El Salvador Travel Blog

January 14, 2009
 
Today began with a wonderful breakfast prepared by Mirna, our cook, followed by a safety meeting like every other morning.  Our group was split up once again today in many different directions.  Paul, Missy, and Leah finished the water testing in the communities by taking samples in Nuevo Ferrocarril.  They had a bit of a run-in with a feisty bull, but no one was injured and we all laughed about it.  Dan and Beth went into town to get some supplies as well as gifts for a few of the people who have been so kind and helpful to us in our two weeks here.
 
The rest of the group was split up again between work sites on the Nejapa side of the Pan American Highway and the La Granja side.  Both sides had pretty productive days.  The Nejapa side was able to finish laying pipe and only has covering and compacting still to do.  The La Granja side was cruising right along until it had a bit of a mishap.  While we were moving our shoring down the trench so people could continue to work in the deep trench, one of the very long two-by-fours fell and hit Chris in the forehead, causing a decent sized gash and a lot of blood.  Thankfully, our doctor, Doctor Jim, was able to save the day using a hammock as a hospital bed and the ambulance medics as his assistants, Jim sewed 13 beautiful stitches into Chris’s forehead.
 
It was very eventful, but all turned out well--minus Chris’s head (joking).  The group handled it very well and only Eric screamed like a little girl (again just kidding).  After everyone returned from a hard day at work (minus Chris who was lounging in the hammock) we had another great dinner at El Rancho.  Later, some of us chose to go play basketball and take a night swim, while others stayed back and relaxed.   Thus concludes another beautiful day in sunny El Salvador!
 
Written by: Paul Fossum

January 13th, 2009
 
Like almost every other day we have spent here in Nejapa, we arose early to the sound of the bread man’s horn, carried out a brief safety meeting, ate some desayuno (breakfast) and headed out to begin our various tasks for the day. Today was the first of many days that water testing will be carried out in the communities. Paul, Missy and Leah completed sampling of three of the ten designated sites for biological testing that will be carried out back in Wisconsin.
 
Most of the team was spread between the two construction sites that are separated by the Pan-American Highway for the duration of the work day. Construction proceeded with a few hitches. A few water mains were broken in the process, but we are becoming more equipped to mend them in a shorter time. At this point most of the materials have been ordered and delivered to the site for the remaining time we will spend here.
 
The completion of the excavation and pipe installation on the other side of the highway was one of the largest accomplishments of the day. Since the start of the construction phase of the project, 1200 meters of pipe has been laid. The team has also installed the pipe under the highway and the railroad into the community of La Granja. Although the job has become demanding and tedious, the team remains motivated and enthusiastic.
 
Another major accomplishment of the project was through the educational workshops held at the school in Nuevo Ferrocarril. Beth and Jessica carried out health and water cycle workshops where about 200 children participated. The children were given opportunities to see bacteria in a microscope and learn about the treatment processes of water and waste water. The teachers were also given educational materials for further lessons. The project leaders, Chris and Leah, attended a meeting with Don Miguel about electing an individual for hire as a foreman after the UW crew leaves. After a long days work we retired to the rancho for another scrumptious dinner prepared by Mirna and some Frisbee.
 
Written By:  Jessica Lucido

January 12, 2009
 
After a very long night, we were thankfully able to sleep in for an hour before getting up for another exciting day.  After making our way to breakfast at 8:30am, we all loaded up in a bus to visit some Mayan ruins.  We visited Cerén, a city apparently built 500 years after Christ, which were buried very much so like the city of Pompeii, that being by scorching ash, which disintegrated all organic material.  After seeing the remains of those very old houses, we went to the ruins of an ancient pyramid, which they are still doing some excavation work on, a quite relaxing and enjoyable venture.
 
Once we were done with visiting the ruins, we made our way to Lago Coatepeque, the second largest lake in El Salvador, made naturally within the center of a volcano.  It was an absoloutely gorgeous spectacle to behold, where we spent the rest of the day basking in the sun, and bathing in the ironically cold, crystal clear water.  We were served a delicious lunch at the resort we were staying.  This day, by far, was a much needed break and it gave us an opportunity to visit El Salvador and learn a little bit more about the history.
 
Written By: Daniel Burkhardt

January 11, 2009
 
Today, despite it being a Saturday, we still had a lot to do.  Of course, everyone was extremely tired from a long week of excavating, lowering pipe, backfilling, and compacting.  Nevertheless, we still decided to do some more work on site during the morning.
 
At lunch, we ended our week of work and went with Chamba, Pipo, and Joanna (community promoters for Nejapa) for an escapade through the confusing roundabout streets of downtown San Salvador.  The streets were filled with political party rallies, preparing for the January 18th elections.  Members of the political Arena, FMLN, PCN, and FDR filled the streets, stopping cars and passing their flyers through the windows to the drivers.
 
Once we made it to our destination, we were able to walk through small tiendas and artesenias to look at art, crafts, and gifts from all across El Salvador.  We spent about an hour going in and out of all the shops, being pulled in every direction towards the “best deal,” which were easily bartered down to lower prices.
 
After we were done at the artesenias, we went back to the rancho to get ourselves cleaned up and ready to go to a discoteca for the night to spend time dancing and getting to know our teammates away from the construction site.  Before that, however, we stopped by Doña Mari’s house (a close Nejapa friend of the team) for tamales and coffee, brewed from the beans that she picked from her back yard.  The word phenomenal doesn’t even begin to percolate the thoughts of how good this coffee was.  Homemade tamales, fresh homemade coffee, and the visit to the discoteca was a serious help to get us out of the grind of manual labor.
 
 
Written By: Daniel Burkhardt

Friday, January 10th
 
After a delicious breakfast served by our personal chef, Myrna, we headed off to the work site as normal.  We continued excavating, laying pipe, and refilling at our two work sites (La Granja and the other side of the Pan Am highway).
 
We had a few difficulties when some workers broke some potable water lines, sending water spraying all over and filling the trenches.  During lunch, Dan, Eric, and Toby (a friend from Germany who we met here) followed the example of a local and climbed a coconut tree.  Fresh coconut milk tastes delicious after a morning of hot work.
 
After returning to the Rancho, we relaxed for a while, but still went to bed fairly early, as we had to wake up early to work Saturday morning. Some of us practiced our salsa dancing and learned some new moves for our trip to the discoteca (dance club) in San Salvador the next night.
 
 
Written by: Eric Tervo

• To call from the US to Kenya use 011 + 254 + Area Code + Tel #.
• US to Rwanda use 011 + 250 + Area Code + Tel #.
• US to El Salvador use 011 + 503 + Area Code + Tel #.
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• To call from Any Country to the US use 00 + 1 + Area Code + Tel #.
• Additionally, 00 might be '+' on some international phones.

After a later start and (as per usual) a delicious breakfast, sunburns and sore muscles went to work today.  We saw clouds for the first time today, and boy were they wonderful.  Because of the shade, the morning work went by rather quickly.  The locals were, as always, happy to help out – and despite the language barrier for many, there was a lot of kidding around.  Morale is high.
 
Today we faced a lot of problems, but worked around them with relative ease.  The excavator we were using broke a hose on the “scoopy thingy on the front” (thanks Beth!), and was out of commission.  The other excavator that we got a hold of today also took a dive, but was repaired quickly and went back to work.  At times there were people standing around, but for the most part we somehow managed to appear to be working hard.
 
For the record, so far we have dug a trench 2 feet wide (who doesn't use metric? USA, Myanmar, and some island nation somewhere...), 4'6” deep, 400 meters long, put some pipe in it and filled it back up.  Sound like fun?  Well, it is, except for the whole work part!
 
We are learning so much about real engineering – the things they couldn't possibly be able to teach in class or a book.  There is so much more to public works projects than you could possibly believe until you have done it.  There are materials that may or may not come, pipes that may or may not break, and people who may or may not want to work.  Also, there are people everywhere – workers, neighbors, and possibly the most patient homeowners you could imagine.  So many factors involved in a seemingly “simple” project.
 
These types of things complicate matters, but they also have their benefits.  I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but I've personally made some great new friends.  It will be hard to leave because even though we've only been here a few days, these people have become a big part of our day-to-day lives.  I'd say more, but I would go on for hours.  I'm sure you will hear stories whence we return.
 
Tomorrow will be another long day, but it is Friday and this weekend we've been invited to go into San Salvador to shop and see the sights.  Sunday we will be going to someone's house on a lake for a barbeque and swimming – a real day off in paradise!

January 6th 2009,

Today was our first day of construction on site. As usual, there was the guy who distributes bread who honks his bike horn at 6:30 in the morning. This generally wakes many of us up. Although the nights are noisy with dog fights and unidentifiable sounds, the bike horn in the morning is by far the worst sound possible. The horn signaled that it was time for a breakfast of cereal and hot dog buns filled with egg and bean.

The beginning of the day was chaotic as we were trying to get ready. There was so much to do before we got started. Since most of us are new, we had very little clue what was supposed to get done to prepare for a day at the job. Fortunately, Norm and the veterans of El Salvador knew what was needed in order to prepare for a hard day of work.

After preparation, we finally arrived at the job site. Many workers were already there. All of the local workers at the site were skipping work (without pay) in order to help lay the pipe. Despite the economic consequences of working, there were approximately 70 volunteers from the two communities. All of them were eager to help and would do everything that was asked of them. Unfortunately, we were unable to give them anything to do.

In El Salvador, time is only an indication of when something will get done. The pipe that we were supposed to lay did not arrive until the afternoon. This limited the amount of work that could get done. As a result, only the excavator operator could work while everyone either did smaller jobs or stood around.After hardly working, it was lunch time. Our cook (“our favorite kitchen” <inside joke>), had prepared steak for us. Our cook, Myrna, is amazing. She will do anything and everything for us. The unfortunate thing is, she only makes $0.75 per hour. This is not enough money to buy a beer (which, by the way, costs $1.00).

After lunch, the pipes finally came. There are many different jobs that need to get done on a job site. The first is the excavator operator. This is self explanatory, but he digs all of our holes. Once the holes are dug, the pipe is laid in the hole. From there, the holes are refilled with soil. At certain points throughout filling, the soil needs to be compacted. The soil here is full of rocks and is hard to move sometimes. To make matters worse, the soil is thrown to the side of the road where there is a barbed wire fence and poisonous prickly plants along the entire area where we are laying the pipe. Another job includes connecting the piping system to each individual house. The pipe is laid along a road and there are 17 separate areas where house connections need to be made. The excavator missed the first connection so a group of workers dug a trench to lay the house connection pipe. This took all afternoon and was the last thing that got done during the day.

One of the inconveniences of these house connections is a pipe of potable water that we must work around. When we work tomorrow, we will have to dig holes 1 meter (3 feet) deep to expose this pipe so the excavator can work around it. We are not looking forward to this extra bit of work, but that is why we are down here to help out the community so we hope to help out as much as we are able to.

It is hard to imagine from your computer how good of a feeling it is to get done with work for the day.Knowing that you are done for the day is a great feeling. The sun is oppressive and someone (actually myself) forgot it was January. After work, even a cold shower is fought over. We decided that Eric should get the first shower because he was the dirtiest. Throughout the next few hours, all 16 of us finally got clean. Once we were finally all clean, we had dinner, a mini celebration for the completion of our first day, and then we went to bed pretty early. I will retire soon after I brush my teeth and get ready for the bread guy with his bike horn to blare his horn way too early tomorrow morning.
 
(Written By: Jonas Balistreri)