Days 6 Through 11 Recap by Tess

Due to popular request, I have decided to do another recap blog.

Day 6, Wednesday, November 26:
Today we moved vocational workshop equipment from one town to another. Since there was a ton of us helping, the work went very quickly, leaving us time to play on the playground with some adorable kids! Some of us- cough, Nikki, cough- had forgotten how to see-saw! MJ even remastered the art of hanging upside down! So it was a great throwback to our childhoods. Then for lunch we had boiled yuca...very tasty. In other news, some of us found that several of our professors had posted grades...it is hard to believe I was writing final exams only a week ago.

Day 7, Thursday, November 27:
We moved equipment again. Today we learned that the workshops last 8 hours a day for 18 days and at the end, the women who are in the class receive a certification in baking. Very empowering. Then, we toured two archaeological sites. The first is known as the 'Pompeii of the Americas' because of the similarities between the two sites- at both, an erupting volcano preserved the site very well. At the site we visited, organic material had even been preserved. Thankfully, they have not yet found any humans, suggesting that they were forewarned and were able to escape. The second site was in San Andreas and is more of a religious center. Then, Happy Thanksgiving/Feliz Pavo! We had turkey sandwiches and turkey tacos (!) to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Day 8, Friday, November 28:
Unfortunately, we started off the morning with some bad news. Circulo Solidario had been robbed sometime during the night. Three computers were stolen, as well as some other equipment. The organization is already struggling to provide scholarships for the kids...it must be very hard to deal with setbacks like this. Then, we went back to the community. We did some finger painting, learned some songs in Spanish (my favorite was about a bunny named Juan), and we learned about the 'ambiente,' which is the environment. We talked about the different things that pollute our earth, such as 'basura,' which is trash. Then, we ate at Tacos de Paco, which is probably our new favorite restaurant. Last, we traveled to Universidad CentroAmerica, or UCA (pronounced Ooh-Kuh). We saw the chapel and also a museum honoring the 6 Jesuits who were murdered during the civil war.

Day 9, Saturday, November 29:
Today we went to an indigenous artisan craft fair/festival. We saw traditional dances, a ceremonial offering (don't worry, the only thing we sacrificed were candles and some chicha!), and got to interact with a lot of people. Chris was great- he bought a little car for a boy he had been playing with. He almost got lost with Sean, but it was easy to find them- Zulema just asked if people had seen some 'gringos.' For lunch, we ate at a food festival in another town. I had lasagna...in El Salvador! Wow. Tonight we went to a soccer game, which Michelle played in. She's famous! The community cheered her on to score two goals...at the cost of a skinned knee. But everyone came together for the soccer game, and it was amazing to see so many community members all together!

Day 10, Sunday, November 30:
Today was a relaxed day. We didn't pack a whole lot in like we have done the past few days. We visited a volcano, and debated how long it would take each of us to climb into the crater. Our professor estimated it would take her 20 hours! But we were hungry for lunch so we decided it would be best to just visit the top of the volcano and call it good. However, before we left, Annie picked a beautiful flower and put it in her hair, prompting a quick photo session. For lunch we ate at a wonderful seafood place, where Alyssa found something much more to her liking- pizza. (Shoutout to Alyssa's family! I know ya'll are gonna read this.) For me, I chose the 'camarones con aguacate,' which is shrimp with avocado. Along with french fries, I think that was the best seafood I've had in a while!! Then, in the evening, we had a reflection session. It lasted an hour and a half, but it flew by.

Day 11, Monday, December 1:
Today we facilitated the first workshop with kids from the first 5 'pasajes,' or alleys. The community is divided up among the alleys. It was a handy way to cut down on the number of kids we worked with today! Imagine doing arts and crafts with 38 energetic children! It was chaos. But, I think the kids loved our rendition of the bunny song, and also making 'canastas' (baskets) out of newspaper. Jenae and I ran one of the activities, and I think kids had a hard time deciding which of us represented the tastier fruit- 'fresa' or 'naranja.' Teaching kids about recycling and getting rid of solid waste can definitely be fun. Then, we decided to eat at Tacos de Pacos again, of course! So yummy! Afterwards, we ran some errands and I think we are all thankful for clean 'underoos' (thanks Beckie).

-Tess Cromer