Student Reflections from Spring 2003Below are the reflections and thoughts from the Casa students who were in El Salvador for the Spring 2003 semester. These reflections are in alphabetical order by student's last name.
The Casa program is a great way to experience firsthand what life is like for the vast majority of the world’s residents, those who live in developing countries. It's one thing to study economic inequality, human rights issues, and urban poverty from the comfort of Boston College; but coming to El Salvador and living in a place where these issues are real and affect people’s everyday lives is completely different. But the program is about more than just studying “la realidad” of El Salvador. It is about experiencing this reality firsthand through our Praxis placements, activities with the scholarship students of the UCA, and trips to various different areas of the country.
When I decided to come to El Salvador everyone thought I was crazy (myself included at times). After being here for almost four weeks I cannot imagine myself anywhere else. I came to El Salvador in hopes of being challenged on different levels. I wanted a program that would challenge me, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. I wanted a program that would immerse me in the reality of El Salvador. My mom always said, “Be careful what you wish for: you just might get it.” Well I did. I am here and El Salvador has challenged me in ways that I did not think were possible. Lessons go beyond the classroom. Some of my most crucial lessons have been while riding the bus or in simple conversations. We are not just reading about the massacres, we are hearing a mother’s testimony of when she lost two of her daughters. We are not just looking at pictures of the montañas, we are riding up them in the backs of pick-up trucks (dust and all). We are not just hearing songs of peace on the radio, we are singing with them. In our praxis sites, we learn about the reality of El Salvador from the best teachers; the Salvadorans. Every day something new reminds me of how fortunate I am to be a part of this amazing program. El Salvador feeds my soul, challenges my mind and breaks my heart. I wish everyone could experience the reality of El Salvador !!! I would love to be a contact person! Thaitiff611@aol.com
The seed has been planted and I have taken root in the rich, fertile soil of El Salvador . Blood and tears drench my heart as they pour out of the Salvadorans, those massacred by violence in the 30s and 80s as well as those being massacred by globalization ahorita. Yet their hospitality and godliness shine con fuerza and inspire my own spirit to dig deeper into the fullness of God and agape. And the Lord, cultivator of all, provides me with absolute sustenance and guidance as I soak in so much that I swell, finally beginning to bud and sprout, to break through the satiated soil of this land and its people to breathe for myself la realidad of El Salvador. This coming season will provide me with the challenges and assurance I need to mature into a thriving sequoia. My network of roots will be strongly planted in the people and history of this country, my trunk will never reach high enough to the heavens, and my ever-expanding branches will flourish season after season of life, bearing fruit and vivacity to those who lack such a perspective. Favorite quotes are great, but how about some chistes? Here y’all go: What’s brown and sticky? A stick. Shoot your emails with questions my way: jenerrante@yahoo.com. ¡Qué le vaya bien!
I would be quick to describe my time here as fun, fascinating and enlightening. I would definitely not describe it as easy, but then the best things in life rarely are. I have enjoyed countless great times that fuel my desire to be in El Salvador and learn about life down here. I have made friends with great Salvadoran people, which transforms concepts I have learned in school into realities that I now comprehend with much more complexity. There are many harsh facts to learn about that must be learned about by American students, and the Casa provides this education along with a community and lines discourse that helps me to process the information as much as possible. Casa de Solidaridad is not the girl you meet at a bar and accompany home that night, it is the woman you pine after, pursue, and build a relationship with. My experience is a repeated process of building on my knowledge and having much of what I know called into question, always set against the background of growing determination. Quote: "Well, crying isn't gonna bring him back unless your tears smell like dogfood. So you can either sit there crying and eating can after can of dogfood until your tears smell enough like dogfood to make your dog come back, or you can go out there and find your dog."
Living in a classroom is not such a bad thing. Waking up every morning surrounded by learning materials; a mountainside village with vibrant foliage as the walls that stretch on endlessly, barren coffee farms and dry wells as the chalkboards that need no explanations, and Salvadorans of every age as the professors that teach the limitless curriculum of their reality. Stepping out of the door everyday is doing homework and passing the afternoon in a garden with friends is extra credit. Though intriguing and formative, the classroom of El Salvador pushes my limits. The language differs from region to region, the color of my skin and hair make me the minority for a change, there are inherent risks that require clear thought and action, and, above all, there is the reality of those who have lived in this classroom longer than me. "La Realidad" is the title of the course we are all enrolled in here and everyday we come to understand it a little more. However, just like that annoying know-it-all that sits in the front row, I keep asking myself why things are the way they are and how can I make even a little difference. There will be no final exam for this class, nor will we receive a diploma. We will however carry a knowledge that will never allow us to leave this classroom behind.
I came to El Salvador wanting to take that next step, to be broken open by the reality of poverty, injustice, and beauty in our world. I came ready to laugh, to cry, to immerse myself completely, to be humbled, to share, to look and really see, to live, to breathe, to smell and taste the Salvadoran culture. I was tired of reading about it and seeing pictures and wanted to immerse myself completely. We are beginning to walk with the Salvadoran people, enter into their reality, and reflect upon it. Not simply using our heads, but also our hearts and experience to discern and enter into reality. Days and weeks are full here: full of conversation and silence, with understanding and confusion, with simplicity and complexity, with peace and questioning. It is the little everyday moments that fill me with joy…the sound of the rooster waking us up, fresh coconut juice from a roadside vendor, swaying in the hammock, laughing with children, walking on dusty roads. I am learning to listen exquisitely to another culture, another way of living. I am beginning to sense the basta and my soul is being stretched as I savor all the Salvadoran people are teaching and sharing with me. “I hope that you come to find that which give life a deep meaning for you. Something worth living for—maybe even worth dying for. Something that energizes you, enthuses you, enables you to keep moving ahead. I can’t tell you what it might be-that is for you to find, to choose, to love. I can just encourage you to start looking and support you in the search.” “Do small things with great LOVE!” Yes! I would love to be contacted with any questions! joyana.jacoby@marquette.edu
“The time you spend with the ill and dying, the aged and the lonely, may well make you self-conscious about the level of comfort and security which you have taken for granted in your own life.” – Rev. Michael J. Himes To me, washing clothes by hand was never more than just an optional instruction on the tag inserted into clothing. In El Salvador, there need be no such instruction. This country is defined by hard work and shapes the reality in which people are forced to live. Thus far, I have only begun to scratch the surface of this reality. What I have found that this program offers is the opportunity to get past objective beliefs of the world and gives a starting point to develop a personal subjective reality. Participating in such a culture will forever change my perspective, something that cannot be taught within the confines of a classroom.
At this point I can describe my experience in La Casa de Solidaridad as a cycle. Your everyday experiences examine every part of your self. Somebody in the community touches your heart, and proceeds to squeeze a bit. 45 minutes later, an inconspicuous stranger extracts your brain cells and slides them under the microscope along with all your soul brought with it. And the next day you reflect. Our friend Dean Brackley S.J., told us last night that it is a state of grace because we have the opportunity to discover so much about ourselves. He nailed it, and I think the essential foundation of this program that allows that state of grace is its organization. The directors, Kevin and Trena, are impeccably familiar with our praxis sites. They can also read students well enough to understand this challenging struggle, and they provide the appropriate resources to support us. Their resource could be a simple ice-cream cake to lift our spirits or possibly a Salvadoran friend that invites us into her dynamic life-story. The physical casa where we live is sweet. It is a sort of haven for our reflection and our community home. The key point is that being here skews the focus of your microscope. Those brain cells look a lot smaller in this new place and you spend most of your time refocusing. That’s most of what we do here- refocusing. I would like to have answers when I leave. However, I always say the best answers come from the best questions, and I know I will have some phenomenal questions when I leave in three months.
We have all been here about a month now, and I feel far from settled. I have been trying to get more comfortable with the fact that I may never feel settled in here. I feel like we have been jam-packed with activities. This makes for great challenges both personally and on a global scale. I think my main question at this point is...how does my lifestyle contribute directly and indirectly to the situation here in El Salvador? Somehow I know that I will not have an answer to this question when I leave, but rather a better idea of what questions to ask to move closer to an answer. I have been challenged personally to put real faces to the reality here. This was one of my reasons for coming here, to make what I study at Regis real and tangible. I did not know how real this was going to be. Daily we are introduced in new ways to all that is San Salvador. I can no longer pretend to have answers for the situation here. I can no longer read something about El Salvador and not have the faces of whom I have seen be connected with the harsh reality. On a brighter note, the hospitality is amazing. I felt welcome in my praxis site from the very first day. The Quintanillas, all fourteen of them, have taken me in as one of their own. They have met me where I am by understanding my difficulty of being away from my support group and being unable to talk due to my understanding of the language. I appreciate their support and that of my house as well. This program engages the whole person, and does not leave anyone behind.
There is a beautiful, aching wisdom that accompanies suffering -- dwelling in the compassionate minds and intelligent hearts of those forced to run through life barefoot. It is an immense privilege to be in a place where these largely unheard voices are willing to share this wisdom with you. However, with this new knowledge comes responsibility -- a responsibility to question and struggle with the complex social structures that subjugate these people. As I attempt to undertake this responsibility, I am left with far more questions than answers. Perhaps ignorance is bliss...but not the kind of bliss I want to grasp onto. My hope is that during my stay in this country, I will continue to struggle with these questions with the same faith, strength, and optimism that Salvadorans are beginning to teach me. Quote: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke
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