3rd Mayo, 2014
Just after noon
I am currently sitting on our flight from San Salvador to
Miami and I really lucked out! A window seat and the seat on my other side is
one of those trays with cup holders – score!
I am sad to leave Candelaria, as it was a beautiful
adventure and I feel that I am really developing an ear for Spanish – funny how
complete immersion does that! This is always the point of the trip that is so
filled with bittersweetness – “parting is such sweet sorrow,” as the poem
goes. On the one hand, I am sad to be
leaving and am not exactly looking forward to the work and reality that awaits
me back in Chicago. But on the other hand, I am looking forward to my own bed,
my friends and the understanding that I feel back home. And I don’t mean the misunderstanding of the
people of Candelaria, but rather the cultural misunderstanding of some of my
colleagues on the trip with me. I
suppose this is giving me a new fervor for really going strong with my new EWB
position of social chair. When I was
running for the position, I was very open about wanting to get people from our
chapter involved in activities or events that pertain to the cultures that we
mainly have projects in (and probably a few that we don’t) and I definitely saw
a need for that on this trip. Personally, I am also interested in learning more
about these cultures – but that really isn’t anything new for me – I have
always had that thirst for understanding people better.
One of the biggest issues with cultural awareness that
really started bothering me was the issue of time. Punctuality is very highly
regarded in the US, and yes, I would consider it a part of our culture,
however, a fairly substantial chunk of the world hold to the same viewpoint,
and when working in these parts of the world, it is very important to abide by
their cultural norms. It isn’t that they
don’t value time, but I think it is more of in the moment and more social – if you
see someone you know, you stop to say “hello” and ask them how they are doing.
Depending on the amount of people you see on your way somewhere, you might
double or even triple your travel time. I remember very few times that we were “late”
by our standards and had people waiting for us.
Most of the time we were waiting upwards of a half hour for some people
or meetings – “ethnic time” as my Slovak mother calls it. In fact, there was one meeting that we were
at least 10 minutes late for, and a few of our members were getting visibly
distressed and looked slightly embarrassed as we set-up our stuff “so long”
after we were scheduled to meet. About
40 minutes later, we started the meeting, even opting to start without a few
people, who then trickled in during the next few minutes.
I also wonder what our cook, Rosa, thought when we would
tell her 7am for breakfast, then we would show up at 6:45am…maybe that’s why
she started putting a box of corn flakes and bowls on the table for us in the
morning – something to tide us over until she got our breakfast finished after
7am. She reminded me of the Slovak
ladies back home. I can only imagine their
frustration and embarrassment at their guests showing up to an empty
table. (Although I can hear my mom
saying something along the lines of, “that’s what you get for showing up
earlier than you said.”) I wonder how I
can get this cultural aspect across to people? I can certainly see a
frustration if you were raised on punctuality, but I don’t want to be rude to
the cultures we are working with. This
is something I will have to think on…
Back to the mountain yesterday.
Gus and Liz are both fairly active, Type A people, so they
were climbing ahead of Luis and myself.
I would stop frequently to take pictures, a flower here, a chunk of moss
shaped like a heart there. I was more
than happy to take the slower pace with Luis – what is the point of rushing to
the top of the mountain if you aren’t going to enjoy the view on the way up as
well? I also really enjoy the views from the sides of the mountains more so than
from the top; I have a greater sense of being part of the scenery than viewing
it from above. Sometimes I feel too much
distance when I am on the top of the mountain – although you can see more which
is always really cool.
On the way up the mountain, Luis noticed all the things that
I stopped to take photos of and mentioned a book titled “Peace in Every Step”. It was written by a Buddhist monk, I believe,
and is all about appreciating the small things in life. I will have to look it
up and maybe it will be the next book I read.
After a few more stops and starts, and one snack break with
the boys where we shared pistachios and our foraged food – we finally made it
to the top of the mountain. It was
beautiful up there. Our “guides” were
less than impressed and almost immediately started climbing the trees up
there. It was a great place to stop and
rest before heading back down (had to be on time for lunch!). Because there wasn’t much in the way, there
was a nice breeze constantly swirling around us. There was very little shade, but the sun didn’t
feel as hot. The edge of the mountain
was fairly step from our overlook, and quickly gave way to the valley
below. Then just as quickly, rose on the
other side for the mountain facing us.
There was so much green! Green
that was dotted with the whites, greys and browns of cattle and a few
buildings. To the one side we could see
the red clay roofs and white church of Candelaria, to the other side of the
mountain that faded into the tall horizon.
After a few minutes of enjoying the view, and the obligatory photos, we
headed down the mountain.
The boys found some large walking sticks that they decided
to they would carry between their legs while hopping down the rocks. All I could think was “Jeeze, one false move
and that could be quite painful,” but I am obviously in no place question
them.
Two of them got tired of carrying the sticks, so gave them
to Luis and myself – which I was grateful for further down the mountain. The third held onto his until he would reach
the steeper parts, then he would vault his stick down the path, wait for it to
land, look back and laugh toward me, then hop down the rocks like it was
nothing. I suppose that mountain and the
surrounding mountains are their playground, so it really isn’t a big deal to
them.
Further down the mountain, Luis said something to me that
was very interesting. He first asked me
if I did yoga, and I told him that there are a few stretches that I do in the morning
and at night that are yoga based, but it isn’t anything major and asked what
mead him ask. He then said, “Because you
have the heart of a yogi. As you go through your life I think you will come to
understand what that means. You really
need to read that book I told you about earlier.” I have been thinking about that ever since,
as I am not exactly sure what he means by that.
I have heard “yogi” before, but am not 100% sure that I know what it
is. I will look it up when I get back
home and I will be sure to purchase that book – I am very curious about it all. I have been told that I have an old soul –
maybe it is related? I am very intrigued
by all of this….
My hand is getting tired and I want to try to nap a little
before hitting Miami –plus I don’t think I will have enough time to talk about
Gualsinse before we touch down in Miami.
That will have to wait for the layover in Miami, or the Miami-Chicago
flight. Until then…
JLC
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