This morning I went to a meeting at the high school/colegio with my neighbor, Alba and Zeneida (my counterpart in Salinas). We spoke at length with the professors there about why I'm in Salinas and offering help to come and give charlas/workshops to the kids on topics from sexual education to values and communication. A bunch of other issues came out while we were there that made me really confused because I have no idea how the school runs. A more delicate problem now is there is a girl who is the only one in her class and she has to study in a room by herself. This is the same space that teachers use to meet when the don't have class and talk about their problems with the children, which is not appropriate for her to hear, and also causes some great distraction for her in terms of getting her work done. Zeneida wants to come back next week to see if the school has resolved the problem, in which she suggested that the teachers meet in the office to discuss issues and leave the girl alone with her teacher so she can focus and learn. I felt awkward that Zeneida was bringing me into the situation during the first time I'm meeting the staff and the principal of the school, and they all talk so fast it was hard to keep track of what everyone was saying!!
In the afternoon Zeneida and I went to the microempresa (mini-business area at the entrance to Salinas) to talk with police about a marcha, or protest that many leaders of the town want to carry out against some youth. Lately they say that Salinas is becoming more dangerous and the youth are starting to use more drugs and drink, and also engage in delinquent behaviors. The marcha would be a demonstration that the town has had enough, but also to offer the youth help to start a group or to look for jobs, something to support them to stop doing these things. I also feel awkward about participating in a marcha when I just recently got to my site. I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression that I'm just here to criticize what people are doing. I especially don't want to push away the youth when I haven't had a chance to get to know them or them to know me. In the end the marcha wasn't ever carried out because of a lack of interest.
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