Semillas de Esperanza (Seeds of Hope) Suggestions for Writing to Your Student in El Salvador

When writing letters to sponsored students . . . 1. Keep the letters simple and relatively short. Briefly describe your family, hobbies and other interests. Try to describe your job in 1-2 words. Keep in mind that most of these students have limited knowledge of U.S. geography. (Please don’t send your family Christmas letter.) 2. Be sure to ask the students a few questions about their interests and family life. (Be aware that they have very few toys and not much free time since they are from families of extremely limited means.) 3. Try to build a relationship with your student through your cards/letters. Point out similarities between your lives rather than the differences that are the evidence of your contrasting economic situations. 4. Ask questions about their church experiences. (One of the requirements of this program is that students participate in church.) 5. Photos and pictures are a welcome addition. Be sensitive to the economic disparity between you and your student(s). (If you have children who like to draw, include some of their artwork.) 6. It is best not to use Google translate or other electronic means for more than a couple of words or phrases. These translators cannot pick up the nuances of conversational language and often result in misrepresented content. 7. Most students write letters 4 times/year: Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother/Father’s Day, and Summer. They may not respond to you right away since they probably have already written their Christmas letters to you.

Note: Keep in mind that most students from El Salvador begin their letters with a few polite introductory sentences prior to getting to the main body of the correspondence. This is a writing style found in hispanic culture. It is not necessary that you understand the exact content of these first sentence; likewise it is not expected that you begin your letters in the same style. Sample of letter beginning from one of our students: Le saludo deseando que se encuentre

bien de salud a lado de gente que les rodea a ustedes en familia. (I am greeting you hoping that you and your family members are well.)

English/Spanish Sentences (prepared by Patti Rude) Greetings:

Querido Roberto

(Dear Roberto or boy’s name)

Querida Ana

(Dear Ana or girl’s name)

Body of the letter:

Muchas gracias por tu carta.

(Many thanks for your letter.)

tu tarjeta de Navidad

your Christmas card

tu dibujo

your drawing

Ojalá que todo vaya bien contigo y tu familia. Nos alegramos que estudies tanto y sigas con éxito en tus clases. Me alegro que . . .

(I hope that everything is well with you and your family.) (We are pleased that you are studying so much and that you are doing well in your classes.) (I am pleased that . . .)

Esperamos que todo vaya bien este año escolar.

(We hope that everything is going well this school year.)

Espero que . . .

( I hope that . . .)

También es bueno que asistas a

(It’s good that you go to church often.)

los servicios de iglesia a menudo. Recuerdos a tu familia también.

(Greetings to your family as well.)

Qué Dios te bendiga con abundancia.

(May God bless you abundantly.)

Questions for the students:

¿Cómo estás?

(How are you?)

¿Cuáles son tus materias preferidas?

(What are your favorite school subjects?)

¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?

(What do you like to do in your free time?)

¿Qué planes tienes para el futuro?

(What are your future plans?)

¿Qué te gusta hacer más en la iglesia?

(What do you most like to do at church?)

Salutations:

Un abrazo

(A hug)

Cariñosos saludos

(Kind regards)

Afectuosamente

(Affectionately)

Un afectuoso saludo

(An affectionate greeting)

Cordialmente

(Sincerely)

Christmas Greetings: ¡Feliz Navidad!

(Merry Christmas!)

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

(Happy New Year!)

¡Próspero Año Nuevo!

(Happy New Year!)

¡Felices Fiestas!

(Happy Holidays!)

Mis mejores deseos para la Navidad

(My best wishes for Christmas and the New

y el Año Nuevo Nuestros mejores deseos…

Year!) (Our best wishes….)