshly made cake, singing, and gifts. i was and have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people i've met here, but most especially by those who do not have much to give. chinamequita is a small town set in the moutains. i hope to put up some pics soon but it has been very difficult with the slow connection. there is a volcanic lake about a 10 minute's ride from me, and this saturday some of the students and i are going to have a little picnic there. i'm looking forward to having a closer view than that which the bus window gives, but seeing it from the road allows for a nice view as well. it is similar to lake atitlan in guatemala, which is also surrounded by volcanoes and lush green foliage. unfortunately i heard that the hurricane and floods hurt the communities in atitlan pretty bad. i'm sure they've opened up the lake again because it's a huge tourist draw. i've heard that the pueblo that was buried in the landslides has been left as a mass grave and the survivors are resettling nearby.

in any case, aside from the natural beauty that seems to bless central america, my pueblo is also a place of poverty. i take bucket showers in the morning, which can be a little brisk with the early morning mountain winds. the bathroom is a latrine without a light or woodchips for that matter, and i dont know if i'll ever get used to the sight of the cockroaches before i use it. the house is sturdy, with cement walls to hopefully withstand the next earthquake set to hit in april. the roofs are tin, which should make it less dangerous. there are still people without houses after a storm that hit a year ago. i think my host family is still paying off the loan they took to rebuild their house after the last earthquake that hit 5 years ago. potable water only flows every couple of weeks or so, and in some places less frequently or not at all. i think it had been 18 days without water when the first flow came while i was here. when it does come, we store the water in buckets to use for the inevitable dry periods. during the days, almost the entire adult working population leaves the pueblo to work in the fields or in san salvador taking care of children, teaching, or working other jobs. there is virtually no work in the pueblo except for a few small tiendas. it will be interesting to see how the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) affects el salvador, as they are the first country set to implement it. i have a feeling it will mean tougher times for the farmers and vendors, but i am unable to speak to that as of yet.

the elections are coming up in a few weeks, and the television stations are flooded with commercials for the ultra right wing government, ARENA, who i've heard owns most of the television stations and media outlets. literally every commercial break has an ARENA commercial, some of them obviously filled with direct lies, such as the one that depicts the opposing party as street gangsters as a scare tactic for the voters, and another insinuating, from the best of my understanding, that they support prostitution. there were also problems with vote buying in the last election. my host family told me that last time ARENA members were handing out money to voters before they went to the polls, while i've heard others actually buy the votes inside houses or buses where they are less likely to be seen. most newspapers are recognized to be right of moderate to varying degrees, and the one left leaning paper, which is run through a cooperative, is extremely limited in circulation do to its obvious financial limitations. i'm hoping to write an article about my experiences in chinamequa and to submit it to some newspapers in the states, although i don't know if it will be accepted or not. we'll see how that goes, for now it is but a seedling idea.

for now i'll return to work in the cyber cafe where i'm sitting in san salvador, just outside of plaza libertad. abrazos y paz!