And the journey home begins...

The past few months have FLOWN by, and I just wanted to apologize to anyone who checked my blog and was disappointed to not find any new updates. The good news, at least, is that there have been many wonderful moments, experiences and learning that I have had the past few months, and although I wanted to update my blog and share with people back home, I never seemed to find the time.

The past week has been full of goodbyes, and unfortunately they're not over yet. I just ate supper one last time with my Salvadoran host family, and now I am in my room, packing my suitcases and finishing one last MCC report.

With many tears (yet also excitement to see my friends and family back home, share my experiences, and see what the future holds), I will be leaving El Salvador tomorrow morning (Wednesday). My MCC Guatemala/El Salvador reps are picking me up, and we will drive together (about 5 hours) to Guatemala City, where I will have supper with my beloved Guatemalan host family, and then spend the night at my MCC reps house. Early Thursday morning they will drop me off at the airport...where I will head to the US, for SALT Re-entry with MCC in Akron, PA.

(This is mostly for my mom and grandma's sake) but my flight leaves Guatemala City at 7:20 am (which is 9:20 am back home). I will have a layover in Atlanta for a few hours, where I will hopefully meet up with some of the other SALTers coming from other countries, and then I will finally arrive in Harrisburg, PA at 6:15pm, where we will get picked up by an MCC worker and driven to the MCC office in Akron. I am looking forward to this time to relax (the past weeks have been super busy, and I haven't been getting much sleep!), catch up with my fellow SALTers, and begin to debrief this crazy/intense/amazing year that I have had in El Salvador and Guatemala.

Finally next Tuesday (July 24th), my mom and my aunts Ruby and Diane will pick me up in Akron, and if all goes as planned, we should be arriving back in Tavistock that evening!

I wish that I could give more of an update about my last few weeks, but my suitcases and report are calling out to me...just know that, besides my feelings of stress and sadness, I am also doing really well. I hope to have time to update my blog in the next week, but we'll see!

Goodbye for now, and I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as I begin my journey back home!

Mining in El Salvador and Guatemala

I have mentioned a couple times already in my blog posts about the complexities and consequences of mining in El Salvador and Guatemala. This past week I came across a couple different articles that I would like to share with my friends and family, because I think it is important to stay informed about these issues!

The first is a petition from Oxfam America, to the US government to support the El Salvadoran government, in the lawsuit that Canadian mining company Pacific Rim has against them.


"In El Salvador, communities are fighting for their right to decide how companies can use their lands. Many of them have made a decision: they don’t want the metal mining industry to continue to destroy the environment they live and farm in. And they’re paying the price - each day, community leaders and activists face threats of violence and death because they're standing up to metal mining companies.What's making this fight even harder? Right now, Canadian mining company Pacific Rim is trying to force El Salvador to keep metal mines in business by suing El Salvador for $77 million under the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). This case could not only cost El Salvador a significant portion of its GDP, but it could prevent citizens from deciding which industries develop in their country.

A win for El Salvador in this case means that El Salvador could choose to stop metal mining - for good. The US government’s support for El Salvador over Pacific Rim in this case has been crucial. That’s where you come in. Will you help us make sure the US supports El Salvador in this case? Tell Secretary of State Clinton: Support the people of El Salvador."

Although the petition is for the US government, Canadians can sign it too! So please click on this link to read a blog article about this petition, and then sign if you wish!

http://voiceselsalvador.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/oxfam-petition-on-el-salvador-and-mining/

The Oxfam America website has a bunch of other interesting articles and videos about mining in El Salvador and Guatemala, and other countries, if you are interested in learning more about this issue.

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/campaigns/extractive-industries

Also, this is an article about a Goldcorp mine in Guatemala.

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/guatemala-archives-33/3595-goldcorps-legacy-criminalization-and-mining-resistance-in-san-rafael-las-flores-guatemala

Thank you for taking the time to read these articles, and becoming informed about what is happening to our neighbours in Central America!

Join MCC in supporting an International Arms Trade Treaty

Please read the MCC Latin America Advocacy Blog's latest post, and add your name in support of an international arms trade treaty!

http://lacaadvocacy.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/join-mcc-in-supporting-an-international-arms-trade-treaty/

Some Thoughts After 9 Months

Today marks the 9th month of my SALT journey. Time continues to fly by super fast, and although I have lots of things I want to share with my friends, family and church members back home, I never seem to have the time to do it.

About a month ago, all of the SALTers were asked to write responses to the following questions, and when we return to Akron, PA for our re-entry in July, we will receive a "yearbook" with everyone's responses. I thought I would share some of my (modified!) responses here on my blog.

First Impression (of assignment country/community, etc.):

Life in San Salvador is very different than life in Tavistock, or even life in Waterloo! 

There are people everywhere! Along with this, comes almost non-stop noise, from the traffic (and horn-honking!), vendors driving through the streets yelling “Platanos! Platanos!” into their megaphones, and the dogs, roosters, blaring music, and firecrackers going off at all times of the day or night.

I also noticed right away the friendliness and hospitality of the Salvadoran people, and fell in love with the beautiful landscape. When I step out of my house, I have a view of the gorgeous San Salvador volcano, and there are palm trees, beautiful plants, and flowers galore!

Relationship with God (Highlights/new insights or difficulties/struggles in your faith?):

These past months have been very inspiring to me, as I have seen many examples of Salvadorans living out their faith and actively working for peace and justice, from the example of the Salvadoran martyr Archbishop Oscar Romero, to the examples I see every day through my co-workers at ANADES (New Dawn Association).

At the same time, these past months have been hard for me. I have struggled to find God and see hope, in the midst of all the pain, suffering and injustices that I see here in San Salvador. These struggles will continue to stay with me. I will never be able to forget the things I have seen, and the stories I have heard, from my neighbours, friends, co-workers, host families, people on the street, and most of all, the precious and innocent kids at the daycare.

New Perspectives (How has your view of yourself, others & your home country changed after cross cultural service?):

It is hard to write this in just a paragraph...I am gaining new  perspectives every day! I have learned so many things about myself, as well as the strength of the Salvadoran people, and not to judge a book by the cover. 

I have learned the importance of really pushing myself to try new things and put myself into new situations. It is surprising that even living in a country that is totally different than what I grew up in, I can still fall into my comfort zone, which is sometimes a good thing, but usually not! When you are in your comfort zone, it is hard to see the injustices in the world, and even harder to work for justice and peace and building God’s Kingdom here on earth. And I have discovered that the best learning, and sometimes even the most fun, comes out of these experiences that at first glance, seem too scary or uncomfortable.
I am also learning how our individualist, consumerist and militaristic society in North America is connected with many of the hardships the majority of Salvadorans face every day, including violence, insecurity, gangs, drug cartels, migration, broken families, climate change, and poverty.

Future Plans (What might you do next, when you return home?):

Look for a job! I’m also thinking of heading back to school, either to get my Masters in Social Work or pursue Early Childhood Education. And I would love to return to Central America, and volunteer with MCC again!

What single word best describes this year for you? Explain why – in a sentence or two.

Relationships!

This has been the most rewarding part of SALT: although not always easy (both the building of friendships, as well as being in relationship with people who have such different life experiences than I do), the relationships I have made with my host families, co-workers, and the kids and their parents at the daycare, have given me an incredible amount of love, laughter, joy, hope and inspiration!