The dance of the vegetables

The Venue: Amun Shea School 

Selling homemade crafts to raise funds,
I walked away with a really sweet wine bottle converted into a fancy flower vase

My lil host brother Cristian
He is a guisquil a kind of light green squash-like vegetable
called 'chayote' in Mexico

Cristian explaining his vegetable in english ;)

The vegetables dance

The vegetable dance some more...

Please note my awesome host brother 4th from the right...
Who's having a good time??? Cristian's having a good time!
And how could you not with all those veggie friends. 

Cristian lets me try on his costume... 

Derrumbe = Mudslide

THIS was the Scene up the street from our house on Monday Afternoon... Want the full story? 
Hinkle has the full write up on his blog which you can find HERE
He likes writing more than I do and pretty similar to what my write up would be since we were side by side that whole day. Win Win!


We are safe, our house is not flooded, and we continue to be thankful for both those things. 

Paz Fuera
~K

for a cause

The mark of the immature man is that 

he wants to die nobly for a cause, 

while the mark of the mature man is that 

he wants to live humbly for one” 

-Wilhelm Stekel

I just finished the Catcher in the Rye (it was ok) BUT i really liked this quote from it. 

STANDFAST means DON'T MOVE.

On Friday, due to the tropical depression that has been hovering over El Salvador and surrounding Central American countries for the last week, President Funes declared a State of Emergency.

The following statistics have been reported as of this morning:

· 27 dead due to mudslides and flooding
· 130 plus shelters set up throughout the country
· almost 14,000 people in shelters

FYI, all PCVs have been accounted for and our Standfast continues until further notice.
Therefore,Hinkle and I will continue medicating our cabin fever with movies and popcorn and speculating about when the rain will pass and being thankful that we are not near a river or trapped and hungry like our dear friend Helen on a mountaintop b/c her road is washed out. Stay strong girl.

Gracias to My Family

To start I want to send out a GRANDE Gracias to my family who answered my call for donations to make the following blog possible. 

So GRACIAS GRACIAS GRACIAS TO : 

~ MOM and DAN - the polar bear- Abbott

~ Daddio y Mel  * and  happy early birthday Mel J

~ La Mama Cortez T.Q.M.

~ Grams aka Mary Atha a million xoxo

~ Uncle Kurt and Aunt Vikki  love love love to you both


~ Tia Susie y Caballero Rod Collins 

NOW THE UPDATE:

“An Introduction to Professional Development” was the name of the camp put on by 9 Peace Corps Volunteers in the Community Organization and Economic Development (COED) program. Each COED volunteer brought anywhere from 1-4 of their most talented youths from their community.

As many of you know I don’t have a community but rather a region in which I work and so the 4 students I brought were from various pueblos from my region. These 4 were also my English students who I gave scholarships to attend my “English for Tourism” course that I gave earlier this year. I chose my students based on their grades, attendance, and scores from an aptitude test administered to them during the selection process for the English course. These students have shown their dedication over the months and working with them in the past allowed their families to feel comfortable letting me take them 8 hours away from their home for 2 nights. It’s not a normal occurrence to spend the night away from home let alone travel halfway across the country.  I also wanted to continue investing in these 4 students in the hopes further inspiring and motivating them to be leaders in their communities or where ever life takes them.

Driving along I couldn’t help but notice their eyes big with wonder as our micro van snaked through the capital on the way to the campsite. My students had been to the capital one other time when I took them to job shadow at the Sheraton Hotel in April but it was still exciting to them. They reminisced over the fun we had when we went out to Pizza Hut and swam in the hotel pool. They felt very special riding in a private vehicle as they are relegated to public transport, which equals the back of a pick up truck or squeezed into chicken buses. We played music, ate snacks and took naps during our long ride to and from the camp.

Thanks to YOU this was all possible. Private transport is VERY expensive in this country and the public transport is dangerous so while my students were in my care I really wanted to make sure we had a private driver. We took advantage and picked up other volunteers and their students along the way. So in total 9 students and 3 PC volunteers were able to ride comfortably and safely to and from camp. It also had an added bonus in allowing for the students of each volunteer to get to know each other a bit before arriving at camp in turn helping a smidgen with the “pena” or shyness.

What about the camp you ask!?

Well… Let me tell ya, it was long and hard we didn’t let these youth rest. We left Thursday at 4:30 am from my pueblo picking up volunteers and their students along the way. The poor things were pooped by the end but there were so many topics that were important to cover and each peace corps volunteer gave their own talks and worked to make them interactive. It was rare to see the students sitting and just listening, they were active. As you can see from the photos…

A public campsite offered for free by the government to NGOs and other organizations like Peace Corps to hold gatherings, training, and such things

Each cabin has two rooms complete with bunk-beds, shower and flush toilet! fancy I know. 

The students were broken up randomly so they could have a chance to meet other students. 

It sorta worked. Most nights everyone was so tired we got back to the cabin to put on PJs and sleep. 

Chelsea gives the bienvenida and sets expectations and rules with the students

Later comes a slew of dinamicas or Interactive games ... 

Put yourselves in order of birthdays without stepping out of the line

getting very close. nothing new considering the public transportation situation in this country. 

The Space

On a hike, lots of photo taking occurred and many of my students have posted new photos of themselves on their facebook account. Yes even our dear salvadoran campo kids have fallen victim to FB. :) 

Giving a talk on Marketing before making them create their own marketing plan I broke them into two groups
The first was a music group who had to market themselves using the 5Ps and
the second group was a tourism group who had to offer products or services
They did great for only having a half hour!

The Human Knot...
working together to untangle yourself while never letting go 

Mirror exercise to further understand leadership or was it creativity...
I forget, I walked in late... but it looks fun!

Working together AGAIN... strategy, leadership, creativity
goal... get everyone across without touching the string or using an opening more than once

Students worked in groups through the weekend and on the last day before certificates they presented
they were assigned to be a youth group, community organization and had to present how they would run the show, money marketing project etc... basically using all the skills they learned in the last two days

Jaime the Peace Corps Country Director
and
Clelia our Jefa of the COED program
special guests to present certificates of completion to the students

(L-R) Moi, Tereso, Joel, Esdras, Emely, Jaime and Clelia

Good lookin COED volunteers
Back Row L-R (Jessica, Daniel, Me, Carolyn, Milton, and Dan)
Front Row L-R (Clayton, Jaime, Erica and Chelsea)

Yeah we're the adult chaperones ... 

Group photo of Volunteers and Students

Eldi Emely gives hope

Reason 1 million and one why I love my students...

I'm sitting in a quiet and a bit dark hostel/restaurant using the internet as I see one of my english students walking home along the dirt road. She is wearing her school uniform, neatly pressed, knee high socks and mary-janes. She walks slowly and pauses, bends down and picks up a piece of trash. A plastic potato chip bag, then places it in a plastic grocery bag. As she continues walking, she doesn't see me, but I see her as she passes the window nearest my table... I see the bag is half full of other trash I presume she has picked up along her walk home.

YES! I scream inside.
there is hope.

Thank you Emely for making me smile today.
and not even knowing it.

Emely giving her presentation at
the Young Professionals Youth Camp last weekend.

for those who have not been to El Salvdor, there is trash (almost) everywhere. Seeing people discard their trash out the bus, truck, car window or walking along the street is something that used to make me cringe... and the trash all along the road infuriated me and made me question... doesn't this bother "them".... Now I hardly notice it. So am I "them" now? That's the trouble with "us" and "them"... its a tricky line. 

Rep. Mike Honda - California's 15th District

What One Day of Afghan War Funding Means for Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary

Posted: 9/27/11 05:57 PM ET

As the Peace Corps celebrates its 50th anniversary this month, it is time to take stock and commit to making it bigger, better and bolder.

As one of four members of the House who volunteered, I answered former President John F. Kennedy's call for Peace Corps recruits in the 1960s and served in El Salvador. To say that the Peace Corps changed my life and my perspective, and influences now my modus operandi as a member of Congress, would be a sweeping understatement.

My time in El Salvador taught me so much. I went into the corps as a college student shy of graduation with little direction; I emerged with the confidence that my emotional, psychological and physical limits had been pushed, plied and ultimately surpassed. I went into the corps driven by the shame of my youthful lack of direction; I emerged determined to do something about the pervasive poverty surrounding me.

I went into the corps speaking one language; I emerged speaking another: Spanish, a gift that introduced me to a new world, gave me a new way of understanding new cultures and has helped me connect to constituents in California. The Peace Corps got me back to the basics, and I realized that every day is to be used wisely.

Yet, more is needed to boost the Peace Corps. The continued call for service by President Obama is an important first step, but in order to heal America's reputation in the world and better tackle emerging global crises, we need the Peace Corps to be bigger, better, bolder and more diverse. What better time to reinvigorate the Peace Corps than as it celebrates its 50th anniversary this month?

By bigger, we need to double the number of Peace Corps volunteers. Currently, we have at least 8,655 volunteers enlisted, serving poor and needy communities throughout the world and promoting better understanding between Americans and host country populations. Since JFK's call in 1961, when the Peace Corps was officially established, more than 200,000 volunteers have served in139 countries. These are goodwill ambassadors of the most effective form, offering a helping hand to those who need it.

With more than 8,000 volunteers, we are now in 76 countries. By doubling this number, we could double the placements and the number of countries served. Amid America's troubled diplomatic waters -- whether with countries in South America, South Asia or Africa -- the benefits of having our young men and women in volunteer service, showing the best of what America has to offer, are immeasurable.

Doubling up, however, requires more funding -- but not much, comparatively speaking. Peace Corps funding for 2011 is only $400 million, relatively little in light of the benefits to our country in diplomacy, outreach and service to poor populations. What we spend in Afghanistan in one day would fund our 8,000-plus volunteers for an entire year of service -- a clearly doable goal.

By better, we can continue to improve on the Peace Corps by equipping our volunteers with the technological and cultural expertise that they need to be successful in their placements. The top six sectors served by Peace Corps volunteers are education, health, business development, environment, youth and agriculture. As global poverty rates increase and natural disasters fueled by climate change continue to wreak havoc on the impoverished, the Peace Corps will continue to be called on to play a preemptive role in preparedness strategies. If trained and equipped appropriately, our volunteers can ensure that the poor are better prepared for the next tsunami, bird flu or malaria outbreak. Peace Corps placement, then, becomes not only a service opportunity but also an informal internship that results in a more knowledgeable volunteer capable of joining the advising institution post-service.

By bolder, I am suggesting a mainstreaming of the service concept so it spans society -- regardless of sex, age or race. To this end, Obama is working to reinvigorate Peace Corps' patriotism. Right now, the average volunteer age is 28 years old, and 60 percent are women. Furthermore, minorities comprise only 19 percent of all volunteers.

I propose the benefits of an age- and race-diversified volunteer corps. A more race-diverse Peace Corps would allow for greater understanding in regions of the world with which the volunteer may be familiar, given their family's country of origin. A more age-diverse Peace Corps would enable increased understanding and opportunities for cross-cultural connection based on life experience.

To achieve this, though, we must create incentives for Americans in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s to pursue the Peace Corps. Recognizing the international, national and individual benefits of public service, we need to be creative in thinking how the public and private sectors can provide service opportunities to their employees.

In founding the Peace Corps, Sargent Shriver recognized the need for promoting public service by spearheading this nation's first war on poverty. Headquartered in the U.S. government's Office of Economic Opportunity, the war-room mentality was ever-present and Shriver foresaw the looming security threat facing America. In creating the Peace Corps and Volunteers in Service to America -- or VISTA, the domestic version of Peace Corps -- the farsighted Shriver understood that poverty was inextricably linked to the security of our national and global community.

Now is no different. Obama is poised to recast the public service message, but he cannot do it single-handedly. That is why, as a former Peace Corps volunteer, I am calling for a Peace Corps that is bigger, better and bolder. And I am not alone. Former Peace Corps volunteers like me, returning to America the richness of our experience, stand ready to encourage new recruits.

If America makes this a priority, we not only help the global poor become more self-sufficient, stable and secure -- which in turn makes our country more secure -- but we simultaneously increase good will toward the United States through this development-based diplomacy.

All for one day's worth of spending in Afghanistan.

Rep Mike Honda, who represents Silicon Valley and is a senior member of the House Budget and Appropriations Committees, served as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador from 1965-1967.