Adventures (and then some) in El Salvador
This post was written by undergraduate student Deirdre Malo ’10 from El Salvador on the Habitat for Humanity Spring Break trip.
Hola desde Ahuachapán, El Salvador! Twelve students and two staff members from Babson’s Habitat for Humanity chapter are currently in El Salvador building homes for the week. We arrived on Saturday evening and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. On our first evening, we stayed in a hotel in San Salvador, the capital city. The next morning, we woke up early, enjoyed a lovely breakfast, and headed off to a resort called Rancho Ester y Mar. The drive there was the first opportunity to actually see the country and wind down its roads. At the resort, we enjoyed the beach and pool, in preparation of the hectic week that lay ahead of us. Some of us spent the day furiously applying sunscreen and realizing just how hot the climate is. Later on, we drove two hours to Ahuachapán, our site for the week. Patty, our energetic Global Village Coordinator, held an orientation during which we met the other groups we would be building alongside. Yesterday was our first day on site, where we are working on two homes over the course of the week. Our group spent the day leveling the floors of the home, building walls made of cement blocks, and painting the house next door. Yesterday was also a special day for two reasons. Firstly, because it was the %@th birthday of our group leader, Josh! As we seize every chance to humiliate him, we requested cakes for him at multiple locations. Also, I remember yesterday feeling like Christmas because I finally received my luggage, which had decided to stop off in Miami for several days. The novelty and liberation of not having any belongings quickly had worn off after the first 24 hours, when I waded into the Pacific Ocean and then remembered I had absolutely nothing to change into. However, losing my bag gave me an excuse to go the supermarket and buy an awesome tube of toothpaste with Barney on it. Last night culminated in a lengthy, heated game of trivia in the lobby of Casa Blanca.
Our group kicked off our second work day with delicious pancakes courtesy of Casa Blanca. We arrived at the work site eager to get started. There, we met three students currently attending university in San Salvador. However, they were volunteering their time despite having an exam this afternoon! I really admire them, especially after hearing that some work all day, attend class at night, and do homework either very early in the morning or during lunch. We also ended the day early and had a cultural afternoon with the community members. They played music and taught us how to make papusas, a tasty local delicacy.
The night before we began building. Patty thanked us by saying, “By making a difference, you are bringing down the walls of indifference”. This will definitely stay in my mind throughout the week, and I am sure I will take this insight back to the States. Seeing the physical, structural changes we have been able to effect in only two days is nothing in comparison to knowing that we are giving people the means to change their lives.
Hasta luego!