Happy Founder's Day!

First, I want to wish you all a happy St John Bosco Day! He's the founder of the Salesian order, so of course, we're having a big celebration in his honor. He's the patron saint of youths, especially poor youths, and is the inspiration for all the sisters do. Yesterday we had a Mass with all the teachers from the school, and the new internas that just got here. Today, the sisters woke us up with St John Bosco-themed music, we had another Mass this evening, and the Archbishop of Santa Rosa (who's also Salesian) came to celebrate it, with all the religious communities and students in Santa Rosa invited, as well as a drama and dance that the internas prepared. After that, we had a great tamale dinner and sang songs and told jokes and stories. It wasn't as big as other celebrations we've had, mostly because the school year doesn't start until next week, and the returning internas still aren't back yet, but it was still a fun day.

Speaking of which, things have picked quite a bit in the last week or so, with everything getting ready for the new internas and registering students for the year. All this week, I've been giving review classes for the newbies in math and English to get them caught up with the externas and those who spent the last three years in our high school. It was really difficult to manage both groups at the same time, since they're learning completely different things, but it worked out alright. Next week, we have a "leveling" week, where all the new students (for first year middle school and high school) come to have classes to get ready for the school year, not just the new internas. I'm just giving English classes for that, because I will have my very own English class this year, with the first year high schoolers. It's the real deal, with planning a curriculum, giving grades, being actually responsable for their learning. I'm a little nervous about it since it'll be my first time giving a real class, but I have the experience from the past year's review classes, and some advice from the teachers and sisters to go off of too.

With all the new students though, there have been some heartbreakers as well. Two internas aren't coming back this year because they can't pay any of the small fraction of tuition they owe. When the sisters offered to help them out, they still declined because they don't even have enough for a bus fare to get here, and then there's school supplies on top of that. I told them I'd see what I could do, and that's where YOU come in. As you already know, tuition for the internas costs about $8 a month, for about 11 months, come out to $88. Plus, school supplies, bus fares to go home in vacations, and random expenses like buying basic needs, comes out to about $100 a year for each girl. Most of the internas are already on scholarship through other programs like CFCA, the program my friend Dani volunteers with, or with various other programs and sources. The largest group is sponsored through a government program, but one of the requirements is that they have to make all A's, and as you already know, the basic education the girls get in their own towns before entering here isn't enough to prepare them for the level of education they get here, especially for the first years. This leads to girls who were used to getting A's having to struggle just to pass, thus disqualifying them from the program.

If you would like to help sponsor a girl, the easiest way to do it is by sending a check for whatever amount to the director of my program, Sister Gloria, in San Antonio. She can then transfer the money to a bank here for the sisters to withdraw. You can do a month-by-month thing, a one-time full-year donation, or if it seems a little overwhelming with the whole economic crisis, maybe you can initiate a group donation from your office, club, or organization, or just spread the word. Any little bit helps, since just a bus fare for a girl to arrive here can be anywhere from $0.35 to $10, depending on distance and accessibility. The sisters have recommended nine girls whose families are in desperate need of help. If you are interested at all in helping out, comment on the blog, email me at mollyfohn@yahoo.com, or mail a check directly to Sister Gloria. You should make it out to VIDES, with my name in the "for" line. Mail it to:

Sister Gloria Mar, FMA
St John Bosco Convent
5630 W Commerce St
San Antonio, TX 78237-1313

Remember that any contribution you make is tax-deductible. A big thank you to all who donated computers to the school here. They are apparently on a boat on their way here already and will be ready to be installed in March. Everyone is looking forward to their arrival, especially the girls, and of course, the computer teachers :). Just by reading this blog, you are participating in my mission here, and I greatly appreciate it. Keep up the good work!

Holiday with the Folks

My family came to visit the day after Christmas and stayed through January 3rd. It was so great to see them after nine months (Joanna and Brian both grew a few inches since I've last seen them)! The whole family made it down, including my godfather, Uncle Dave, which was such a blessing. They learned a lot about life here in Central America, and the sisters learned a lot about typical families in the United States. And I learned a lot about how many activities you can squeeze into one week or so!


First, Sor Vilma, Don Cristian, and I went to San Pedro Sula to pick up the Fohn Clan from the airport. I'm beginning to realize that it must be pretty normal for people to take over an hour to get through customs there. We went out to eat in a restaurant on the way home, and everybody got to experience the joyride of San Pedro traffic. Gripping their seats until their knuckles turned white, shutting their eyes to avoid seeing the almost-crashes, and trying to suppress the gasps are all a part of surviving “rush hour” here. They enjoyed seeing the countryside though, and getting a first taste of the poverty which we encountered every day in our tours around Honduras, El Salvador, and a tiny piece of Guatemala.


The second day, we got up early and went to visit the Spanish colonial fort in Gracias, tried out a hole-in-the-wall buffet, and visited the hot springs. We took the nuns' truck and Andy, Brian, and I took turns driving around. The boys were really nervous at first, but by the end of the week, they were driving like they were born here.


On Sunday, we went to Esquipulas to go to Mass at the Basilica of the Black Christ. It was their first experience with a Spanish Mass, and the confusion that comes with the seeming disorganization of going to church here in Central America. I think they liked it though, since they could figure out what was going on in most of it, even with the language barrier. We went out to lunch afterward at what turned out to be their favorite restaurant, and then went to visit the market there. Even though the people in the area are famous for their wooden and leather crafts, the biggest steal was a few knock-off European soccer jerseys that my brothers found.


After the long drive back across the border (where nobody even checked our passports in either direction, by the way), we made it home in time for dinner and sleep so that we could enjoy the next day of just hanging around Santa Rosa. We took the walking tour, up to visit the monument and to go to the bank to switch money. Then, we took the sisters out to lunch and spent the rest of the day just relaxing and celebrating Brian's 19th birthday with fireworks and cake.


The next day, we went to the famous Ruins of Copán. This was the highlight of the trip, and we spent all afternoon making our way around the ruins and going into the tunnels down below. Our guide, Walter, was very knowledgeable, which was good since the Mayan culture is kind of a void in the history books in the States. We also got to see a flock of macaws in flight which was gorgeous and another reminder of where we were, even with the flocks of American tourists all around.


Finally, we rounded out the week with a few days in El Salvador. On our way, we went back through Esquipulas and to the famous restaurant, which my family was very excited about. Once we made it into El Salvador, by way of Guatemala, we visited Chalchuapa so my family could see where I spent my first two months, meeting the girls and the sisters. That's where we spent the New Year, and we bought some Chinese-imported fireworks (the best kind, right?) to pop at midnight with the sisters.


The next day we climbed a volcano, which I still haven't decided was a good idea or not. I think it was the layout that has me in limbo, because first you drive all the way up a mountain and park at the top. Then, you get out of the car and hike down to the bottom. Once you get to the bottom, you climb up the adjacent volcano. Then, you have to climb back down the volcano and back up the mountain, so you end going up. It was quite the hike, and wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so steep. The volcano was so cool because you could stand next to steam vents and the view from the rim of the crater was gorgeous. I would've liked to end the climb at the bottom though. I was completely exhausted by the end of it, but so glad I stuck it out. Joanna showed everyone up of course, by practically running up and down both the mountain and the volcano, literally leaving everyone in the volcanic dust,and sighing impatiently as she waited for us to pant our way up behind her.


That night, of course, we'd planned on going dancing with a few of my friends there, but how on Earth could we move our feet after our day at the volcano? Plus, it was new years day and nothing was open. So, to compensate, my amazing friends planned a dinner in our honor, my American friend Dani from Santa Rosa (who went with us for our time in El Salvador) and my brothers and I. They had a table set out in the yard with restaurant-style tablecloths, wine, beer, and appetizers, followed by lamb (yes, lamb!), rice, salad, and delicious cake. A few of their friends also made it over, and the guys taught my brothers some pick-up lines in Spanish, which they promptly put to use on the girls, who were really confused when my brothers couldn't follow it up with any other Spanish.


Anyway, after we finished dinner, they took out the tables and opened up the patio-dance floor and taught us all how to dance! Even though everyone was really tired, we got into it and enjoyed it. It was really fun and I was surprised yet again with the ingenuity and generosity of families in El Salvador. They even offered us a room in their house to spend the night so we wouldn't be getting back to the sisters' house so late, and took us to meet up with the family the next morning on the way to San Salvador.


In San Salvador, we went to visit all of the Monseñor Romero places and the sites of the civil war that I'd visited last May and earlier in December. This time Sor Vilma went along with us as our guide (along with Don Simón, another wonderful driver so that my brothers didn't have to drive in the madness that is San Salvador). She gave us an overview of the history as well as personal anecdotes since she was present for most of the action. It was nice to have the personal perspective that I didn't have the other times we were there, to keep things fresh for me.


Then, we said adios to El Salvador and crossed back into Honduras (where they made everyone show their passports and actually pay a fee at the border) to spend one last night in Santa Rosa before heading back to the airport in San Pedro Sula in the morning. As it turned out, Dani's family and a group from her parish back home were flying in on the same day, so when we dropped off my family, we picked up hers at the same time. It was sad to say goodbye at the airport, not knowing for sure when I'll see them again, but I am so grateful that they all made it down. I didn't really get to dwell on it much though, since I got caught up in the excitement of riding back with Dani's family to Santa Rosa. It was like I was starting the week all over again, with the white knuckles, gasping, and eyes shutting on the drive back, but it gave me a chance to see just how much my family had grown and changed just in the tiny amount of time that they were here.


And just know that if they could survive the week here, with barely-there electricity, cold showers for most of the week, crazy traffic, non-stop tourism, and attempting to put their high school Spanish to use, you can too! Remember that the door is always open...


Photos of the week, courtesy of my brother Andy, with captions by my mom, can be found here, here, here, here, and here. Enjoy!


PS- Hey fam, if y'all could comment and share something you liked or learned while you were here, that'd be greeeeat...