My first day of work here

08.07.08
Today was my first day of work here. I feel different, having worked here. I feel useful; of benefit to society; a part of things; less “alien.” I felt good going to work this morning, in my work clothes. The bus driver asked me if I was going to work and about the kind of work that I do. It felt good that he recognized that I was going to work, and not just a tourist, or a student, as I have been for the past week and a half. I like to feel beneficial to society, useful.

The English class went well, although unfortunately I arrived late because I wasn’t sure about the bus route. Yet the students were very forgiving, as many people are here, of my: Spanish which lacks much yet, lack of knowledge about how to get around, etc. The students already knew some basic phrases, such as, “Good morning,” How are you?” “My name is _________, etc.” Yet they didn’t know much more than that, and some other vocabulary words. So I think that the basic curriculum that I have designed will be good for the class. They were, as are most Salvadoreans, very bright and hard-working. The class is from 7-8 am, so I suppose one would expect them to be!
Afterwards, the man who seems to be the head of the Cooperative Credit Union run by people disabled in the war (where I am giving class) explained to me a bit more about their work (how the process of giving loans works). He mentioned the trip that we are planning to Suchitoto on Saturday, and said that there’s a beautiful lake for swimming, and also a community of ex-guerrillas who have made an area where people can come and learn more about the history of the region, the war, etc. He said it is also a beautiful place for tourists. (Best of both worlds, I guess - history and relaxation together!) I feel so lucky here ... bueno, I am so lucky, in life, in general ... because I was born in the USA, in such financial circumstances as my family has. That is an eternal truth of my life. And that is part of why I want to work to make a better life for the exploited and poor of the world. Because I know that life is unfair; that the world is unfair; and that nations with colonialist/imperialist pasts owe a great debt to those nations and peoples whom they colonized and decimated, and now continue to exploit. “Post-colonial” nations (on both sides) could benefit greatly from an examination of the psychological forces at play, the damage done by the colonial period, and the true effects of “free market” policies on poor countries.