This is going to be a long post with a lot of pictures to load. For those with slower connections go get something to drink and let it load for a bit.
Finally got all the pictures in from El Salvador. There were a lot of times we could have all taken out our cameras but instead we would let one person take the shot so we could keep moving or just not pose forever. There are definitely three phases to this trip so I will try to break it up the best that I can.
Before the Class
One of the main factors in going on this trip was the fact that so many La Raza students were going as well and I know I would be with people I know and trust. Therefore, a bunch of us headed down early so we could expereience El Salvador on our on before our professor arrived and made all of our arrangements. I headed down shortly after Christmas, but first had to take advantage of the new Arizona fireworks law.
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| Tison cannot light these things... |
Lara and I were the first to arrive in the country which was a harrowing expereince in itself. We were a little late getting in but our cab driver chilled for a bit and took us in to the capital from the airport. In El Salvador cabs are just cars people use to drive you around. Ours was painted yellow and had blue running lights. Baller status.
My Spanish is not the best in the world but on our first night, I was able to provide food for myself and Lara:
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| Mcnuggs. |
We stayed in the nicer part of town which was a bit like Tempe. The only thing that makes it the nicer part of town is that both our hotel and the McDonald's down the street had a guard outside with an automatic shotgun. We got in pretty late so we ate our McDonald's and settled in to watch Jersey Shore in Spanish:
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| El Situation |
The next morning we were suppossed to rent a car but the guy we were oging to pick up the car from was not around. Our cock-eyed cab driver, who was sketch to begin with, took us to the airport instead to meet up with La Raza people (also known as better Spanish speakers). Somehow we met a guy who was willing to rent us a van and a driver for $100 a day. Split between the 11 of us we had a deal my friend so we all piled in to the van which was named the Fun Depot.
We arrived at the house which Lara had set up and were blown away. We were in a private beach house right on the beach which had a 10 beds, full kitchen, its own swimming pool and a private staircase down to the beach.
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| Looking up from the pool area |
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| From our beach |
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The house still needed to be cleaned when we arrived and the people who were still there were leaving so we headed to a restaurant down the road a bit that was also on the beach.
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| From left: Kristina, Barbie, Mike, Lara, Me, Jimmy, Camille |
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We made a grocery stop and decided we needed to drink the El Salvadorean beers for the week.
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| Pilsener, Golden and Suprema (Last one was the best) |
Since Lara did such a great job planning we got to stay in the lowest section of the house (The Casita) and this was the view every morning.
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| Casita View |
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There were a lot of times that things are not crystal clear until you are down there and you just have to roll with the punches. For instance, we ended up with a maid that came every day to pick up our rooms and do our dishes.
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| Merecdes | |
We did not spend the entire time at the beach, because we wanted to explore a bit. On a day we had our van and driver, we had him take us to the Puerta Del Diablo. It was named that because during the civil war, the military would bring prisoners up here and execute them so they could watch them fall down.
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| Puerta Del Diablo |
We had a great time at the house and celebrated the New Year together.
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| Ladies of the house: (From left) Barbie, Lara, Jessica, Kristina, Camille, and Monica |
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| We even tried surfing... |
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| New Years Eve |
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| Getting ready for the right time. |
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| Relaxing by the pool |
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| Alright! |
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| Our House: (From Left top) Me, Lara, Kristina, Camille, Monica, Jessica, Jimmy (bottom) Barbie, Brandon, Mike, Mikey |
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| Camille kept threatening everyone with Machete she found, time to leave. |
Joining the Class
From our house on the beach near La Libertad, we headed to the capital of El Salvador, San Salvador, to meet up with our class immersion trip. Lara and Mike met up with Lara's friend Jessica from Mesa and they travelled around a bit while we had our school to join.
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| Lara and Jess |
I joined our class of about 20 and we checked in to the Jesuit Retreat Center which is near the big university in El Salvador in the nicer part of the capital.
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| Our new whip- The Be Real Bus |
Everyday was packed full of traveling and meeting with everyone from a farmer to supreme court magistrate. It was an amazing experience.
Day One-
The first morning was a Sunday so we all go up and headed to a church in the poorest neighborhood in the country.
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| I do not recognize your Spanish signs |
From there we headed to the town of Suchitoto which is outside the capital and was one of the first towns to really organize against the new repressive government. There we met Sister Peggy who is a nun that helps the community by helping them express themselves through art. She is from New Jersey and I swear she was making sexual references throughout her talk on purpose to see if we would break. Too bad we can do a good poker face. Here are some of her best quotes:
When I touch myself I do it softly so that I know how to touch other softly (Talking about exploring her inner thoughts)
It is like a low-grade Herpes (her analogy for El Salvador)
Make love until it hurts (talking about us living our lives to the fullest)
Makes me wet with anticipation (talking about sharing wisdom)
From there we went to the town square to buy trinkets and see some of the town.
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| The town square |
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From the town we went a bit out in to the country to meet with Vladamir (pretty sure it wasn't his real name) who was a guerrilla during the civil war and told us his own story. Some of his story was filled with his own sides propaganda which was interesting to hear. His most memorable story was where he was part of the crew that made sure the radios stayed operational. They did this by making sure they stayed mobile. One of the worst commanders of the military was in charge of hunting them down so they made a trap for him. They stationed a dummy transmitter in a backpack and left it in a known guerrilla location. The military commander arrived and carried away the bag as his big triumph. When his helicopter came to take him and his trophy away, the guerrillas detonated the explosives in the bag, killing him.
After this we met our guide's wife, who told us her family's story. Her family was largely neutral and did not take sides during the civil war but still suffered torture and death just trying to get by. Our day was finally over so we all tuckered in to our beds to get a good nights rest.
Day Two-
The next day we headed to a squatter community outside the city. The people took over the government land after the civil war because they had nowhere else to go. The government has told them they could not be kicked off the land but they have not given them the deed which gives them the rights to do something with the land. So they wait. The police come in and try to get them off the land through intimidation and even torture. They arrived while we were there and the squatters let them on the land to show how they act. They told them that they were there in order to protect us (gringos) but they just stood around.
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| Homeboy showed up with an M16 on a Huffy...G-status |
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From there we went to the church where Bishop Romero was assassinated. I do not know why Catholics do this but they had the clothes he was shot in on display and even opened up his house which is now a museum with things exactly how he left them. From there we went to a local school that my professor is on the board of so that she could look around. I found something else to do...
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| Sup goose, nice little playground. |
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| Jesus!!! It's a trap! |
After the school we went back to the Jesuit Center to wind down and meet with Bishop Romero's lawyer at the time of the Civil war as well as a local law student.
Day Three-
Another long day in store for the Santa Clara kids. We started this day with a visit to an orphanage.
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| I swear that guard was at least 16. |
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| Creepy Little Girl who followed us with Marc |
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| Had to get in a soccer match |
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It was kind of sad at the orphange, the children would sometimes come up and try to game you in to adopting them by calling you mom or dad and holding your hand. Then there were the other kids...
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| Hey kid where are you going with my camera |
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| Mine!- we tried to tell him not to let them take the camera. |
From here we went way outside any town to a small farming community that is trying to become self-sustaining. We sat in the shade for a couple of hours and heard about the problems they face and what they are doing to combat these problems.
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| No idea what we are doing |
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| Coconut- It was our drink, then they would lop the top off with a machete and we would spoon it out to eat. |
In the countryside we had our homestay which was a crazy experience. First they walked us all over the community to see their new projects. Then they gave us these tamales to eat for dinner and we heard more about the community's history. During the presentation this kid with Down Syndrome would not leave me alone but luckily I was able to pawn him off on someone else who ended up staying the night at that kids house. After dinner and the presentation, we went to our houses in groups of four to get some sleep.
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| Beds for me and Marc |
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| We did not sleep a bit |
I was paired with Marc and we braved the living room on these mattresses they trucked in for us to sleep. There were bugs all over the place and weird noises that kept us up all night. We both slept with our flashlights and tried to get as much sleep as possible.
Day Four-
We got maybe four hours of sleep in the country. There was a rooster that stood on the porch that kept us up all night long. I swear I am going back to this community to buy them a well in order to trade for the life of that rooster. Others had it worse and had to sleep on the bus.
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| Barbie needed a nap at 10am |
This was after a night of rats in the couch her and her boyfriend Brandon were sleeping.
From the countryside we got bussed in to the Jesuit Center to clean up and meet with our first speaker of the day. She was a woman who worked on tracking down immigrants who had left El Salvador to sneak into the United States. It is a horrible trip through Mexico and many people are lost, kidnapped, or die on the way. Her job is to track them down and get the bodies back in many of the cases. After her presentation, a Supreme Court Magistrate came to the center to tell us his own rise to that position and what changes the government, and the Court, is trying to bring about.
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| Law students- Just as bad at not paying attention to the teacher who is to the right of the camera teaching about something. |
From there we went to the Supreme Court of El Salvador to meet with another Supreme Court Magistrate. When we arrived we got in to pairs of six to ride the elevators up to the office. Secuirty was getting us on these elevators that had a big sign that said only five were to ride at a time. As we were almost to our floor the elevator stops and we get trapped.
I was with five women and three of them just lost it. Barbie had a rough night and was not feeling it and immediately started panicking. There was another girl Sharlyn who pushed everyone in to a corner and spread everyone out to conserve oxygen. There was an older alumni who was on the trip in the elevator with us who was trying to calm us all down. She began by saying that she was trapped in an elevator by herself for hours a couple of months ago. While she is telling us her story she breaks down crying like Barbie and they are just a mess. At this time Barbie started getting mad and pressing all these buttons. Luckily one of the girls, Jessica, had her iPhone and is calling our group to get us out. She is telling another student we are trapped and Barbie is telling her to be more forceful in her tone. After Jessica gets off the phone, Barbie wants to lead us all in prayer. There is a taller ex-basketball player in with us who is a giant amazon woman and is trying to get the roof off.
Meanwhile I check my watch and tell them to give the building some time. The elevator rises a bit and then settles and lets us out on our floor. Barbie leaps out and yells Jesus and finds a chair to cry on. I wait to let the ladies off and go to sit with Barbie. We were in the elevator for three minutes.
During the meeting with the Supreme Court Magistrate we were a complete mess as a group and it did not go well. Plus the guy would not answer any questions for the longest time even though I know he saw me raising my hand.
After the Supreme Court we headed back to the Jesuit Center to hear from law students and a criminal lawyer. Longest day ever.
Day Five-
A easier day today. We meet with head of the Human Rights Foreign Ministry, the Labor Secretary and see a court proceeding where a guy got paroled after serving 3 years for manslaughter (lol). After those we met with the head of the police internal affairs. She has her own office away from the police and it is her fortress because the police do not like this woman. Many times she has to change her plans because the threats are too much that day.
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| My roommate for the trip Brandon and I- He still owes me $5 after the court proceeding- Defendant won. |
Day Six-
We start this day meeting with a man who is English speaking (such a nice change of pace) and covers environmental issues. Next we meet with a woman Supreme Court Magistrate who tells us her story about her and her husband during the Civil War. He was assassinated in the front of their house for his stance on human rights. Last we met with a man who covered human rights at the University, which is a Jesuit university and where a lot of Santa Clara's connections comes from. While we are at the University, our guide shows us around and took us to the spot where the Jesuit priests were marched out and executed.
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| A tree for each man |
After the University we went to a local papusaria to enjoy the end of our time.
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| Most of our group |
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| La Raza Kids |
All of our time was regimented and we spend every night besides our home-stay in the Jesuit Center behind huge gates and armed guards. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to lead a jail break. I found the street where all the bars are and got a small group together who was brave enough to embark on the El Salvadorean nightlife. We ended up at a club called Marios.
When we arrived there was ticket booth where you got wristbands. When you got to the counter there was a list of drinks that ranged from $3-$8. What you did was pay the price, they gave you the wristband, and you got unlimited refills of that drink. DANGER!!!! We drank and danced at this club and I got to meet the owner who turned out to be one of our classmates' tio.
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| Jailbreak crew- Me, Marc, Mikey, Monica, Camille, Jessica and Kristie |
School is Out
This was the class' last day in El Salvador and many left the morning after we all got up. For those of us left, we went back down to the University to meat with the Dean and hear his thoughts on the country and its history. After this meeting we were on our own. Our teacher left and we got to come up with our own day. Thankfully our guide stuck around helped us out.
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| What shall we do? |
We ended up doing our own thing for lunch. There were five of us left: Me, Barbie, Brandon, Jimmy and Jessica. Barbie and Brandon went to have a couples lunch after going to a museum. Jess, Jimmy and I took a nap and then went to lunch...
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| Wendy's delivers here... |
After lunches, we met up with our guide and his wife. Our guide dropped us off with his wife at the cemetery and she acted as our guide for the day. At the cemetery our guide made a call to find a grave for us to see. The woman Supreme Court justice had her husband buried at this cemetery and we told that we should see his grave. The daughter of the Supreme Court magistrate arrived shortly after and gave us a tour. She told us about her own impressive life and her feelings our her deceased father. ( I swear our guide works for the CIA...)
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| Every grave was decorated. |
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After the cemetery, our guide's wife walked us through the market and showed us the main churches for the country.
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| The huge city sized market |
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| Basilica |
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| Cathedral |
After another long day we walked to a nearby Mexican restaurant for our last hurrah.
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| Barbie and Brandon |
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| Jessica and I |
It was an amazing trip and Lara and I are glad to be home. Now law school...yay...
::Ant out::
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| Dueces |
