Western Conference

The western conference is when all the volunteers in the western part of the country get together. It was actually pretty short. We met on Friday around lunch and were done the next day around lunch. It was held at a beautiful lake, Coatepeque?

The bus trip out there wasn’t bad, especially since we just kept meeting up with more volunteers during the trip. At the bus terminal, Rachael and I met up with all the people from the Cara Sucia (dirty face) area. Later on, we picked up a few more.

The whole thing was basically a meeting where volunteers could share what they were up to. This way, if I want to do a project, I can see who would have information and experience with that type of project. It was definitely helpful and we’ll see what I can put together from it.

They also had some interesting speakers on the second day. One was a gentlemen from the embassy. He was talking about the economy of El Salvador. It’s been a while since I’ve heard terms such as ‘vertical integration’ and ‘GDP’…It’s comforting that I still know what they mean. He was definitely an economist…all for free trade agreements. He got into a little bit of an argument with a volunteer because the volunteer was championing the damage to the every day Salvadorian and he was championing the overall effect. Overall, it was very interesting to hear. The economy is growing, though remittances (money sent home from abroad) make up approximately 18% of the GDP. Unfortunately, that money is being used just for consumerism. It’s not being funneled toward projects that could actually help El Salvador further itself…like roads, schools and water projects. Though there is a movement starting it that direction. It’ll take time.

The next speaker was our security officer…we had less stuff happen in 2006 then 2005. Stuff meaning robberies, thefts and things of that nature. Go us!

Finally, a few NGO’s came out to speak. I didn’t actually get to stay and watch them. I instead took a free ride into the capitol. What can I say…it was just easier.

The truth is, on Sunday I left for Santa Rosa and that is a long trip. So, I decided to break it up by spending one night in the capitol and then completing the trip on Sunday. That night at the hostel was actually quite interesting. I got to talk with people from Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, England and a few other places. It was great. Most were just stopping by El Salvador for a few days.