Friends and family,
Back by popular demand, Audrey’s monthly updates. Okay, not popular demand, but there was at least one demand. I’m back down in El Salvador now, I’ve been here for about 5 weeks. It was kind of a rocky transition back into life down here, but this week I feel like I’m finally getting settled. Over Christmas I got super settled into my comfortable Chico lifestyle. Good friends were seconds away, I had a mocha every morning, there was a diverse selection of delicious foods, heavenly. Life isn’t quite as comfy down here. It is however rich, challenging, adventurous, heartbreaking, and breathtaking.
I’m living in Jiquilisco, with 3 guys. Maybe I should say men, they range from 26-60+ (?) I haven’t asked. I though it would be rude. I’ve started a garden at the house. When someone drove into the yard last week and saw my garden he said, “me parece hay una mujer en la casa.” (it seems there is a woman in the house). I said, yeah look in the fridge. My big accomplishment so far has been turning my house from a bachelor pad to an actual house. It’s a daily struggle. On of the common agricultural practices is burning the sugar cane fields before harvest and it fills the air with these big pieces of ash. The ash then floats into the house and covers every surface. Even people if you sit still for long enough. Anyhow, I’m spending the weeks out here and the weekends at my sister’s apartment in the city or at the beach. Don’t envy me too much; I know you all are having the craziest winter in 20 years. But when I wake up some mornings at 7 and I’m already sweating I wish I were there!
My second week back I accompanied a medical mission from New York. There were 50 doctors, nurses, dentists, specialists, pharmacists, and translators. We took the countryside by storm and saw 1500 patients in 6 different communities in 6 days. I was the “translator” for the pediatrician. His Spanish was as good as mine. Which is to say passable, but really not that good. We saw mostly family groups of kids up to 6 patients at a time. Most of the kids were dressed up in there fanciest outfits, it was the social event of the season. We saw some pretty gnarly sick kids. A few with staff infections covering their bodies, a lot of parasites, some asthma and pneumonia, and one boy with a cataract in his eye. Treatable, but he couldn’t get into see the eye doctor for 6 months. We said we were “eradicating disease and pestilence.” We had to joke our way through it, or else you get so mad that these people are so marginalized they don’t have access to basic health care. Or potable water in their homes. These are basic human rights and people all over the world are denied them.
Now I’m working mostly in this community called San Juan de LeTran. I’ve got two projects of my very own going on. I’m working with the youth to create a demonstration garden. It will serve as an area to have agricultural workshops and teach the community about organic and sustainable agriculture practices. The thought with working with the youth is to do leadership education through agriculture. (Does that sound familiar?) We have a brief “charla” (chat, or lesson) about a topic and then we go to work in the garden. We’re just in the early stages now, fixing the fence and planning the garden. The youth are involved in every step; I’m really trying to get them to feel ownership so it continues when I go home. It is part of a broader project the Episcopal Church is starting with the Coordinadora (the organization I worked with last fall). I’m jazzed about that because I really like the people who work for that group and what they are all about. My other little project is “intercambios de idiomas” (language exchanges) with the same kids. Basically a fancy way of saying I help them with there English homework and the help me with Spanish. In one such of these interchanges, one of the guys said to me in perfect English with a swanky tone in his voice, “hi baby” I said, “funny, real funny, but maybe don’t use that one until you get to know the girl.”
Hope all is well, thanks for your emails, support and love!
Audrey
