Sean's Day 4

Buenos dias mes amigos, sorry for the late blog. Day 3 became a complete write off as I entered the darkest depths of Latin American food poisoning. Somehow, I managed to find something in the food that caused me pains I have never before experienced. So bad, in fact I was honestly worried about recovery. I was alone in my room, sad, sick, dizzy and numb. As you may have guessed, I made it through the night with an assortment of gatorade drinks, water, Spanish Pepto Bismal and Immodium, but I'm still quite fragile ad afraid to eat anything. It´s amazing how helpless you can feel without any of the comforts of home during the ´night of the living dead´.

We still haven't receieved the cargo crate from Stratford yet with our supplies, so everyone's a bit anxious. Time is ticking and I have 40 costumes to get made as well as props in less then two weeks. I believe the toughest days are still ahead.

On a lighter note, Ed our Director is committed to involvng several live animals in the production. This will include caged rabbits and at least one wild chicken tied to a young actors ankle. Our enthusiastic staff are insisting on as much naturalism in our myth as humanly possible...(in our made up myth?)....so they want to hand carve our agricultural tools and hand bead chest plates and accessories. The Theatre AD is auditioning human fireworks today for the parade after the launch. A local ex bomb-builder from the days of civil strife now makes his living as a fireworks expert who runs through crowds during parades entertaining the poeple with fireworks shooting off his back. The President of El. Salvador is visiting the city for a huge diplomatic luncheon tomorrow which means the army is coming in too. I tell you, it´s never a slow day in Suchitoto, and that you can quote me on! Signing off for now, with pepto in hand from the offices Es Artes, this is Sean the only gay in the village. xo

Things are never dull here to say the least. Now I'm off to have a nap. Wish my body luck in its quick recovery and I'll speak to you all soon, maybe even en espanol!

Sean

Day 4 The calm before the storm

Well hello everyone in the Blogosphere. This is my first post so far as I've been leaving the internet time we get to the other two because they are probably much more eloquent than I. But alas, montezuma's revenge has struck my compatriots. Sean is up and about puttering with his sketch book and the few bits we have back at the office. Mel is at home in bed trying t get some rest. I think they're both past the worst of it and just looking forward to moving on but anyone who's been where they are know, there is not much you can do but wait until it runs it's course.

We're still waiting our container from Stratford full of supplies. we are hopeful it will arrive tomorrow. It is now going to park right on front of the office so that will be great. I think we're all getting a little anxious to get started. I am particularly anxious because I packed he container myself with BJ and I'm dying to see what state the contents are in when they arrive. Shipping containers aren't really like trucks because at any point in it's journey, it may have been upside down. Hopefully not, but I'm sure the load will have shifted while swaying side to side on a big ship. We'll see. either way, I have a soldering iron and my brain. I will get something working for the show but I would love to know what I'm dealing with. We had a good meeting about power today. I'm also waiting to see how much wire we have in the container because we are responsible for running to hydro pole.

I have also become the web-site photographer now seeing as I'm kind of not too busy without any wires or lights. (although I have been working on a bit of a sound scape when I get a chance). Anyway, I have to get going to meet everyone back at es artes (the office) to takek pictures of them.

I'll try and add more later. Bye for now.

A Link to Our Podcast

Hey!

Check out the Podcast that Mike, Sean and I did when we were at our CUSO-VSO training in Ottawa. It describes a bit more of the project and what we are hoping to accomplish in Suchitoto.

http://www.mypodcastworld.com/podcasts/cuso-vso

Pictures!

This is the view from where Sean is staying.

First Beers!

The Bell Tower of the Chapel where the launch will be.

A Walk Through Suchitoto (Sean, Ed, Tatiana, and Me)

Mel's Day Two

The day dawns early in Suchitoto. I have never been an early riser but I woke up surprisingly refreshed. Woke up, that is, to the sounds of the geckos that sounded as though they were right on my head. How can something so small make such a loud noise! (I said this to Mike and he replied 'Have you met yourself!' :) I successfully managed to brave the shower without making Mike inspect it first. I say 'braving' as there is simply a cold water shut off valve sticking out of the wall to turn the shower on. Chilly!

We had a lovely breakfast, a tour of the chapel space (which I am sooo in love with!) and then we were off to Casa Es Artes. This is the 'administration building' for the project. There are office and a large meeting room (which we are soon turning into a wardrobe/props shop) and the most gorgeous courtyard with this huge mango tree in the middle. The guys before us kept talking about this courtyard and I can understand why. It would be so perfect for mid-day shows where everyone gathers around the mango tree!

We then had our first production meeting with the whole team assembled. Now the feeling is 'Wow!' but in a whole different way. Everyone is so excited and therefore there is so much to do in the next couple of weeks. Wow! Everyone is so very wonderful and they all have such enthusiasm for the project that it is very difficult to say no to anything. We are still eagerly awaiting the arrival of the container that was packed with donations from Stratford and can't wait to get started on implementing all of the wonderful ideas that came out of this meeting. However, I do feel that some difficult choices will need to be made in the next couple of weeks. I just hope we don't disappoint anyone!

Ed and Patricia walked us through the story for the show and Mario, and awesome props guy, showed us the wonderful fan and lighting effect he has created for the fire filled cauldron. After our meeting we were taken over to Esquela Taller (the technical school and currently Ed's rehearsal space). There is so much potential there! A great space that has room for every area - welding, electrical training, carpentry, and even a separate space for wardrobe. The plan is to start the semester this April-May. The students will be aged 16 and over and they do not have to have completed high school to join the program. I think this point is key as it provides opportunities for the maximum number of students - and most notably the youth that need to most help in figuring out a path for their lives that doesn't include gangs and violence. As well as the technical training they will be receiving classes in history, computers, drafting, and business management. Thus giving them the skills to go out and either be able to apply for a job or even open their own business. I really hope I get the opportunity to come down here again and see the school once it is up and running.

We met up with everyone at Villa Balanza for lunch and had a wonderful 'conversation' with three young ladies that are actors in the show; they speaking very little English and us with only a modicum of Spanish. But, with a little help from a Spanish-English dictionary and even more help from our wild charades, we managed to understand and have ourselves be understood in turn. This experience was such a delight.

Next we went to the beginning of the rehearsal and met about half of the cast. Again, they are all so wonderful and eager (and a great number of them are quite shy). I can't wait to see a full rehearsal.

I have to admit that by 2pm the heat had gotten to us and we sought out the comfort of the pool at El Tejado. Wow again! (have I said that enough yet?) What a view. And so refreshing. Afterwards we met up with Ed and Trevor and headed over to Villa Balanza for dinner. (a place I feel we will be visiting alot) By around nine we were so exhausted by our very full day and we headed off to bed.

Oh.... I have decided to try to learn at the very least a couple of new Spanish words and phrases each day and I thought I would share them with you as well. Today's words are:

molienda = mill (corn, grain) There is one of these in Suchitoto.

parecido = similar

P.S. I just realized how long this post is. Sorry for rambling on so. I will work on making these entries a bit more concise. :)

Sean's First Day

We have arrived! Suchitoto is not like home and definitely NOT like Kansas, Dorothy. THe weather is warm, very warm, but we have been getting a breeze which is not normal from what we are told. I have no idea what I'm ordering on the menu, nor what I'm eating when it arrives but it all tastes good and sometimes you just gotta take a chance. The roads are all cobbled rough stones and in the morning I have a mountain to climb from my little room on the lake to the town centre. This morning I noticed that if I exit my hostel through the side gate and not through the house in the morning I pass right over the neighbours outdoor shower.......quite the surprise.

The Chapple space is wonderful, old worn fresco's on the wall that are bareley visible. Wood beams hand chissled and peeling stucco. It's magical in a distressed way, not unlike how I pictured the church in Pentecost a few years back. Next door is the children's art school where pictures are framed in the outdoor courtyard and painted umbrellas hang from the rafters. We also went to the school today, where the technical students will train and it has such promise. It's a great workspace that can grow into a fully modern shop in no time. We explored the 'wardrobe-to-be' room and talked about how it might look set up and I could fully visualise a team like ours in the wardrobe downstairs working away.

Not speaking the languge is tough, but I'm picking up words here and there and hopefully will be able to string a few together before I leave.

Much love to all. From Central America, signing off.

SFM.

Sean F. Mulcahy

Day 1 (although posted on Day 2)

Wow! I think that is the only way to encapsulate the tumult of feelings and sights and experiences of the last 24 hours (and its only been 24 hours!)

After about 2 hours of sleep the shuttle arrived and took us to the airport. We eventually boarded, what seemed to us to be a very small plane for such a long journey, and we were off to El Salvador.

Upon disembarking you are immediately overwhelmed by the heat, the smell, and the sounds of this country. Once we finally made it through customs (here's a tip - don't pack things that look like tool boxes) we made our way outside and found the smiling face of Tito waiting there for us.

The journey to Suchitoto took about 1.5 hours over winding roads and through some small towns. The view of the countryside was amazing. And the air conditioning in the van was even better as we were still trying to acclimatize ourselves to the 35 degree heat. :)

Once in Suchitoto we arrived at each of our hotels and agreed to meet up soon. This led to an interesting encounter with Sean's landlady. (Mike and I were standing outside of this building, each of us reluctant to walk into what looked like her living room to go and ask her if she knew a Sean. Mike was eventually the braver of the two of us and after some descriptive hand waving and one word sentences, we found him. We were later described by this same woman as 'una chica y dos gringos') Anyway, after this adventure the three of us made our way to the town square where we managed to successfully order tres cervezas y dos chalupas.

After a short while, Ed and his son, Trevor, found us and soon after that the rest of the gang from Casa es Artes and more had joined us. All told there were about 12 of us enjoying the cool night air, some cervezas and each others' company. What an incredible group of people - so warm and welcoming and so excited about this project!

We eventually had to break up the party to get some dinner and headed over to Gringo's (a fitting choice, I thought, for our first night here). The night was cool and lovely although the air in our hostel room was thick. This was soon dealt with by the fan we had packed (thanks for that tip Frank, Ted and Eric) and we quickly drifted off to sleep.