More Good Times

Friday, July 15 continued. Took a letter to the post office. Helped Bob tidy up his computer desktop by organizing his photos (kinda) and burning them onto CDs. Lynn left a few things behind and got a letter in the mail so Paul and I stopped by Marta’s house because Marta was planning to go visit Lynn at the airport. However, Marta was not home. On the way back we stopped at La Nevaria…. At school Manuel, Nahum, Paul and I played crazy eights and then listened to some of Paul’s CDs and we translated some of the songs. Then of course we had our customary Q and A session. After school we tried Marta’s house again. We chatted with her sweet parents who told us that she had already left for San Salvador. Marta’s mother sent us away with a corn tamale each. We had tamales for breakfast so when we ran into Nahum and Manuel on our way home we offered them our tamales. After dinner I downloaded AIM (instant messenger) at the house and got to talk to Ann, Rob, Grant, Caitlin and Mom. What a great evening!

Saturday, July 16: After breakfast the internet binge began. I spent a lot of the morning emailing, messaging, etc. I spent another major portion of the day reading Jonathan Kozol’s Amazing Grace. Several times I had to stop and take a break because the stories he tells are the truth and they are incredibly heartbreaking. Throughout my reading I felt so sad and angry at what people suffer in our own country. It is simply disgusting. I wish I had tried to record how the sadness made my body feel, because I remember feeling like my heart was actually aching, and I think I was even holding my breath for some of the time. On that note, I highly recommend the book…. Today was pretty laid back, even for El Salvador!

Sunday, July 17: I woke up several times from about 5am to 7am and it was steadily raining. What a calming sound! That made it difficult to get out of bed. I took Paul an umbrella when I went to wake him up for breakfast (his room is in the backyard, connected to Bob’s room and office). I took a shower after breakfast. It was not as luxuriously hot as my last shower, but it was still nice. The rain continued until about 10am. I had a cup of coffee in the morning and another in the afternoon, the relaxed day made me a little sleepy. I spent the day engaged in the same activities as yesterday, general internet shenanigans as well as reading Amazing Grace. Towards the end of dinner I got a splitting headache. I tried to drink it away—with water and some ibuprofen, but it just wouldn’t leave. I couldn’t even read. I tried to sit on the porch in the dark, with my eyes closed, and it still wouldn’t go away… so I decided I should lay down in my bed. I was in my bed just after 7pm, and mostly miserable. It was one of the first really bad headaches I’ve had that even made me feel nauseous. I took a little Pepto Bismol and tried desperately to fall asleep.

Monday, July 18: I must have fallen asleep eventually, as made evident by the fact that I woke up extremely early and felt completely better. I was extremely grateful for that. Apparently, all the roosters in the country get up around 5 and compare their loud, obnoxious calls. I tried to make the most of the last two hours of sleep, but I don’t think I did much sleeping then at all. I got up around 7, took a nice shower with the works (i.e. conditioner, nice smelling shower gel, leg shaving), a real treat! Oh yeah, today is my 22nd birthday. Breakfast was nice, eggs, beans and plantains. I did my morning emailing until about 10, then finished Amazing Grace. Bob returned to Berlin to pack before he heads to Des Moines for the rest of the week. I started reading John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany. It is one of my favorites. I haven’t read it since sophomore year of high school, for an English assignment in Mr. Person’s class as Central Academy. Those were the good old days. Anyway, I really love reading favorite books again. I definitely appreciate the humor even more. After lunch Ortilia came up to the office to deliver two envelopes that had just arrived from the post office for me. What perfect timing! Jess sent a lovely letter. She is in the Galapagos Islands this week with her mom and step-dad. Brian sent a great card and a nice letter. So my day was made right there. But the fun never ceases at Casa Pastoral… We went to school and due to the lack of available CD players today, we ran through some of the conversation sheets with Nahum, Manuel and Juan Carlos. I got a hug from Nahum for my birthday… I am still trying to decide if it was a genuine friendly gesture or just a cheap feel… or maybe it was both. I am still wishing more girls came to the group. I talked to a lot of people on instant messenger and then my parents called. That was great. Of course they mentioned their dinner consisted of sweet corn and fresh green beans… that was not nice. We have a lot of beans of all varieties here, but no sweet corn on the cob. Our dinner consisted of grilled cheese (Salvadoran style), a sautéed squash type vegetable, and some beans and rice. It was good. After dinner I was suspiciously summoned back to the dining room where Milagro, Cecilia and a chocolate cake were waiting for me. A candle holder was playing “Happy Birthday” and Milagro and Cecilia were singing “Feliz Cumpleanos.” It was pretty exciting. I had overheard Paul making arrangements to keep me out of the kitchen this afternoon and happened to see some things in the trash… I am a pretty observant person. But I certainly appreciated his hard work and especially the cake it produced—delicious! Then Milagro presented me with a gift from the whole Pastoral Team. It was a beautiful purse that Blanca had made. I think it is crocheted. I love it! Then Paul presented me with a gift bag full of goodies. My mom sent another memory card for my camera. So hopefully I can get some pictures uploaded one of these days. Lynn left me a phone card, a lovely note, and a gift certificate to La Nevaria. This is especially exciting because my favorite item costs 55 cents, which means I can get 7 or 8 of them! The rest of my trip is set! After cake, Paul and Milagro and I had a really great conversation about war, politics, peace, etc. In Espanol of course. I would like to thank all who were involved, including Kathy who lugged some of these birthday surprises down in her already incredibly heavy suitcase, and of course all who sent me little messages. It was really a great day.