Hola from Jen and Emily in El Salvador! We are both juniors
at Santa Clara and members of the SCU Dance Team. We are here until December
with a study abroad program through Santa Clara called Casa de la Solidaridad.
This semester we have been learning about the Salvadoran people through first
hand experiences and classes at the University of Central America. Every week
we visit our assigned community to accompany and immerse ourselves within their
reality. Various activities include picking coffee beans in the fincas,
teaching English classes, listening to testimonies, preparing meals, reading
about Oscar Romero, and also traveling around the country.
Recently we took a weekend excursion to the town of Juayua. We
had our first hostel experience, risked eating the local food, and trekked
waterfalls. A guide led us through the rainforest, where we saw breathtaking views
of four different waterfalls. We even got to swim in one!
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| DT in Juayua |
It has been hard for both of us to understand Spanish, but we
both hope to improve over the next 3 months. The students in the program all
take a Spanish class; in our first session we were lucky enough to see a
performance of traditional style Salvadoran dance. The women wore beautiful
colored dresses, and the men wore hand-woven shirts and hats. At the end of the
performance, we all were invited to dance with them and learn a few moves (look
for these in upcoming routines;)). We had another experience with dance when we
decided to venture out to the local gym that offers dance class. Our instructor
was a flamboyant old man with spandex who really liked to drop it low with a
Latin flow. Though we don’t dance like this in the States, this class is one of
our favorite parts of the week.
We absolutely love our time here, but we are excited to meet the
new members, and return for Winter Quarter! For those of you considering trying
out for the SCU Dance Team, know that studying abroad and being on the team are
highlights of our college experience thus far. We wish you the best of luck
this Fall Quarter; hopefully we will be able to update you throughout our
adventures in Central America.
Paz,
Jen and Em
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| Emily Morgan |
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| Jennifer Reynolds |
