Lessons Aren't Just in School...

We have been working with the kids for two weeks now. And with two weeks to go, I think we are at a good point now to reflect on what we've already learned from the experience. There is a lot to be learned from children and youth in general, but so far there are some important lessons I've learned specifically from working alongside the youth in El Salvador. Over the past few days, we have helped facilitate workshops aimed at spreading environmental awareness to children. Then today, we were supposed to work with adults, and share some of the same awareness with them, obviously through a more age-appropriate method. Which brings me to my first lesson.

1. Sometimes teenagers and kids are an under-appreciated resource.
Often, I think people in the United States under-appreciate what youth can accomplish. We tend to put so much responsibility on adults and much less on the youth, when really, the younger people can be much more enthusiastic, available, and just as capable as adults. Iris, from Circulo Solidario, could have been an excellent facilitator over the past few days. Instead, the youth from the community took charge and led the small group activities, including ice breakers, discussions, and crafts. Although I have seen responsibility shared somewhat between adults and youth in the United States, specifically in my former youth group, the adults were still very much involved, if not the final say in anything we did.
My next point is the key word from the last sentence in my introduction- 'supposed to.' We were originally going to do a workshop today with adults (in fact, we spent several hours yesterday morning planning activities and preparing for today) and exactly three women came. Although there were many excuses for the lack of attendees, such as late notice of the event and prior commitments, some women stayed home to 'watch soap operas.' However, when we were finding children to attend the workshops, some were so happy to be there, they came all three days even though the activities were not changed at all! I hope that when we promote the adult workshop better next time (we are going to try once more), more adults come and are excited to be there.

2. 'Work' can be also be fun.
Yesterday in the afternoon, we painted backgrounds to take photos in front of depicting ideal environments and also polluted environments (we had water, air, and land). It was a blast painting and drawing with the kids. Everybody worked together and shared the paint and markers. Nobody fought or was selfish. Then, we got to paint each other (don't try this at home), and paint got EVERYWHERE. Several girls ended up literally covered head to toe in paint, and it got all over the floor. It was a ton of fun putting paint all over each other's bodies. And, of course, we were accomplishing something too! The end result was a bunch of educational photos depicting the effects of trash and pollutants on environments and the result of cleaning up all the trash and making the environment clean and healthy. Then, everyone worked together to clean the community room and clean up all the paint off the floor.

3. As it turns out, dancing in public...without music...is not a mark of insanity.
Yesterday and today, we did an ice breaker that involved dancing like a palm tree. If you get called out, you have to dance in the middle while everyone sings. It's a lot of fun and a very catchy tune (suave, suave...). Everyone laughs and cat-calls and it's great. As a result of all this, later during our down-time both today and yesterday, a bunch of the teenage girls and some of us gringos engaged in a cultural exchange where we each danced for each other. I have no problem admitting my defeat. Clearly, being from Central America is conducive to being able to move your hips because they definitely out-danced us. Without music.

4. Cooties aren't real.
One thing that has stuck out to several of us is the amount of physical contact that people have with each other here. The girls lay their heads in each other's laps, people kiss each other on the cheek as a greeting, and even guys walk with their arms around their friend's shoulder. Guys and girls also physically interact, whether it be to tease, or flirt, or just play. I think it's so incredibly healthy to not be afraid to be close to someone. It seems to me that in the US, we are so afraid of touch... I read a study once that people's oxytocin (known as a 'bonding' chemical due to its positive effect on trust, happiness, and love) levels rise after being hugged, and the 'ideal' number of hugs is at least 5 a day. So those of us on the trip have been consciously trying to get our '5 hugs.' But through the activities with the community, we have easily been getting our daily dose. One of the ice breakers today involved hugging someone as hard as you can!

5. Everything can be communicated in facial expressions and gestures.
I have never taken a single Spanish class in my life. So, being in a country where many people have never taken a single English class, I am having a little trouble communicating. But, what I've noticed is that all I need to do is smile, and that breaks the ice...and making funny faces can get a laugh. I can communicate emotions with my facial expressions, and gestures take care of the rest. Yesterday, when I was working with some kids on the water backdrop, I gestured to the piece of paper and held out a couple markers. Without saying anything, the kids understood they could help by coloring in the outlines. And I was able to find scissors, and tape, and other things I needed just by using hand motions!
Although I have learned quite a few Spanish words considering I'm a n00b, I'm still struggling. But it's been a lot of fun trying to get my point across. I think I've definitely mastered the facial expression for 'I have no freaking clue what you are saying to me right now.' Esta bien!!

-Tess Cromer