Banging my head against an unrepaired wall

Time has been flying down here in El Salvador and I’ve been very busy. I’ve been teaching a 4 hour English class every Saturday in Gotera for elementary school English teachers who don’t speak the language (aka 95% of all English teachers in this country), and working on various things in the school. 13 of us headed to Costa del Sol beach for the 4^th of July and rented an AMAZING beach house for 2 nights, which was fun and relaxing and patriotic. I’ve started playing my saxophone with the school band and have interested some of my female friends in the joys of American baking (helloooooo 6 loaves of banana bread in the adobe oven).

I feel like my personal relationships, both with community members and other PCVs, are strong and fulfilling. I’ve made a lot of great friends since I got here and I feel incredibly close to a handful of people in my community. However, yesterday it hit me that while I’m constantly busy and moving, I’m not really accomplishing anything work-wise. My biggest project lately has definitely been teaching English every Saturday to about 35 adults in Gotera. It’s supposed to be a language and methodology course for English teachers who did not receive their “specialty” in English and therefore don’t speak it. This past Saturday we had a special review session for anyone who needed extra help. One woman came and talking to her just made me want to throw my hands up in the air, rip all the pages out of our text book, and run from the room screaming. The woman had not retained a SINGLE thing from the classes. Not one word of English. Now, I understand that learning a second language is very hard, especially after a certain age (like 12?). But you also can’t just expect to learn by osmosis purely because a couple of Americans are teaching it to you.  

Then, yesterday I was at the school talking to the director. We just got a bunch of money to paint maps of the world, El Salvador, and Morazán on a wall at the school, but we need to repair the wall with cement first (it’s brick and very bumpy). Well, upon seeing the budget (which he approved before I turned it in), my school director pointed out that we are missing a lot of things we need money for – namely, sand to mix with the cement and money to pay someone who actually knows how to repair a wall. Why this wasn’t pointed out to me beforehand? Who knows.

What’s frustrating is that lots of people in the community have great ideas for projects. There’s just little to no follow-through on anything. I discussed and pretty fully planned out a way to get community trash cans set up with the community governing body, and when I tried to get people to go visit the mayor with me to talk to him about the garbage truck no one would go. Why? It would take 2 hours tops.

A lot of times it feels like Peace Corps is just a good will ambassador program for the US. If that’s what the government wants from me, then I think I’m doing a pretty ok job. My community is definitely learning the ins and outs of having a gringa around, and I’ve taught them the joys of peanut butter and linen pants. But if what the government is expecting is some sustainable international development from their PCVs, they may have to look outside of Sunsulaca. Unless someone opens a banana bread tienda upon my leaving.