I spent the better part of the last week with the Cretin-Derham Hall (High School in St. Paul, MN) Delegation. I would have spent more time with them but Danny forgot me (last time I swear!). They were a really great group of kids and I had a lot of fun with them. We spent the weekend in Las Pampas, San Vicente.
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We all stayed with families in the community. On Sunday we went for a hike on the volcano. The kids got a kick out of the name of the volcano, Chichontepeque, which is a twin peaked and whose name translates as "Big Titty Mountain".
We came back to the city on Monday and were sad to leave our families but relieved to use indoor toilets and showers. Not to mention the chance to begin nursing heat rashes and other chaffing issues. On Tuesday the kids went to an urban parish while I checked in at the office. I met back up with them in the afternoon for soccer and then we met with Rick Jones (Bia*%), the Regional
Director of Catholic Relief Services. Rick is amazingly knowledgeable about Salvadoran issues and reality and is always a big hit with delegations and delegation leaders. Tuesday night we wrapped up with a final reflection at the guest house and then wrapped things up with a Merengue dance Par-tay.
All in all it was a lot of fun. It was a joy to see the kids discover El Salvador and what makes this country amazing as well as heart-breaking. Danny was the official delegation coordinator,
with Danielle in training. Danielle (new VM to replace Danny) has been in the country for just about two weeks now and is bringing new meaning to the phrase "trial by fire." The first, oh, month and a half of her move to El Salvador will be filled with three back to back delegations. I would not be surprised to see her rocking on a couch blowing spit bubbles by August. I'll keep you posted. So that left me in a support role which means that I took care of the fallen soldiers, held their hair while they yacked, walked em down the mountain, talked about the Tao, gave the smack down when 
necessary (tough love), but primarily threw in cynical, crass, sassy commentary when applicable. Which was often, and really, I think, my calling.
We have another delegation here this week. Poor Danielle is already hitting it again. I will be minimally involved in this one leaving me time to work out the final details on the Youth Delegation that will be arriving in the first part of July.
We came back to the city on Monday and were sad to leave our families but relieved to use indoor toilets and showers. Not to mention the chance to begin nursing heat rashes and other chaffing issues. On Tuesday the kids went to an urban parish while I checked in at the office. I met back up with them in the afternoon for soccer and then we met with Rick Jones (Bia*%), the Regional
Director of Catholic Relief Services. Rick is amazingly knowledgeable about Salvadoran issues and reality and is always a big hit with delegations and delegation leaders. Tuesday night we wrapped up with a final reflection at the guest house and then wrapped things up with a Merengue dance Par-tay.All in all it was a lot of fun. It was a joy to see the kids discover El Salvador and what makes this country amazing as well as heart-breaking. Danny was the official delegation coordinator,
with Danielle in training. Danielle (new VM to replace Danny) has been in the country for just about two weeks now and is bringing new meaning to the phrase "trial by fire." The first, oh, month and a half of her move to El Salvador will be filled with three back to back delegations. I would not be surprised to see her rocking on a couch blowing spit bubbles by August. I'll keep you posted. So that left me in a support role which means that I took care of the fallen soldiers, held their hair while they yacked, walked em down the mountain, talked about the Tao, gave the smack down when 
necessary (tough love), but primarily threw in cynical, crass, sassy commentary when applicable. Which was often, and really, I think, my calling.We have another delegation here this week. Poor Danielle is already hitting it again. I will be minimally involved in this one leaving me time to work out the final details on the Youth Delegation that will be arriving in the first part of July.
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1 comment:
Have I mentioned how creepy I find it when my worlds collide? I mean, how random is it that you just hung out with my former coworkers and probably some of my former students? Sigh. I guess it all really does come back to El Salvador.
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