Honduras?
Wednesday, July 27: Yet another warm sunny day (in fact all of the days in this entry were such, so I won’t mention that again…maybe). Milagro told me this morning that last night while Paul and I were out at the internet café, a young guy (muchacho joven), came to the house and asked for me. He was kind of tall. So basically, it was my high school admirer, you may recall that he passed me some little notes in class yesterday, I guess last night he was just stopping by to see that I had understood them or something. I am glad I was not home. I was not prepared to handle this situation in either language! There was a hummingbird humming around some flowers in the yard, that was cool to watch. The clear blue sky was just full of flying creatures today! Big black birds soaring in circles, dragonflies, butterflies, a kite, fluffy white clouds all floating by in the sky above "my throne" (i.e. the rocking chair where I spend most of my days). Bob returned today and called the technician about the faulty internet. Then he unplugged the cable and plugged it back in and voila! the internet functions once again! The teachers at Brisas del Sol—the elementary school where Paul teaches—invited me to join them on their school excursion to a swimming pool in San Miguel tomorrow. That will be a nice way to spend the day. At the high school this afternoon we realized that we only have three more days of class because of the various activities planned on certain days and the week of school vacation next week. That made me sad; I will miss them. In class everyone wrote a little composition about him or herself in English (Paul and I in Spanish) and we corrected each other. It was nice to share. Several of the students thanked us for teaching them, that was great. I really will miss them. Nahum was rather playful today, but Juan Carlos was no problem. I just avoided eye contact at all costs. But Then… when I got home to check my email I noticed that he had sent me an online greeting card. I didn’t check it until later in the evening—partially because I was a little nervous and partially because I was using the older computer and I wasn’t sure if the card would open. After dinner I opened the card…yikes! It was an "I love you" themed card, and the message he wrote at the bottom must have been put through an online translator because some of the literal translations were a little strange. Basically he loves me forever and wants to have the experience of going out with an American girl. Again, yikes.
Thursday, July 28: Swimming pool! I got up at 5:50, ate a little sweet bread and made a "mocha" with hot chocolate and instant coffee… close enough. Paul and I got to Brisas del Sol around 6:45 and waited for everyone to arrive. We finally loaded the bus and departed around 7:15 or 7:30. It was a full chartered school bus. I would say between 50 and 60 people were on the excursion. I sat next to a mom we tried to communicate a little on the way to San Miguel but that didn’t work very well. We arrived in San Miguel around 9 and stopped at a little shopping center so people could get food. I was still plenty satisfied from my sweet bread and mocha, so I abstained. But Paul gave me a bite of his ear… that is his danish which apparently is called oreja—ear—here. We arrived at the pool shortly there after and unloaded the bus. We lined up and paid our 80 cent admission price (2 bucks for the bus, 80 cents for the pool admission, I love this country). The pool was actually 4 pools of varying sizes and depths. I only went in the 2nd biggest pool, about 3 feet deep. The biggest, deepest pool was closed for cleaning and being refilled throughout the day. This is unfortunate because it had a slide. Oh well, the 3 foot pool was good for the elementary students who we played with. We played team keep-away for over an hour. That was fun. There were several students playing, and Paul, Marta, and I to begin with. Later a family—I believe the uncle, mother, and teenage cousins of one of the young students—joined. We had a lot of fun with this game. The uncle and his family live in Reno, NV and are here on the school vacation of his kids. Paul had a good time speaking English with him. Marlena was not feeling well today so she borrowed a hammock and lounged. She also went out for lunch and brought us some food. She gave me french fries, Paul and Marta chicken, and got Pizza Hut for herself. I also ate some goldfish—the crackers. After lunch Marta bought Paul and I sorbete—ice cream—for 25 cents! It was pretty good, kind of orange cream-cicle with graham cracker crumbs flavored. I bought a handmade bracelet from one of Paul’s students for 25 cents. She has been making them and selling them at school. Mine is blue and purpleish blue. Then Marta wanted to play basketball so we headed over to the basketball court and joined a father and his son and daughter in a game of 3 on 3. Paul has not mastered the art of running in flip-flops so he stood pretty still. Marta loves basketball so she was unstoppable. I guess I had a little trouble with flip-flops myself—I fell out of one and skinned my poor pinky toe. After that game we borrowed their ball and played with the uncle from Reno and some more of his family until the family we played with first had to leave and take their ball. I had a lot of fun playing—it has certainly been a while since I have played. Marta, Paul and I decided to spend a little more time in the pool before getting changed. I gave some kids rides on my back as I swam through the water. They were pretty excited about that. For many of the students and even the parents probably, it was their first time swimming especially in a swimming pool. It was really fun to watch them get so excited. Paul was approached several times by other swimmers who asked if he spoke English, I suppose he is much whiter than I am. One really cute little girl swam up and said "Excuse me, do you speak English?" She and her family are from Long Island, New York and were visiting on their vacation too. The mother was from El Salvador. I spent most of the day hanging out with Marta so it was good practice for my Spanish, and she got to work on her English. She wanted to know how to say "I feel fat" and then she repeated it all the way to and from the changing rooms. I suppose that wasn’t the best thing to teach, but it was pretty funny. I bought Marta and I snow-cone like ice treats with really sweet thick syrup and then topped with tamarind preserves. It was extremely sweet. I ate the ice and then had Marta make Paul finish the juice (he will do anything she says, including eat and drink things that will most likely make him sick—such as questionable horchata and fresh fruit washed with hose water…). He decided not to change out of his trunks but to wear his towel around his waste on the bus ride home. But first, Marta and Marlena tried to get him to do a little striptease. He wouldn’t there… but said maybe later. I got some pictures of him pretending though. I hope he doesn’t try to run for office. On the bus ride home I could communicate with my seat mate a little more easily after spending a day exercising my Spanish skills. Once we arrived home I showered, and washed my swimming suit, shorts and towel. After dinner I emailed Juan Carlos to let him know that I am not actually looking for a Salvadoran boyfriend, but would like for him to be my friend. I still haven’t heard from him… This was certainly a good day. I listened to and spoke a lot of Spanish, got some sun (maybe a little too much), got some good exercise, and didn’t read for most of the day—so I have another day of my reading to add to my daily ration. Oh and Paul is lucky that I am around, if it weren’t for my sunscreen that boy would have fried so completely that he probably would have been mistaken for a local delicacy and devoured. Or something equally painful.
Friday, July 29: I woke up very sore from yesterday’s swimming and the sun. It rained lightly very early this morning and was a little cloudy when I woke up, but you guessed it, it turned out to be another beautiful sunny day. Next door or close-by someone was playing a classical radio station. It was the perfect music for the morning, I really appreciated that. Today I feel kind of helpless and like I wish I could do more to help. I wish there were more delegations here this summer because I felt useful then. I like sharing with them what I have learned, what it is like around here, how things work, and helping them anyway I can. Oh well. I asked Paul to commission the little girl who made bracelets to make some more and I would buy more. Bob also wants to buy more and sell them to delegations and even to a market in San Salvador. Paul said that she was extremely excited to hear about her business opportunities. Paul and I interviewed Miguel this afternoon. It was a much shorter interview than the last two, but it was still good. Everyday brings us a little closer to leaving and that makes my stomach jump a little. I don’t know why exactly. I know it will be hard to leave. Also, I think after being gone from the U.S. in such a different place for a long time will make it really strange just to encounter my normal life again and the normal lives of my friends and families. I know that it will be hard not to compare these two places for quite some time. The sun makes these afternoons so hot that I have trouble staying awake. So I took a little break and listened to some music for a while in my bed. Milagro invited me to go with her to the women’s prison to deliver packages to the women with soap, detergent, and other hygienic necessities. That was a nice little break in the afternoon.
Saturday, July 30: I am still to tired and sore to do laundry, maybe tomorrow. I read a lot today. Paul drew a picture to decorate the door of the school. I helped him paint it when he finished. I painted the sand, the ocean, two swimming suits, and some hair. Then I colored in the sky and the mountains with crayons. Then I took a nap; a long nap. A man brought a sack of corn to the house this morning. The women spent most of the day working on corn foods. They shucked it, cut the skins, cut the kernels off the ear, mashed the corn, made tamales, made atol. It was a busy corny day. Bob says it was the first corn harvest. So it is good for the people of the country to have some of their food harvested now. I really liked watching them fill the rolled corn skins with mashed up corn, fold another skin over and then boil it in a huge pot to make tamales. Dinner was also corn-themed: tamales and pupusas. After dinner there was a huge—birdsized—moth on a leaf of the orange tree. I noticed it fly up there and got a flashlight to investigate. Paul took pictures. Then I chatted with Susie online. That was great. I miss Susie. I really wasn’t kept awake by my long afternoon nap as I thought I would be.
Sunday, July 31: I woke up around 6:45 and took my shower. I could hear people moving chairs around and sweeping in the chapel this morning so I thought there might be a celebration of the word. Finally, this morning my body doesn’t feel sore any more. So I decided to do some laundry. I left it soaking for a while. Then we found out that there isn’t a celebration but rather a meeting to distribute communication radios to some representatives of three cantons. Bob isn’t feeling well today so they asked Paul to take pictures to document the exchange. I decided to tag along because that is what I do here—tag along and try to learn something. Paul wasn’t really taking any action shots and of course my artistic nature… well basically I took the camera and took some photos during the meeting as well as some of the exchange and the representatives with their new radios. These radios will benefit several communities and have the potential to really help many people. It is very exciting. Paul and I helped Balmore stack chairs and asked him when we could interview him. We decided there is no time like the present and got to it. His interview lasted a little bit longer but still only about 45 minutes. Again, another good interview. When we finished the interview I returned outside to finish my laundry, but alas, most of it was already hanging on the line and Milagro was scrubbing away at the last of my underwear. Oh well… Paul went to Marta’s to go visit the internet café and send an email to Lynn. Then Paul called me and said "Hey, do you want to go to Honduras this week?" And I laughed. But now Paul and I are going to Honduras with Marta and Marlena to celebrate the school vacations. I works out perfectly because we will have to buy new visas when we return so I can get my visa for the proper amount of time and not have to visit immigration in San Salvador with Bob next week. Also, we will return to San Salvador Friday, which is when I would have been going to San Salvador with Bob to tag along with the delegation anyway. And, this week will not be boring by any means. Oh, and I get to go to Honduras. So stay tuned to an update telling of my wild Honduras adventures and exciting weekend with the delegation in San Salvador. Hasta Luego!
Thursday, July 28: Swimming pool! I got up at 5:50, ate a little sweet bread and made a "mocha" with hot chocolate and instant coffee… close enough. Paul and I got to Brisas del Sol around 6:45 and waited for everyone to arrive. We finally loaded the bus and departed around 7:15 or 7:30. It was a full chartered school bus. I would say between 50 and 60 people were on the excursion. I sat next to a mom we tried to communicate a little on the way to San Miguel but that didn’t work very well. We arrived in San Miguel around 9 and stopped at a little shopping center so people could get food. I was still plenty satisfied from my sweet bread and mocha, so I abstained. But Paul gave me a bite of his ear… that is his danish which apparently is called oreja—ear—here. We arrived at the pool shortly there after and unloaded the bus. We lined up and paid our 80 cent admission price (2 bucks for the bus, 80 cents for the pool admission, I love this country). The pool was actually 4 pools of varying sizes and depths. I only went in the 2nd biggest pool, about 3 feet deep. The biggest, deepest pool was closed for cleaning and being refilled throughout the day. This is unfortunate because it had a slide. Oh well, the 3 foot pool was good for the elementary students who we played with. We played team keep-away for over an hour. That was fun. There were several students playing, and Paul, Marta, and I to begin with. Later a family—I believe the uncle, mother, and teenage cousins of one of the young students—joined. We had a lot of fun with this game. The uncle and his family live in Reno, NV and are here on the school vacation of his kids. Paul had a good time speaking English with him. Marlena was not feeling well today so she borrowed a hammock and lounged. She also went out for lunch and brought us some food. She gave me french fries, Paul and Marta chicken, and got Pizza Hut for herself. I also ate some goldfish—the crackers. After lunch Marta bought Paul and I sorbete—ice cream—for 25 cents! It was pretty good, kind of orange cream-cicle with graham cracker crumbs flavored. I bought a handmade bracelet from one of Paul’s students for 25 cents. She has been making them and selling them at school. Mine is blue and purpleish blue. Then Marta wanted to play basketball so we headed over to the basketball court and joined a father and his son and daughter in a game of 3 on 3. Paul has not mastered the art of running in flip-flops so he stood pretty still. Marta loves basketball so she was unstoppable. I guess I had a little trouble with flip-flops myself—I fell out of one and skinned my poor pinky toe. After that game we borrowed their ball and played with the uncle from Reno and some more of his family until the family we played with first had to leave and take their ball. I had a lot of fun playing—it has certainly been a while since I have played. Marta, Paul and I decided to spend a little more time in the pool before getting changed. I gave some kids rides on my back as I swam through the water. They were pretty excited about that. For many of the students and even the parents probably, it was their first time swimming especially in a swimming pool. It was really fun to watch them get so excited. Paul was approached several times by other swimmers who asked if he spoke English, I suppose he is much whiter than I am. One really cute little girl swam up and said "Excuse me, do you speak English?" She and her family are from Long Island, New York and were visiting on their vacation too. The mother was from El Salvador. I spent most of the day hanging out with Marta so it was good practice for my Spanish, and she got to work on her English. She wanted to know how to say "I feel fat" and then she repeated it all the way to and from the changing rooms. I suppose that wasn’t the best thing to teach, but it was pretty funny. I bought Marta and I snow-cone like ice treats with really sweet thick syrup and then topped with tamarind preserves. It was extremely sweet. I ate the ice and then had Marta make Paul finish the juice (he will do anything she says, including eat and drink things that will most likely make him sick—such as questionable horchata and fresh fruit washed with hose water…). He decided not to change out of his trunks but to wear his towel around his waste on the bus ride home. But first, Marta and Marlena tried to get him to do a little striptease. He wouldn’t there… but said maybe later. I got some pictures of him pretending though. I hope he doesn’t try to run for office. On the bus ride home I could communicate with my seat mate a little more easily after spending a day exercising my Spanish skills. Once we arrived home I showered, and washed my swimming suit, shorts and towel. After dinner I emailed Juan Carlos to let him know that I am not actually looking for a Salvadoran boyfriend, but would like for him to be my friend. I still haven’t heard from him… This was certainly a good day. I listened to and spoke a lot of Spanish, got some sun (maybe a little too much), got some good exercise, and didn’t read for most of the day—so I have another day of my reading to add to my daily ration. Oh and Paul is lucky that I am around, if it weren’t for my sunscreen that boy would have fried so completely that he probably would have been mistaken for a local delicacy and devoured. Or something equally painful.
Friday, July 29: I woke up very sore from yesterday’s swimming and the sun. It rained lightly very early this morning and was a little cloudy when I woke up, but you guessed it, it turned out to be another beautiful sunny day. Next door or close-by someone was playing a classical radio station. It was the perfect music for the morning, I really appreciated that. Today I feel kind of helpless and like I wish I could do more to help. I wish there were more delegations here this summer because I felt useful then. I like sharing with them what I have learned, what it is like around here, how things work, and helping them anyway I can. Oh well. I asked Paul to commission the little girl who made bracelets to make some more and I would buy more. Bob also wants to buy more and sell them to delegations and even to a market in San Salvador. Paul said that she was extremely excited to hear about her business opportunities. Paul and I interviewed Miguel this afternoon. It was a much shorter interview than the last two, but it was still good. Everyday brings us a little closer to leaving and that makes my stomach jump a little. I don’t know why exactly. I know it will be hard to leave. Also, I think after being gone from the U.S. in such a different place for a long time will make it really strange just to encounter my normal life again and the normal lives of my friends and families. I know that it will be hard not to compare these two places for quite some time. The sun makes these afternoons so hot that I have trouble staying awake. So I took a little break and listened to some music for a while in my bed. Milagro invited me to go with her to the women’s prison to deliver packages to the women with soap, detergent, and other hygienic necessities. That was a nice little break in the afternoon.
Saturday, July 30: I am still to tired and sore to do laundry, maybe tomorrow. I read a lot today. Paul drew a picture to decorate the door of the school. I helped him paint it when he finished. I painted the sand, the ocean, two swimming suits, and some hair. Then I colored in the sky and the mountains with crayons. Then I took a nap; a long nap. A man brought a sack of corn to the house this morning. The women spent most of the day working on corn foods. They shucked it, cut the skins, cut the kernels off the ear, mashed the corn, made tamales, made atol. It was a busy corny day. Bob says it was the first corn harvest. So it is good for the people of the country to have some of their food harvested now. I really liked watching them fill the rolled corn skins with mashed up corn, fold another skin over and then boil it in a huge pot to make tamales. Dinner was also corn-themed: tamales and pupusas. After dinner there was a huge—birdsized—moth on a leaf of the orange tree. I noticed it fly up there and got a flashlight to investigate. Paul took pictures. Then I chatted with Susie online. That was great. I miss Susie. I really wasn’t kept awake by my long afternoon nap as I thought I would be.
Sunday, July 31: I woke up around 6:45 and took my shower. I could hear people moving chairs around and sweeping in the chapel this morning so I thought there might be a celebration of the word. Finally, this morning my body doesn’t feel sore any more. So I decided to do some laundry. I left it soaking for a while. Then we found out that there isn’t a celebration but rather a meeting to distribute communication radios to some representatives of three cantons. Bob isn’t feeling well today so they asked Paul to take pictures to document the exchange. I decided to tag along because that is what I do here—tag along and try to learn something. Paul wasn’t really taking any action shots and of course my artistic nature… well basically I took the camera and took some photos during the meeting as well as some of the exchange and the representatives with their new radios. These radios will benefit several communities and have the potential to really help many people. It is very exciting. Paul and I helped Balmore stack chairs and asked him when we could interview him. We decided there is no time like the present and got to it. His interview lasted a little bit longer but still only about 45 minutes. Again, another good interview. When we finished the interview I returned outside to finish my laundry, but alas, most of it was already hanging on the line and Milagro was scrubbing away at the last of my underwear. Oh well… Paul went to Marta’s to go visit the internet café and send an email to Lynn. Then Paul called me and said "Hey, do you want to go to Honduras this week?" And I laughed. But now Paul and I are going to Honduras with Marta and Marlena to celebrate the school vacations. I works out perfectly because we will have to buy new visas when we return so I can get my visa for the proper amount of time and not have to visit immigration in San Salvador with Bob next week. Also, we will return to San Salvador Friday, which is when I would have been going to San Salvador with Bob to tag along with the delegation anyway. And, this week will not be boring by any means. Oh, and I get to go to Honduras. So stay tuned to an update telling of my wild Honduras adventures and exciting weekend with the delegation in San Salvador. Hasta Luego!
posted by Ashley at 11:22 AM
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