From Tim's Blog - a great video to be watching at this cold and dreary time of year!

Trip for 2013

We have now officially announced that we will be offering a trip in 2013. Participants on this trip will be able to gain Religious Ed Part II from St. Paul University - this is the first time we are offering this and we are very excited about this new partnership!  Here are some details about the trip:

The price is $1250.00 not including the flight which could add on another $1000.00  We usually leave by July 2 or 3 and we are in El Salvador for 12 days.  We will spend most of our time in San Jose las Flores and we work with the teachers in this community.  The daily schedule depends on what teachers want to focus on.  Last July, we spent time on popular education methods, the history of the war in this area, the impact of the war on teaching and we spent two days on teaching the Salvadoran teachers how to use a computer program. This year the schedule will be somewhat different as we need to work in the requirements for Religion Part II.  There will also be at least two sessions here in Ottawa before leaving.

While in San Jose las Flores we live with families and our afternoons are generally free.  We use this time to debrief from our morning workshops or we sometimes return to work at the school or we have the option of visiting the community pool.

The exact schedule of workshops this year will depend on what our teachers have to offer and what our hosts are interested in and of course the requirements for part II.

Apart for the sharing workshops, we spend three days in San Salvador learning about the recent history of the country and we visit several civil society organizations involved in social justice work.  We also visit several sites associated with Oscar Romero.  At the end of the trip we spend one day at a wonderful beach and we spend time in Suchitoto, a beautiful town that is quickly becoming a cultural center for the country.

This is a very quick breakdown of the trip.  I outline this in more detail at our introductory meeting -  at this point, we are planning this for some time in January.

You should know also that we will only be able to offer this trip if we have 20 participants, so please let your friends know!

  

I will add you to the new Compadres 2013 e-mail list, you will receive updates on information meetings, new blog posts and other information on the upcoming trip.

With this e-mail, I am attaching our information package that has links to our web site, blog and Facebook Page - all these are great sources of information on El Salvador and Compadres y Comadres.

Thanks for your interest, if you have any questions, please let me know.  I can be reached at paul.mcguire@ocsb.ca

Here are our partners for this year

Why I like Celas Maya

I have just returned from two weeks at Celas Maya in Xela.

My street in Xela

This was my second visit to the school and I loved it! There are three components that make the experience unique. First, wonderful, structured instruction for five hours a day. We start at 8:00 am every day and at the beginning of each week we make a plan for the entire week. The plan is filed with the office and we stick to it throughout the week.

Bird in flight in the nature preserve

Second, the home stay. Both times I have chosen to stay with a family in Xela. We ate three meals a day with them and I learned a lot of my Spanish sitting around the table talking during and after meals. My family was really wonderful and they made me feel at home throughout my stay.

 

Our visit to the hot springs above Xela

Finally, Celas Maya takes real care to offer activities throughout the week. One of my favorites was movie day - every Tuesday afternoon many of us would gather to watch a movie in Spanish and drink hot chocolate. It was great to spend time with the other students and sip ally good hot chocolate while learning Spanish in a different way! I also took part in one of the weekend trips - these are fabulous. I went with a great group of students to Monte Rico on the Pacific coast. We spent three wonderful days on a beautiful beach. We all enjoyed the lovely scenery and great food. We also took part in a predawn boat ride in a water nature reserve - a real highlight of my stay.

Street on the way to school

I really recommend Celas Maya. You will meet great teachers and interesting students from around the world. I had a great time and I look forward now to continuing my lessons with my teachers Ronnaldo through Skype!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The courtyard of Celas Maya where we have our lessons

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Las Fuentes Georginas

Yesterday I took my last excursion out of Xela and it was one of the best. A big group of us took a bus to las Fuentes Georginas, a beautiful hot spring way up in the mountains above Xela. The water from the springs has been collected into a series of pools, the first one so hot that you can only stay in it for a few minutes

Fortunately, the next two pools are a little bit cooler. We climbed in our little bus on a road narrow enough for two cars to barely pass each other. As we climbed the drop off on the right hand side became very dramatic. We met a few cars on the way and we had to stop to let them squeak by.

We reached the pools around 3:30 and we all quickly got into the hot spring water. The water is heated by nearby volcanoes and the water constantly runs from pool to pool and then down the mountain.

A few years ago a hurricane in the area washed most of the pools away. You can still see the remnants of the former buildings down in the ravine below the pools.

This is a really beautiful spot. We all floated around in the pools for over an hour until we all looked a little like prunes. Later we gathered in the little cafe next to the pools and ate French fries. A great way to finish off a visit to a wonderful, peaceful place.

 

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El oro o la vida

Yesterday a group of us sat and watched the excellent film El Oro o la Vida. It is about mining in Guatemala and other Latin American countries and the role that Canada plays in the exploitation of mineral resources in this region.

I was the only Canadian in the room with our Guatemalan teachers and some American students. I don't think I could have asked for a more interesting situation.

The film was difficult to watch, it displayed some of the horrible effects of water pollution from the mines on the people in various villages. It would then cut to a mining executive from Gold Corp confidently explaining how there is not water pollution caused by his mines. It explained also how many Guatemalan and Salvadoran activists have been killed or have simply disappeared during the struggle against the mining corporations.

After the movie was over we talked about what we had seen. As the only Canadian in the room, I was allowed to go first. I tried to explain what I know about the situation using my Spanish - a challenging task! The American students generally were very surprised to learn that Canada is a major player in mining and that we contribute significantly to the violence, unrest and sickness caused by the mines.

People still seem to think that we are the good guys, that we help people around the world. It was an eye- opener for them to learn that we exploit people quite effectively.

I also tried to explain that this situation is not well known even in our own country. Gold Corp seems to be better known in Ottawa for example as a major contributor to the University of Ottawa!

I think it would be a good experience for more Canadians to be here and sit with people and try to explain why we do these things with impunity.

After our discussion our Guatemalan hosts thanked us for contributing.

A great learning experience all around.

 

 

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Shopping Day in Xela

Today I have been shopping.

For me this is a major feat! I consider myself someone who is not the best at getting from place to place. However, today I was able to find my way to this wonderful bake shop and I was able to meet all sorts of merchants selling a wonderful variety of items.

Ronnaldo (my teacher) and I started the day by walking to the bake shop. I had never been there, but it was sunny and almost warm, so it was a good day for walk.

I have just started to learn the Subjunctive which is very exciting for me. Ronnaldo quizzed me all the way to the bakery on the present Subjunctive - a challenging task while trying to avoid the cars of the busy narrow streets.

While Ronnaldo got something healthy, I went for the biggest cream filled donut I could find. I really couldn't turn up the opportunity.

Right after class, I met Diego who was selling all sorts of amazing stuff from a village 40 kilometers from here. We talked about the materials that were used in some of the crafts and other things. It was very good to meet him and learn about what he had brought to the city.

The street where I met Diego

Later, I was actually able to make it back to the bake shop - after being there only one time! Unprecedented for me. I bought one of the last pies and brought it home for my family.

Next, I met Maria downtown selling all types of scarves and fabric. Her father was names Pablo and she would have happily sold me all of her wares if I had not moved on.

I continued shopping for family back home. A great day, a wonderful way to meet new people in Xela!

One of the markets in Xela, close to where I met Maria

 

 

 

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The central square of Xela

In all the small towns and cities I have visited in Latin America, it is the central squares that I like the most. Always, this is where you will find the people, talking, walking meeting up. I can spend hours in the central square in Xela just watching the people.

Lots of times I will do my homework there as well. It is great to outside and have so many people around you. There is a great sense of community in these public squares and it is easy to feel part of the community as one strolls around the square.

This is something I think we have lost as we plan communities. We need to find spaces where people can collect just to 'be'. Nothing to buy, nothing really to do except to relate to other people.

I think this is truly good for the soul and we in North America need to find ways to do this in our communities.

 

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