Update Time

After a super busy two weeks of traveling around the country for my volunteer position, I had an amazing trip to Seattle and now I am back in San Salvador, right back at it.

Before leaving the country, I went to several different municipalities to have formal meetings with the mayors, the other candidates for mayor, and the local electoral bodies just to clarify our observation mission for them and arrange for their cooperation if there are any problems on Election Day. Most of the time I traveled with Maggie, my good friend and co-volunteer, who made the time totally engaging and the meetings go very smooth. It was kind of overwhelming to be stuck around so many politicians who I found to be mostly full of shit, but now that I know their jive I handle it a little bit better. To be honest though, this experience is making me realize how little I want to be involved in politics. The “democratic” system is so corrupted by money and the people in search of power and fame, that there is no way I can get into it.

 I feel passionately that we should live in a participatory democracy, especially after learning about all the ways that “leaders” have screwed over the people since the inception of the democratic republic (not to mention every other political system that I know to have been enacted on a national level anywhere, ever), and instead of working in elections I want to be working with groups that foster real participation – that is grassroots popular education or something of the sort. I have some great ideas as to how to make that happen, but I prefer not to spill the beans until I am actually as productive as I want to be.

So after all the craziness of meeting with politicians and making big decisions about what I want to do with my life, I took a vacation to snowy Seattle. It was great to see the Weil family (the people I nannied for) and all of my friends, but I left reassured that I am doing the right thing in El Salvador. Of course I know that continuing the struggle in the US is of upmost importance, but I know in my heart that I need to be here for a while to share experiences, gain experiences, and learn some tactics to eventually take home.

I made it back to San Salvador with some good luck charms (my Aztec calendar wall hanging) and some special gifts that are not accessible here for my friends. I am currently greeting the new volunteers that have joined the observation mission at CIS and even welcoming a couple of them into my apartment while they figure out their living situation. As we get ready for the whirlwind that will just keep spinning faster as the elections get closer, I attempt to maintain sanity so as to get back into writing here. Pester me and you will probably see results.