Day 4: Wait? It's Not Wednesday?

Thursday, April 4, 2013, 10:30p

In four days, we have completely lost track of dates and times. We sort of know what we might be doing tomorrow, and if we think hard enough, we can figure out what we did today. Today we had another full day in San Salvador. Some of the highlights were speaking with Amy Angel, an agricultural economist, at FUSADES (www.fusades.org), learning about the Fondepro grant program at the Ministerio de Economía and visiting the Universidad Dr. Jose Matías Delgado. At the university we got to speak with many faculty members as well as the dean of the economic department, Roberto Sorto Fletes. This university is projected to grow at 8% this year and they were kind enough to supply me with all sorts of statistics and research about the university. I especially nerded out over their accreditation process. And the coolest part? The dean's son attends Missouri State University and is graduating in December with his MBA. He also wants to attend a Rotaract meeting, so I intend to get in touch with him when I return.

We finished the day with another presentation at Rotary San Salvador Noreste.

As you can tell, every day is jam packed. Instead of posting another entry about all the details of the day, I thought I would give you some highlights and lowlights of our days for a better understanding.

• Overall mood: Enthusiastic. Our tiredness comes and goes in waves, but we are still riding on adrenaline. With that said, some of the shock of travel has worn off and we are able to critically disseminate information we are learning about organizations and businesses. We are seeing both the strengths and the weaknesses and not viewing everything through a rosy lens.
• The most difficult thing to get used to: Cold showers. Some houses have hot water, some do not. No real rhyme or reason. However, even in 90+ degree weather, a cold shower is always a shock. And some people on the team like to take cold showers for no reason (ahem, Christi). At our first house, Christi had mentioned the lack of hot water... come to find out, she just turned the wrong handle (and no, it was not opposite US, the left was hot).
• Most forgetful: Jimmy and Paul. We are all leaving items in various places. Most of the time, another member sees and picks it up, or we recall before we get too far. Often this is a water bottle, an important note, etc. However, when we were packed up to leave Santa Ana, about 5 minutes into our drive, Jimmy realized he left his coat at his house. Paul immediately realized he had made the same mistake. Luckily, we were close and were able to just turn around.
• Language barrier: It can be very difficult at times, however, Paul is fluent and can always help to disseminate information. Many people are kind enough to speak English to us. I have been in cars a handful of times with drivers (or Rotarians) who did not speak any English. Between my broken Spanish and extreme hand motions, our conversations have often ended in laughter instead of frustration, thankfully. My ear is beginning to pick up more and more and I can follow basic conversations... How am I doing speaking it? That's another story.
• Scoop on host families: Isn't it weird to stay with strangers?? The answer is, no. One would think it would be extremely uncomfortable, however, I have never felt so welcome in my life. When our hosts say, make yourself at home, they mean it. They let us know that we always have a place to stay when we return. Tonight, after our Rotary meeting, another Rotarian drove me to my house. Eli was waiting up for me and gave me a huge hug to greet me. She constantly tells me to get my rest (even though I am waking up super early in the morning to attend her morning Rotary meeting). It is a little odd to ask someone to do your laundry... but, it needs to be done. If you think people in the Ozarks are nice, you need to come to El Salvador. We look like jerks compared to them. :)

A view in Eli's house from the living room to dining area

• Has anyone gotten sick? Thankfully no. We are all careful with what we eat and are offered distilled water probably 100% of the time. When in doubt, we avoid it and opt for a Coke.
• How is the hair doing in the humidity? Surprisingly well, thanks for asking. I mean, it's not great, but I don't think it is nearly as bad as it will be in Costa Rica.
• Presentations: We are generally presenting to the Rotary clubs about different aspects of the agriculture, economy, education systems, and culture in Missouri. We each present a little in Spanish and a little in English. I was actually told my Spanish was very good tonight (again, the people are very nice!)
• Biggest surprise with food: Everyone recommends the club sandwich. Everyone loves the club.
• Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge for me is letting go of the stress that comes with time and having a specific agenda. I knew this going into it, and thought I would be able to let it go once I was here, however, I still feel a bit of anxiety when the Rotary meeting we are scheduled to present at starts at 7:30 and we are just leaving the house at 7:40. It's especially hard when you are alone because you don't have a way to communicate to let others know you are late or if they are waiting on you and you are completely dependent on someone else. As much as this causes my heart to flutter, it has never actually been an issue. And day by day it is causing less anxiety.

To give you an idea, this is what is on my agenda at the moment, and is typical:

1. Go to bed.
2. Rotary meeting in the morning at 7a.
3. Ummm.... then the details get a little fuzzy, but I know tomorrow night we are each having dinner with our host families. I'm also sure we will eat lunch at some point.
4. Saturday morning: Leave for San Miguel (where the response is always, oy! It's very very hot there!). I am being picked up around 8:15a, and I think we arrive around 11a. I'm positive we'll have a full agenda, but I have no idea what that is.
5. Sunday: I hear we get to go to the beach!
6. Monday: Get on a tica bus at 4a en route to Nicaragua.

I hope that gave you a little bit of a better idea about the start of our trip. Buenos noche!

 

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