oh, the thoughts provoked

the community in which we work has about 2700 people and 600 homes. the furthest you'd have to walk to get between two houses might be 40 minutes. i admire the way this small community feels, maybe because i grew up in a town of 70,000 people. why am i surprised that everyone knows each other? kids walk to and from school in packs or take short bus rides. there are a few tiny stores that sell tortillas, candy, soda, etc, but no market. it is not a self-sufficient community by any means as many people work outside of it, in factories or elsewhere.

i suppose what i'm mostly admiring is the social structure. perhaps it is partly a result of families sleeping together in close quarters and houses being close together. the idea of privacy is different here. as laura notes in her china blog, inside and outside spaces are more fluid. (there's also no cruel winter, that helps). neighbors hang out, lend each other money, protect each other's chickens, etc. one woman i know leaves her house keys at her neighbor's house when she leaves. strangers are welcomed, assisted, offered food, given directions. sure, salvadorans are reknowned for their friendliness and hospitality, but cultural norms apart, the people in this community take care of each other with great warmth and generosity. there are animosities, there are problems, obviously. but there's a lot of strong relationships and networks here that i just haven't seen in cherry hill or in other places i've lived. it's not a transient place. that is also bad, as people don't have enough money to "get out" and pursue further education and all that comes with it. i'm not trying to make this community sound idyllic. plenty of serious problems here. but my thoughts are being provoked.

it's exciting to be getting to know this community and it makes me think a lot about family. i'm also reading julia alvarez's book of essays "something to declare" which deals mostly with her dominican family and extended family. her family is her base community, even though she moved away. people here don't move across the country to advance their careers. unless family members have left to find work in the US because they can't find something equivalent here, families are together, usually in the same community. it makes me think how lucky i am to have such a close extended family in the US when many families are so fragmented across the country. thank you, family.