Boda del Ciglo (Wedding of the Century)

I´m going to let the pictures tell this one. I´m still exhausted.


Adam and Amy. Praxis partners. Both crazy and loving every minute of each other. This one really shows the love that exists between all of us. Cheesy, but really true to the core.

Romero vive! Start of the procession from Salvador del Mundo to the cathedral. About a 2 hour walk of celebrating and laughing and dancing and chanting.

Amy, Adam, myself, and Roe. Capturing the moment.

Allison, my CC (community coordinator) and good friend. She´ll be at BC next year for the Graduate School of Social Work, and to hang out.

I have a bag on my head of beans and rice, all in little white mesh baggies to hand out to the guests at the wedding to throw at Gene and Lupita when they leave the church. Casamiento in El Salvador means the marraige of beans and rice. A traditional dish, and a traditional thing to do at a wedding.

Neto and Julio. And the flowers we made. Casa students were responsible for the decoratins at the wedding.

Couldn´t get the flower to balance. This is outside the church waiting for the bride and groom to come out. They were married in the same church where Romero was killed, La Divina Providencia, by Dean Brackley, SJ.

Lupita, the most beautiful bride, ever.

Gene and Lupita and their wedding cake.

The reception was held at a park close to the church. About 400 people came to celebrate with live music, food and friends. The food was prepared by the women down the street from us who own a struggling pupuseria. Here are Ryan and Jenn dancing to the music of Horizantes, good friends of Lupita and Gene and one of the more popular folk bands in El Salvador. When you have people as friendly and giving as Gene and Lupita getting married, you´re bound to have all of El Salvador there to celebrate.

Cara Angry

I lot of things have been running through my mind lately. Let me see if I can get them all to fit in a space small enough so I don´t have to open another web page just to fit them all in. That was a bad joke.

So when I came back from Costa Rica, I felt at ease. As the plane touched down on the dry, golden land of El Salvador, I got the same feeling I get when I land in Boston and in Tampa.

Home again.

After a day, I realized that I was kidding myself for feeling that "homeness" in a way. Something was different - and I discovered this at praxis yesterday. I realized that after being away from El Salvador for almost a week and a half, I had begun to build this bubble... this shelter where I wasn´t going to allow anyone in again to break me. And this "anyone" includes El Salvador. Well this defense shield was shortlived - partially because after I realized this yesterday, I refused to maintain this ridiculous idea. Why should I be defensive? It is better to feel.

I tend to do this "thing" before I leave a place and people I love - I shut myself off. I become short, quiet, and sometimes it can all even turn cruel. I do it defensively, automatically, unstoppably. I do it because I know I have to leave this place of comfort and love and I don´t want to. It happens a lot when I go home to the fam in Florida. Spring break here signified and solidified this idea in my head that this is over when really, it´s not. I still have seven weeks here.

Going to Jayaque Wednesday made me realize how ridiculous I was being in this defense mode. And I don´t want that life or way of thinking anymore. Its better to feel.

I read this book this past week - Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. I strongly recommend you all read it when (and thats not and if) you can. It´s by John Perkins, a man out of New Hampshire who enters into the corporatocracy - those coporations that are privately owned but secretly work for the government which in turn work to expand the global empire. His job, basically, was to go into developing countries, develop inflated economic plans for them to show the governments that they should invest their money (that they would borrow from the US) to hire US engineers to come in and develop their nations´electricity, streets, buildings, etc. This "development plan" comes with the ideal that the soverign would obviously be appreciated by their citizens for working to develop their nations. The coporatocracy leaves out the fact that the countries they "serve" would gain severe debt, leaving no choice but to sacrifice their canals, oil, and UN votes to the states.

So between reading that book, seeing The Last King of Scotland last night, and Jayaque yesterday - I broke my bubble of defense. I just had to sit in the movie theater last night and cry. Breakdown. A few of us from the house went together, including Edith (one of the becarias - and strongest people I know). When the first images of Uganda came on the screen, she said,

"Oh! Looks like Chalete!"

She was referring to Chaletenango, her home and a department in northern El Salvador. The first images of Uganda were simply beautiful. I know the cinematographer did this on purpose to recognize that what seems beautiful on the outside of a situation does not mean corruptness does not lie within the facade. It was a harsh movie, a true image of reality. I was jumping, shaking and afraid while watching, and Edith leaned over to me saying, "Carita, sola es una pelicula." (Its just a movie.)

But we know its not.

Hate on this planet runs so deep. So deep. Sometimes we can not always feel the love we have for another because it is so profound. Well, I feel that is the same for hate. I cannot feel the hate of the world but only sometimes because if I did, I dont think I would be able to breathe.

Now, I´m just left speechless, but I hope we all go there. Get to the point of being speechless for a moment, then act on it. I hope we all push ourselves to take off this bandaid over our world and really look into the wound that lives and breathes underneath.


Just to finish, today in praxis seminar Beth played Tracy Chapman - Telling Stories. There was a lyric that stuck out to me.

Sometimes a lie is better than the truth.

Is it?

Pura Vida

Puerto Viejo

Amy ziplining in Cahuita-Puerto Viejo

How else can you expect me to title an entry about Costa Rica?

It´s their country´s saying.

So we´re currently situated at Hostel Pangea in San Jose after three days in Puerto Viejo. Tuesday we arrived and settled at Casa Verde (I highly recommend it. $12 a night for 3 people, shared bathroom and shower.) Wednesday we started out on the beach of Playa Negra and took a surf lesson in the afternoon with Johan and Jordan, friends of Topo (aka the surfer of Puerto Viejo, the neighboorhood man...or so it seemed). Stood up my first wave...no big deal... We also met with them Salvador, who we were a fan of automatically because of his name. The three of us and Salvador has lunch, then met up later for reggae night at Johnny´s Place, a bar on the beach. It could have turned out smoothly, with a ton of fun on the side, BUT Amy and Ally both got their money and cameras stolen after all three of us left our purses on the side table while we danced a comfortable 4 ft. away...with not many people in between us. My cell phone and money wasnt touched, which blew me away. Tough night. Didn´t stop us from doing a huge canopy tour zip-lining through the rainforest the next morning. Ally and I rented bikes in the afternoon and biked up the dirt roads to Cocles.

Never a dull moment on this trip, now thinking back on it.

When we were laying on the beach at Cocles, I turned to my right and 30 feet away a man was struggling to get back up on the beach from the water - he was crawling in the sand. I ignorantly assumed he was drunk and shouldnt have been swimming in the first place, and decided not to go check on him for fear of my safety. Thinking back on it, I feel horrible. What would he have done in daylight with a ton of people around? The reason why I´m being so hard on myself is because he ended up being taken to the hospital after a young man running on the beach went up to him. After summoning Ally and I over we found out he had rip tide or even a heart attack.

I question more and more why I didn´t go over to this man in need, obviously struggling. If I want to be a doctor, why do I look away at a time like that? I should be running toward him.

It hurts.

The bus drive to San Jose tonight was 4 hours, again. During this long drive through the cloudy rainforests and little towns that remind me of Antiguo and Santa Tecla, I got to thinking about what I want to do. I need to figure out where I will be a year from now. Getting ready to graduate, obviously, but what else? I want to go to med school, yes, but I want something more than that. I want to use my Spanish. I want to be connected to El Salvador, but also to those 40 million in the US who can´t afford proper health care or insurance. So what? What does that mean?

I´m thinking I want to go back to East Boston. Find somewhere where I can either do some research in my year off about the inner city Boston, including the immigrant population, maybe tie this into health care somehow and from my future based around my ability to serve these people.

I´m really excited about this new idea. I just need to find a launch point in Boston. And if anyone reading this knows of something, I´m so open to ideas and help. Bring it on. I´m ready.

Surfing on Playa Negra with Ally, Jordan, Johan, and Salvador

Growing through Roatan

Busy. Doesn't even explain it all. Right now I'm amongst a muck of trying to upload pictures and plan my trip for Costa Rica tomorrow. Part of my wishes that I was staying here, but I know Ally, Amy and I will have fun. We just have to figure out where we're going. We're thinking snorkeling, surfing, and ziplining would be ideal. We'll see.

Wanted to include a few more pictures. Max came to visit this week, and I can't really describe how beautiful it was not only to have a visitor here - but someone who came to learn, and not to vacation. It was great to see my world that I've been adapting myself to and learning from and growing with exposed to someone from back home - the states home. I learned that the biggest struggle for my parents to come (who will be here in a month) will be the language. But it is important to remember that this weakness is something to love (and love is not a weakness), which is the biggest lesson I've learned here.

This country and the people within are not the only ones who will bring you growth.

It's all alright - as the woman in Amatapec told Amy when she was saying how she doesnt understand when people say they've had bad days. "I wish they would just open their eyes and see that it's all alright."

The house played a joke on Maxito:

Lupita and Gene are getting married, and they need 1000 beans counted for the wedding as part of a Salvadoran tradition. If its any more or any less, it's a bad omen for the marraige. He started doing groups of 5 and recounting them. He got to thirty before I couldn't take it anymore. Everyone laughed though. Wednesday night we said you had to count 1000 grains of rice. No go.




Roatan, Honduras. Island off the north coast in the Carribbean. Beautiful sunsets happen on cloudy nights.









The plane we took to get to Roatan. Looks like fun, eh ma? (Actually really great and smooth flight)

Take me to the water.

So I havent written in quite a while. Probably because A LOT has been going on.

Its funny how there are waves of business, when looking back on everything - most of the time I feel like I couldn´t be busier.

So two weekends ago, we had our optional Ignatian silent retreat. 36 hours in silence while still surrounded by 23 of the 24 of us was as close to privacy as I can get, so I took that opportunity with open arms. I´ll be the first to say that I´ve been questioning my religious views - not faith or spirituality (...there is a difference) - since I´ve been here. But after the retreat I figured that its okay, not all the answers have to come to me at once. It´s not going to just take one weekend to think about all of these things, it´s a lifetime of thought and change, just like everything else is in this world.

Oh, and Ryan fell through a roof.

Ryan is my praxis partner, full of life and we joke because it was probably hardest for him to be silent on this retreat, but he did it (more or less) until he fell through the roof he was walking on and ended up with 10 stiches in his head and a pretty bruised and scraped armpit, chest, and ego. He just read that too, so he´s vouching for it.

So that meant I was on my own Monday for sewing academy and class in Jayaque. Drug class.

It was a HORRIBLE DAY. I cannot emphasize it enough. Sewing academy was painless, but the kids just did not listen. Well some did, 3 out of 17, and the other 14 decided to play, talk and disrupt. It was just body breaking, really. To try to lead a discussion with 17 kids ranging from 8 years old to 16. Worst, I thought I was at an advantage after staying up until past 1am planning what to draw on the board, different scenarios to act out, and drawings for visuals. I felt like a failure. I wanted to walk out when the recess bell rang, and I don´t mean to go out to play. But I couldn´t, of course. I know myself better than that. I know that I´m going to beat myself up for not getting through to every single one of them, but I have to think about the fact that there are a few who were listening, a few more on and off, and no one else is there to give them this space to be open and ask questions. I do not know them, but I love them.

Tomorrow Ryan will be there and we´ll split up the groups.

The rest of the week went well. Wednesday in Jayaque was fabulous. We spent all day by the river in Los Sitios with Julio, Neto, and Julio´s nieces and nephews. We swam in the river and made chicken noodle soup for lunch over a fire. It was a gift. Not everyday is going to be difficult. We´re not always going to be stuck in one mood of happiness or angst, hopefulness or hopelessness - and its nice to know that things will change.

This weekend was fantastic. We went to Belize in order to renew our 90 day "tourist" visas - because student visas are just too complicated.

Here is what I sent Dad in an email this afternoon. Pictures will follow later in the week if I can, but the next two weeks coming up will be busy. Max is flying in tomorrow to visit for a few days, then Amy, Ally and I will be travelling together to Costa Rica for our week break - finishing out the weekend in Jayaque next Friday, Saturday, Sunday for the outdoor dance-club that I have heard so much about.



So Belize...

We literally JUST got off the bus back from Belize this weekend. It was an incredible time. We left Thursday at 6am, drove 8 hours through Guatemala to the northern coast (Carribean) and hopped a 30´ boat (all hull, no luxury, all smiles, no complaints) to Punta Gorda (or PG to those familiar), Belize. It was quite different because English is spoken there primarily over Spanish. Its a mostly Mayan culture, with many Afro-Belizians as well. So there are 2 Mayan languages, 1 Creole language, English and Spanish all spoken there. It was crazy to use English the whole weekend with the natives. Belize is a totally different country, has more of a Carribbean island feel than a Latin American country.

Ally outside the main cabin in Belize

So once we got through customs (which as a hut of a joke) we hopped on a old school bus turned charter to Blue Creek Rainforest Lodge. We were foretold the accomodations were going to be pretty rustic, so I was expecting difficult and dirt with cramped space, but that wasn´t anything close to the truth. We pull up to the village before we take the short hike into the jungle and are greeted by 20 kids, all asking us in English to take our bags. It was heart wrenching to say no, but we had to for whatever reason we told ourselves. You just can´t say yes. After the 10 minute walk on the trail, we arrived to the lodge. Finally. And what we saw was breathtaking. This perfectly blue, clear river created from the natural water given off by the HUGE limestone mountains further up. There was a main cabin where the bathrooms and kitchen were, a huge deck in front with a big ole dock to jump off and plunge 10 feet into the water with fish below waiting to gently nip at you. Not bad though, only got it once or twice. We stayed in the smaller cabins for 6 people, built a bonfire in front of our cabins, and swam our hearts out. Friday we went on a "jungle climb" 1200 feet straight up to the top of the mountain. It was rigorous, but we were in the shade for the most part, covered up by the trees.

Top of the jungle climb. 1200ft straight up.

Termite on the tongue

We found a huge termite nest on the way up and William, our guide, told us that he has eaten termites before for "just the experience" of it, which is how he lives his life, and they taste like carrots. So I tried a few, and found out he wasn´t joking... about these termites, anyway. Friday afternoon we went exploring through the cave at the base of the river which is within the mountain, and swam through the dark tunnels there. To get up to the base, we climbed all sorts of muddy, limestone-spiked rocks and swang off rope tied to the trees. Belize left me with many bruises on my legs, but I loved it.

I never want to stop climbing.

Saturday morning we woke up early to walk into the village and go to Williams house for a food and craft demonstration. We made tortillas (different from Salvadoran tortillas), chocolate drink and wove fans from palmettos. The chocolate drink was great, straight from the cacao plant. We ate the fruit (tastes like "Starburst" as someone put it - tarty, sweet, and smooth fruit), and next toasted previously dried seeds, ground them up and made them into a paste. For a sweeter chocolate they dry the seed with the fruit still on it, but you have to add a ton of sugar either way.

Saturday afternoon we just chilled and swam more, climbing rocks, laying out in the sun and just enjoying nature. Yours truly became obsessed with fan making, so I went hunting for more palmetto leaves. Don´t compare me to Martha Stuart though, or I´ll show you my machete.

OH and Friday night we went on a jungle hike and saw some tarantulas, scoprions, toads, fish and shrimp.Colin, Roe, Anthony on the way up