The First Week of August

Vivian wrote this entry about her favorite part of the summer. I have known Vivian for years through her drama preformances. I think the first time I saw her on stage, she was in 8th grade. Now I have the pleasure of seeing her almost every day. In the photo, Vivian is the second from the right.

Lago de Coatepeque is a small lake that is about 45 minutes away from the capital city of San Salvador. The lake is located in the department of Santa Ana. This is a volcanic lake, which means that it formed in the crater of an extinct volcano. It is very, vrey deep! 20,000 people live at the lake, plus about 5,000 tourists who come monthly. Many local Salvadorians also own lake houses that they use during the weekends and vacations.

I think “Semana de agosto” at the lake could be one of the best weeks of summer. It is the first week of August, and everyone with a lake house will go. If you don’t have a house, you’ll find a friend to go with. Summer is about resting and recovering, but that does not include this week. I’m not sure about the older more adult generation, but we teenagers don’t sleep at all. Everyone is in a happy and cheerful mood, but at night there is also a good deal of drama and gossip to retell later.

During the day we visit all our friends' houses; we also spend a lot of time making new friends. We go on the wave runner and on the boats. If there is a breeze, people also go wind surfing. We go tubing on the lake and try to get a sun tan. We all eat together at different friends’ houses. We have a blast. Each night there is a party at a different house. Everyone goes. There is lots of gossiping, music blasting, and plenty of flirting. This week is full of excitement, but it also symbolizes that the end of summer is near. This is about all I can say about “semana de agosto.” I can’t wait for it to come again!

Foods in El Salvador

This is Bea's description of her favorite Salvadoran foods. I taught Bea's brother two years ago. So many of my students now (around one-third) are siblings of former students. Bea is a happy young lady who puts a lot of effort into her studies. As she told me, "I don't like 80s..."

Pupusas. Elote Loco. Semita. Se me hace agua la boca solo con pensar en ellas. (My mouth waters just thinking about them.) These are just a few of the foods Salvadorans love to eat, whether it’s a Friday night at home with friends or Sunday afternoon with the whole family. These foods can be enjoyed during carnivals or on a daily basis, but the most craved foods are the street foods. Mango. Platanitos. Pastelitos de Chucho. They all have a taste no Salvadoran can resist.

Pupusas are the typical food here in El Salvador. They are made of corn, just like tortillas, except they have an ingredient in them like cheese or frijoles, or sometimes both. They can be eaten with a red sauce made of tomatoes and with “curtido,” which is cabbage with carrots and vinegar and sometimes a spicy condiment. They are typically enjoyed on a Sunday night with the family.

Literally Elote Loco is “crazy corn,” and in a way it is. It is usually sold on the streets during various carnivals. It is a whole corn on a stick with ketchup, mayonnaise, and cheese. As weird as the cobination sounds, it is delicious!! If you ever visit El Salvador you can’t leave without "crazy corn."

Semita is usually enjoyed after any meal with a cup of coffee. It is sweet bread that has some sort of jelly in it, like pineapple or guava.

Every Salvadoran goes crazy for street foods. I have no idea what different ingredient they have in them or what vendors do to prepare them, but they definitely have a different taste than any other foods. Mango is usually sold in a plastic bag. It is cut in long stripes that makes it look like spaghetti. The stripped mango is eaten with lots of lemon, salt, and chili.

Platanitos are fried plantains. As well as mangoes, they are eaten with lemon, salt, and chili. This is no surprise. We Salvadorans love to add lemon to everything we eat, from fruits to tortillas to steaks.

Pastelitos de Chucho mean dog empanadas, but don’t worry. They are not made of dog meat; it’s just a name! They are exactly like chimichangas, but for example in Ahuachapan they are mini chimichangas served with a hot red sauce and “curtido." They are not served on plates, but they are served in plastic bags just like mango or platanitos.

This is just a small example of the kind of foods we love. You can also infer what type of people we are: pupusas on a Sunday night with the family, lemon added to everything we eat, pastelitos de chucho meaning dog empanadas. We Salvadorans are family people. We are also crazy people who can’t eat a single food without adding lemon to it. Pastelitos de chucho, well, that just adds to our craziness. Most importantly, we love our country and we love our craziness.

A Salvadoran Legend

This legend was retold by my student, Raul. So far Raul has been pretty quiet in my class, but I have learned that he really likes to lift weights and he lives to play video games. Enjoy his story!

Salvadoran people are originally of Mayan descent, but eventually they became a mixture of Spanish and Mayan after the Spanish invaded “The New World” and took over Central America. The effect, in relation to culture, was that legends became mixed as well. The result was the incredible stories of the Mayan that related to gods and strange creatures joined with the stories of the Spanish culture that related to supernatural events with ghosts and demons.

That combination created many new myths that are now part of the Salvadoran culture. One example of a myth from El Salvador is La Siguanaba, which tells of this beautiful woman who was punished by a god because she wouldn’t take care of her son. She was too concerned with attracting men, so the god cursed her into becoming this evil, ugly, and disgusting creature. It is said that even to this day, men, when coming late at night to their house, may find a very pretty woman along the way that seduces them. When they get close to her, she turns into a demon. Those taken by her are never seen again. If you listen carefully during the night, near small towns, you can hear her laugh when she gets her next victim.

The legend of La Carreta Chillona began in Spain, direct evidence of the mixture of cultures. A little boy named Terencio was adopted by a priest who taught him how to read and write. The priest always tried to convince the boy to become a priest. Terencio would always say no, although he promised he would be a good man who would help others. Eventually, the priest died of old age, and Terencio moved to another town where he began to work for a doctor. He tagged along more for the urge to learn than to actually help. With time, he learned what he needed to know. A few nights later he took advantage of this group of people that were going to take a ship to go to some distant place. He told him he was a doctor and would offer his services to them if they just took him with them; the people said yes.

Eventually, Terencio appeared in San Salvador. Because no one knew him, he lied and said he was a miraculous doctor. He began to practice his “profession,” and for the people who died in his hands, he said, “It´s God´s will.” Those who were lucky and didn’t die had to pay him in some way. Eventually, he became rich. One night, when Terencio was coming back from a bar, he heard a noise, as if it were footsteps. He began to walk faster and faster, until he heard the voice of the priest that took care of him when he was a child. The priest was disappointed because of all the people he had killed or had made suffer.

Thus, the ghost forced him to pick up the bones of all his victims and told him to build a charriot. When he was done, the priest told Terencio he was already dead, and he was to wander for all eternity until he laid to rest all the bones of his victims in an appropriate cemetary. It is said that around midnight, Terencio wanders in San Salvador near small towns and villages mourning. You can hear the sound of chains and bones cracking in the distance, and there have been several accounts where people have testified to seeing him.

Independence Day at EA

Ceci wrote this article about a recent school celebration. Ceci has been spending a lot of time at our house lately. She and Maggie are physics partners, and they have lots of projects to do together. The catapult and the cannon were big hits. I'm just impressed with how well she and Mags use the power tools! Ceci is the one on the left.

It was the morning of September 12, 2008. Senior students made last adjustments to their outfits, juniors fidgeted with anticipation, fourth graders played with flags of white and blue, and everyone looked forward to one thing, and one thing only: the Escuela Americana annual celebration of the independence of El Salvador.

But this isn't just a ceremony commemorating the freedom of our country. Like almost everything at EA, it is something brimming with tradition and significance. The event is led by the current senior class. The national anthem is sung, the "Oración a la bandera" (the Salvadoran version of the Pledge of Allegiance) is recited, and the flag is brought in by its very own student escort. But there is more. Fourth graders perform marches they have practiced for weeks, two senior students recite essays they have written about their country, and the whole senior class dances in the typical Salvadoran style. Most important of all (to the junior class, at least), the twelfth grade presents the eleventh grade with the right of carrying the Salvadoran flag and the responsibility of honoring it and respecting it. This transaction represents a transfer of power of sorts, a way for the senior class to tell the eleventh graders that things are in their hands now. Of course, this is just taken as an excuse for the juniors to be as loud and obnoxious as humanly possible for about a minute and a half, while they celebrate the thrill of finally being in charge of something. And boy, do they relish it!

For the past eleven years of my life, I have watched this ceremony from the sidelines. I have clapped, sung, and enjoyed the overall high that comes along with an event of this magnitude. But this year was different. I was chosen to represent my class as one of the six students who escort the flag after it is given by the seniors, so I watched everything from a completely different perspective, on a physical and personal level.

As I stood on the stage, I realized just how much I love this tradition. I smiled and clapped as the fourth graders did their best to remember the complicated steps to the intricate marches, and I laughed as the senior girls twirled around in colorful dresses, having a great time. And, as my friend Adri received the flag from the senior representatives, my classmates over on the bleachers screamed like there was no tomorrow. I couldn't have been prouder to call myself a "Guanaca".

I cannot think of a better way to describe this celebration other than to say it is a sensory explosion. Not only is the music incredibly loud and the decorations overwhelmingly vibrant, but one must be careful not to get hit on the head by a rogue candy bar (courtesy of the senior dancers) or to get trampled by the delirious juniors. It is big, loud, and merry, like everything in El Salvador should be. It is one of the things I'll miss the most about home once I'm off at college, because it shows just how good EA can be at school spirit. We excel the one thing Salvadorans do best: celebration.

Volleyball in El Salvador

This post was written by my student, Conchita. She is the smile in my classroom. I'm not sure if anything ever gets her down. As you can guess, she is also an enthusiastic volleyball player.

El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America. However, its size does not limit its passion for sports. The most popular sports in this country are basketball, soccer, and volleyball.

Volleyball is included in most private school programs. Interscholastic volleyball is separated between boys and girls in the following categories: under 12 years old, under 14 years old, under 16 years of age, and under 18. After 18 years of age, students are not allowed to participate in intercollegiate games. There is a main interscholastic championship which includes all local qualifying private schools, called “Colegiales.” This championship is usually held from the beginning of May to early July, because the local school system doesn’t have summer vacation during this time. The winning team gets an all expenses paid trip to Puerto Rico to play against other qualified teams. The funds come from the National Volleyball Federation.

But volleyball isn’t limited by age or educational level. The Volleyball Federation also sponsors an open championship for all ages. The categories in this championship are based on skill: category I being the best and category III being the “newbies.” You choose what category to start in, but if you finish last place twice in the same category, you are moved down to the category below. However, if you win first place in your category, you are moved to the category above. The winning team in category I wins a trophy and a cash prize.

The rules in El Salvador are the international rules plus a little extra strictness. The net height for women is still 2.24 meters, and 2.43 meters for men. However, in El Salvador, players MUST wear long socks (no crew socks), and tuck their shirts in. For local tournaments, players can only have jerseys with numbers one through eighteen. If a team member fails to abide by the dress code, they either can’t play or must pay a five dollar fine (depending on the importance of the game).

Even though El Salvador is a small country, passion is everywhere. There is even passion for volleyball. You can spot single mothers who work all day, using their vacation time to participate on the open championship. These women have no worried expression; they are doing something they love.