Sam's Experience

Sam Lawrence still wanted to share his story, from his experience a couple years ago!  Cheers Sam.  Saludos from El Salvador!

I cannot imagine a better place to learn Spanish.  I often had one on one instruction or had class with
one or two other students – it was a great student- teacher ratio.  I loved that aspect of CIS.  The
teachers are very well trained in both language teaching and in popular education techniques.  I learned so much about people and issues of El Salvador, Central America and Latin America while learning to speak Spanish – It was a perfect mix for me. It was an intense immersion.  I went from nil to fluent enough to use Spanish in my professional life, and it was great for understanding the social landscape of Latin America.

I felt like I became friends with all of my teachers and felt very comfortable with them.  They were not intimidating.  The teachers at CIS are very warm people who made me feel safe to go all out and get out of my comfort zone and I feel like I have lasting friendships and I can Skype and visit with them at any time.

I went to El Salvador with some of the same apprehension other people feel because of how El Salvador is portrayed in the media and having read all the warnings.  I never felt unsafe.  I lived in a neighborhood with a host family that had security in their area and I walked to school every morning and took a taxi home after dark.  I think that CIS staff and my host family and all of my friends were very, cognizant of our fears and very accommodating to make sure we were as comfortable as possible – to make us both feel and be safe.  I had no bad experiences and took the same precautions I took living in New Orleans.  I would come back in a heartbeat if I had the time and funds.

Teaching English was a really thrilling experience.  It has stuck with me and I think I´ll remember it for the rest of my life.  The training program was great – to learn philosophies about language learning and popular education.  I was nervous at the beginning but I found my stride.  And I learned so much from my students – the experience left me with a lot of optimism because my students were so great and thoughtful.  I feel really confident that I can translate the skills to my work in the USA – teaching, leading meetings, bringing groups together to have discussions about important issues in a very exciting way.

I came to El Salvador not knowing how to conjugate a single verb, and when I got home I was ready to use Spanish in my professional life.  I worked for the juvenile public defender in New Orleans and I was able to use my skills to help the lawyers communicate with clients and their families – and now I am using my Spanish skills in my graduate program in Social Work working with Spanish speaking kids and their families in the schools in Siler City, North Carolina.

Jill Stiemsma, retired teacher and volunteer

Made it to the top of the volcano!  I'm in the middle!

Hi.  I’m Jill Stiemsma, a retired college instructor from Wisconsin. I first became aware of CIS when I joined an SOA-Watch delegation that traveled to El Salvador to

honor the 30^th anniversary of Oscar Romero’s assassination.  SOA-Watch contracted with CIS to lead this delegation, and it was truly an amazing experience.  As luck would have it, two other members on the trip had previously studied Spanish in a Bolivian language school and encouraged me to do the same. As a 60-year-old Spanish student, I was struggling in basic University courses back home.

So, yes, I spent six months in Bolivia.  But when I returned home, I thought, “What can I do now to keep using my Spanish?”  And in the mysterious ways of the universe, what would appear in the mail the very next day but a letter from CIS, wondering if I’d be interested in teaching English for them.  Would I be interested???  What a silly question!  I immediately applied.

Jill with her first group of Beginner English Students at the CIS

I’m now teaching my fourth English cycle over a five-year span and have made seven trips to El Salvador, all told.  I’ve been an English teacher, a Spanish student (as a CIS English teacher, I pay half price for my classes), an Elections Observer, and a member of one other CIS delegation (the last one for the beatification of Oscar Romero).  Because of CIS’ Cultural Program and organized teacher trips, I have a really good background in the Salvadoran Reality.

Since teachers must pay their own transportation and housing costs here, why would I keep coming back, especially to a country deemed so unsafe?  Quite frankly, I get a lot more out of working and living directly with Salvadorans than they get from me.  When I enter El Salvador these days, I immediately sense that “I am home”.  I firmly believe US citizens owe El Salvador a lot, given our funding of their Civil War and our sending planeloads of gang members back to El Salvador, sometimes daily (and then having the audacity to admonish them for not solving “their” gang problem). 

Getting coffee during election observations

Am I safe?  I think so.  I don’t take public transportation or walk at night; CIS places us in decent (though not fancy) housing in non-gang neighborhoods.  As a gringo, I’m less likely to be harmed anyway (or so I think).  I know enough not to argue with robbers; I’ll just give them what they want.  Here, the teachers’ biggest complaints revolve around taking cold showers, quite frankly!

Please come.  Please support CIS as a teacher, as a traveler, as a language learner.  The experience will change your life.  It absolutely will.

Natalie's Experience with the English School

When I decided to spend the summer studying Spanish and teaching English at the CIS in El Salvador, I had very little idea what to expect. I arrived knowing almost nobody and nothing about the country, apart from what I had heard on the news and from the few people I knew who had traveled there. Little did I know I would walk away from the summer with not only new friends and incredible experiences, but also a newfound knowledge of and love for El Salvador.

Spanish classes at the CIS are unique because they focus on the history and current reality of El Salvador. The three teachers I had throughout the summer each had fascinating experiences, having worked with the government, youth, or unions, and were excited to share these experiences and their knowledge of the country with us. We talked about everything from poverty and wages to free trade agreements to gender roles in El Salvador. We watched documentaries about guerilla leaders during the civil war, short films about El Salvador’s environmental problems, and a speech from the current mayor of San Salvador to university students. We practiced speaking Spanish, talking about what our respective countries were like and finding many similarities.

Mural in the main square of Cinquera, showing the town’s history.

These opportunities to learn about El Salvador didn’t stop with Spanish class, but continued into my English class. Over the summer, my students taught me as much about El Salvador as I taught them about English. They practiced speaking by discussing everything from consumerism to environmental problems in the country, and were excited to learn about America from me. Many of them were lawyers, students, or worked with non-profits, and each one brought a unique perspective to the class.

The best part of the summer was not only learning about El Salvador in the classroom, but getting to experience the country as well. With an incredible group of volunteer teachers, we traveled during days and weekends to various parts of the city and country. We went to the gay rights parade, a march to commemorate the 1975 massacre of University students, an island in the Pacific Ocean to visit a women’s cooperative which the CIS supports, and much more.

View from the rainforest hike in Cinquera. 

My favorite trip was a weekend spent in Cinquera, a small town about two hours northeast of San Salvador. It’s not only a beautiful town, but was also an FMLN stronghold during the Civil War, giving us an opportunity to learn about its history as well as appreciate it as it is today. We stayed in the town’s small hostel and spend an afternoon hiking in the nearby rainforest. With our guide leading the way, expertly cutting vines out of her way with a machete, we hiked up and down steep hills, visited sites that had been guerilla camps during the civil war, and swam in a pool at the foot of a waterfall. That night, we attended the commemoration of a 1984 massacre in the next town over. With a group of about 100 people, we marched down the main road towards the town, holding candles, chanting, and singing. When we reached the main road of the town, the mood turned celebratory, with the community giving away pupusas, cookies, and coffee, and a lively church service that went on all night. We learned about the history of the town and saw a wall, littered with bullet holes from the 1984 massacre, which made the sometimes abstract history of the Civil War feel much more real.

Commemorative March for UES students killed in 1975

The next day, we visited Cinquera’s iguana farm and toured the town’s main square and many murals with a tour guide who was a former FLMN leader. He told us about the town’s history and explained how the American government helped the Salvadoran army cause destruction and commit many massacres during the war. But he also told us something which resonated with many of us. Although the American government has done many harmful things to the country, he said, American people have a history of being in solidarity with the people. We love Americans, he told us. We are grateful that you’re here, and we hope you’ll come back.

This attitude reflected what I experienced everywhere I went in El Salvador. I spent much of the summer learning about the damage that the American (and other foreign governments) have done and are doing to El Salvador, and returned home with a much more critical eye and awareness of America’s role in the world.  But I never experienced any bitterness or anger from the wonderful Salvadorans I knew. Instead, they were friendly, welcoming, excited to show me their beautiful country and make me feel at home. And by the end of the summer, I did. 

-Natalie, the CIS thanks you for this blog, for your efforts with our English school and the laughter.

Best Wishes,

Mujeres Tinecas—San Martin, El Salvador

Alicia is one of three York interns here for three months.  She was a volunteer with the Solidairy Crafts program for three months.  We hope you will be reviewing her Christmas crafts catalog soon!
 

Today I had the opportunity yet again to go out into the community and meet one of the groups associated with CIS, this time las Mujeres Tinecas, in San Martin. What made this particular trip special was that I would be teaching some of the women a bit of the calligraphy and lettering that I learned in high school as well as from watching my mom doing it growing up. I had to swallow my nervousness about speaking Spanish in front of a group of locals, and try to teach what was essentially an art class, having no prior knowledge of the capabilities of my students.

I certainly wasn’t prepared for the sweet Ancelma, the lady who makes the quilled cards for the group, and who doesn’t know how to read or write. Calligraphy, which had always meant for me a style of “artsy” penmanship, had lost all of its traditional linguistic meaning, and had become instead simply drawing patterns of art. I enjoyed the experience though, and appreciated the effort and enthusiasm of the ladies—I’m confident that after they spend some time practicing, the new lettering on their cards will look beautiful.

Afterwards we talked a bit about their lives and their work, and their little neighbourhood in San Martin. I hadn’t even realized that one of them had to come out to meet us and bring us in (I thought we just needed directions), to ensure our safety in their gang-maintained neighbourhood. There were young boys flying kites, men at work, and women keeping home—washing, cleaning, gardening, cooking, etc.—and other students coming home from school. Though it was clearly a poor area, there was a kind of majesty to it all: the sounds of the carpenter’s workshop, the smiling children with their kites, cars zooming down the highway in the background, the towering and empty industrial tanks behind the galvanized houses, and somehow the flowers finding space to bloom in their kaleidoscope of colours everywhere.

I’m excited to see what the future holds for the group; I hope they keep practicing to make their already beautiful cards stand out even more, to increase their sales, and ultimately, to improve their lives and secure a brighter future for themselves, their families, and their community.

Protecting the Environment and Hanging out in San Rafael Cedros!

San Rafael Cedros fue el punto de reunión para celebrar, junto a la 

comunidad, el Día del Ambiente.  Cada estudiante compartió sus ideas 

sobre el cuido de los bosques, el reciclaje y la comida saludable.  ¡Una 

excelente forma de practicar su español!

Después, estudiantes de español y chicos de la comunidad se organizaron

 para la elaboración de un pequeño mural con el lema: ¡Amamos nuestra 

comunidad porque protegemos el Ambiente!

Pero hubo tiempo para descansar y platicar, caminar para conocer más 

sobre los cultivos 

de la zona, disfrutar de una rica comida y unos 

enormes mangos. 

The Spanish School went to San Rafael Cedros to 

celebrate the day of the Environment with residents of 

the town.  Each student shared their ideas to protect 

the environment- protecting our forests, recycling and 

healthy food.  This was an excellent was to practice 

speaking Spanish!

Afterwards, our students and people from the 

community organized together to make a small mural 

surrounding the theme: 'We love our community, so 

we protect the Environment!

There was also time to rest, chat and walk around to 

get to know the crops in the area and enjoy good food 

and enormous Mangoes!!!

Letter to Congressional Rep

I am writing to ask you to sign onto the Dear Colleague letter being circulated by Representatives Pocan and Honda regarding the Millennium Challenge Corporation compact with El Salvador and the risk it currently poses to family farmers.

It has come to my attention that the US Embassy is requiring that El Salvador, in order to receive a second MCC compact, eliminate a provision that allows the government to purchase seeds for its Family Agriculture Plan from small-scale producers. 

This provision has been key to the success of the Family Agriculture Plan, which is helping to revitalize the agricultural sector in El Salvador by providing seeds and technical assistance to over 400,000 family farmers. It has allowed many small- and medium-scale producers the opportunity to bid on government contracts from which they would otherwise be excluded, thereby breaking the monopoly held by two major agricultural corporations.

The repeal of this law would limit the government's ability to purchase the highest-quality seeds at the best price, which is essential to the country's goal of ensuring food security. It would also place corporations at a considerable advantage over small-scale producers, thus jeopardizing El Salvador's efforts to reduce rural poverty. 

The terms of El Salvador’s food security program should not be a matter of negotiation for the MCC compact, nor should the State Department use the final approval of the compact as a way to exert undue influence on El Salvador's domestic economic policy. 

I hope you agree that US development aid should be used to support sustainable development efforts in El Salvador, not to undermine them on behalf of narrow corporate interests. I urge you to sign onto this important letter.  Please contact Alicia Molt ASAP at Congressman Pocan's office in order to do so. The letter will close on Thursday, June 26.

Thank you.

Confecciones La Colorada, Isla Tasajera

 

Yesterday we went to Tasajera Island to visit with one of the artisan groups that CIS

works with--¨Confecciones La Colorada¨ who make the lovely ¨bolsas de Cati¨(Cati

bags). All of the women were busy at work when we arrived--cutting, measuring,

pinning and sewing their beautiful bags of varying sizes and designs, all made of

colourful, locally hand-woven fabrics. Immediately they stopped working and came out

to welcome us with hugs, kisses and bright smiles.

After walking around and admiring their work, we sat down with them to discuss and

evaluate their progress over the last year, to better understand their work, challenges and

goals, and the ways in which CIS can continue to help.

These women have been industrious enough to begin the challenging

process of certification as an accredited Salvadoran cooperative so

that they will be eligible to acquire government contracts to make

school uniforms. To accomplish this, they need to deal with quite a bit

of paperwork, garner support from the directors of the schools in their

community, make samples and present themselves at a government

job fair. This poses unique challenges such as transportation from their

isolated community into San Salvador, acquiring (or making)

professional attire to present themselves in, training in interview skills and formal language. The group remains

resolute and determined to succeed. They hope to truly establish themselves as a business and a recognized

brand, so that they will be able to employ even more women from their community. With all of the progress

they have made so far, I have no doubt that they will soon accomplish their goals, as well as CIS’ ultimate

goal for them of independence.

After the evaluation portion of the meeting, I had the opportunity to ask some more

personal questions and they were happy to share their experiences with us:

Most of them hadn’t even dreamed of completing

secondary school before joining the group, but since

starting to work there, they now have acquired the

financial stability to support themselves going back

to school, providing for their own children to

continue schooling, and even planning to attend

university. ¨Las Confecciones¨ has provided a way out from the ¨maquilas¨ for some, and for others, a sense

of independence and personal power in a society where women are expected to stay at home, minding the


house and the children. The workshops and training that CIS helped to

provide them have opened their minds to a new way of thinking, and a

real drive for gender equality in their society. Some of their partners

and others in their community weren’t very supportive, thinking that

they were wasting their time and neglecting their womanly duties, but

with every garment they sell, they prove them wrong.  And even more

than these financial, educational, and perhaps political changes in their

lives, what touched me most was the friendship and support system they provide to each

other. Everyone got teary-eyed when one woman talked about how much the others

helped her through her troubles with domestic abuse, and others talked about hard times

in their lives when the group was there to support them in solidarity.

"It’s not like in the maquilas where if I get too sick

to work one day, I lose my job. Here our conditions

are so much better, and we are like our own

bosses.¨I couldn’t help wishing that I was a rich

philanthropist to donate all the funds they need

for their cause. With Bolsas de Cati you aren’t just

buying a bag—you’re investing in a brighter future for deserving and hardworking women.

-Alicia Richins, York University Intern