A Dentro De La Carcel

It seems that the less I have to do, the less I accomplish—which could be part of the reason I´m just now getting around to updating my blog after almost un mes. Plus, I was in El Salvador all last week and not much has changed. Actually, I think I will cut back the updates to only one every 2 or 3 weeks for precisely that reason—that nothing much has changed.

First, I still can´t understand how the teenagers here think. As most of you already know, I gave up teaching the girls´ class on Sunday mornings so that we could have one class for all of the jovenes together. Who knows if changing the class had any positive effect or not; some of them did start coming to class who hadn´t been in a while, but we also had some stay 1. abajo who had always gone before that. One of the girls (a 14 year-old!) actually said she didn´t want to have the combined class because it ¨makes her afraid¨ to be with the boys, so she is one of the jovenes who has stopped coming. José Luis asked her what she does when she goes to la escuela, and she said ¨that´s different, because she has to go.¨ Some weeks we have as many as 20 in the class, but another week there was only one—not because the teens didn´t arrive that day, but simply because they decided they didn´t want to go to class that day. So who knows what goes through their heads that sometimes motivates them to go to the class and sometimes motivates them to stay downstairs and listen to the ¨sermon¨class—especially considering that José Luis is an excellent teacher who encourages them to participate. (And I´m not just saying that because he´s my novio!)

J.C. Enlow and I with David´s family at his house in Nueva Libertad (where one of the new preaching schools will be)

I also had another girls´night at the school a few weeks ago—and that, too, was met with disappointing results. About ten of them had told me they were coming, but only two showed up. So instead of having a devo and playing games and eating like I had originally planned, the three of us, along with Chantel, headed to a coffee shop in el centro. We had a lot of fun, just the four of us, but I really wish more of the girls could have come (or at least, made more of an effort to be there). The worst part is that some of the girls really wanted to go but couldn´t, simply because their parents weren´t able to drive them. Transportation is almost always a hindrance here. Many familias don´t have a single carro, so they are 2. accustumbrados to walk everywhere or go in the public busses (like me!) But if they live ¨far¨away or don´t live close to the bus route, they have to come to the school in a taxi (which, of course, is a lot more 3. caro). And they basically consider ¨far away¨ anything more than 2 miles. While San Cristobal is not a huge city (I would say roughly the same land size as Mount Juliet), the school is located on the very outskirts—about the farthest away from the center as you can get. So for someone to come from any other part of the city to the school would be like me driving from Mt. Juliet to Nashville. (And that´s precisely why I advertise for my English classes only in the neighborhood of the school!) So anyway, I think if the school weren´t so ¨far away,¨I would have more students in my English classes and more muchachas on girls´nights.

Me with three of the girls from church, Deissy, Dulce, and Sonia

Speaking of my clase de inglés, I have started teaching again. I waited so long about starting back so that I could plan everything really well and have the best turnout possible. But so far it seems that it was all for nothing. Whereas the first time I taught, in September, I started out with about 15 students, this time I started out with only about 10—even after I worked twice as hard to publicize for it! But that´s okay, I guess; what matters more to me is that the students I have stick with the class until the end, rather than the number of students I have. Other English teachers in this cultura (with the exception of those who charge about $300 a week!) seem to have the same problema as me with student attendance. So I will just keep working hard, and we will see if any of the other changes I made will have any effect or not.

El domingo José Luis and I visited la carcel (the prison), where two of our hermanos take turns preaching every week. We had a good worship service, with 12 total in attendance. Besides the four of us from San Cristobal, there were 7 men from the prison and one other lady visitor (la esposa of one of the men). About half of the men who came are already baptized. Like any church, some of those men who have gotten baptized have been very faithful in their attendance and very useful in encouraging others to come, while some always seem to disappear when it´s time to start the servicio. The couple that got married, for example, evidently just used us to conduct their marriage ceremony, as they have not been back to the church services since then. Unfortunately I was not able to take pictures of the prison. (Actually, the woman conducting the line told me flat out that I couldn´t go in as soon as she saw that I was American, but our hermanos haggled with her until she finally gave in.) I have never actually been to an American prison, so I can´t say very well how this prison compares. I can only say that it was much different from what I had expected.

This particular prison houses men and women serving minor infractions, usually about two to ten years. Men and women live in separate areas, and the only part I saw was the men´s quarters. They do not have a 4. uniforme, but just wear whatever 5. ropa their family members can afford to bring them. In fact, you would never guess that some of these men were criminals if not for the nametags that distinguish visitors from inmates. They also weren´t locked up in cells or in handcuffs like you always see en 6. las peliculas; most were just walking around in the open air! Their facilities are actually not bad for it to be a prison—basketball and soccer courts, concession stands, sales booths—probably a lot nicer than where some of them lived 7. antes. And the inmates are even permitted to sell things on the sidewalk, including pictures, belts, and good ole´Mexican style comida. So some of them are not only living better inside the prison, but making a pretty good living for themselves, as well. I have more respeto than ever now for our two hermanos who go to preach there cada semana. First they have to drive about thirty minutes to get there, then they have to wait at least una hora in the long line of visitantes waiting to enter. (The line is so long because they frisk everyone at the entrance, make them leave most personal belongings, take their fingerprints, and give them a nametag.) Then sometimes they have to wait just as long to leave from inside the prison. Here´s an interesting fact: the word for handcuffs in Spanish is ¨esposas,¨which literally means ¨wives.¨ (How appalling, right ladies??)

My prima Juliana asked me the last time if Mexicans normally blow out candles on a birthday cake. Some yes, some no—it just depends on the family. José Luis´family normally doesn´t, but they just did it for me because they know it´s an American 8. tradición. Sometimes kids smash their face into a portion of the cake though, instead. Birthdays are certainly very diferente here. Instead of viewing 9. los cumpleaños as a time to give gifts and celebrate, they view it more as a time to humble themselves before God. Every time 10. alguin de la iglesia has a birthday we say a prayer thanking God for allowing that person to live another year (even the babies). And instead of saying happy birthday they say ¨Felicidades¨(Congratulations) and give the person a hug. Most don´t receive 11. regalos, and some do not even eat 12. pastel. I was very surprised the first time I wanted to sing happy birthday to someone to discover that most of the mexicans did not even know the words to the song! If they have a birthday party at all, it´s mas o menos ¨a rule¨that they have to have a full worship service first (which they call ¨accion de gracias¨--action of thanks). Oh, and they don´t eat ice cream with the cake and think that we´re crazy for doing that because it´s ¨so sweet¨!

I´m going to stop the blog here, but I will try really hard to update again within the next two to three weeks. 13. ¡Que les vaya bien!

Random Facts:

I am so proud of myself for eating three spicy meals this week! People here tell me I´m becoming more and more of a Mexicana every day!

José Luis´brother has a Tennessee Titans cap! He can´t remember where it came from, but isn´t that just 14. extraño?? And speaking of the Titans... I heard ¨Nashville, TN¨as I was watching a soccer game the other day. Supposedly they will be using Titans stadium for a preliminary Olympic soccer game between two countries. Anybody have tickets??

And speaking of soccer...I´m learning how to be a goalie! José Luis has 4 brothers, so anytime they´re all around they like to go play futbol together...and if they have uneven numbers, they ask me to play 15. portera! It´s really not much different from being a catcher in softball.

Title: ¨Inside the Prison¨

1. downstairs

2. accustomed/used to

3. expensive

4. uniform

5. clothes

6. the movies

7. before

8. tradition

9. the birthdays

10. someone

11. gifts/presents

12. cake

13. May you go well

14. strange/weird

15. goalie