Abroad again!

Hi everone!
Well, I am off travelling again. I was lucky enough to find a good job in Laramie with the Survey and Analysis Center (a department of the University) and I will start full-time work there in August. The great part is that they first let me take the time to go travel in El Salvador for three weeks! So here I am, travelling, again. I will begin with a quick rundown of the past few days, and then in separate posts (so as not ta overwhelm y'all) pontificate a little on some of the thoughts that have been running through me brain since I arrived. Unfortunately, I do not have a connection for my camera (d'oh!) so the pics will have to wait.

I took the red-eye out of Denver at 1am on Thursday and after a perfectly smooth trip arrived in San Salvador at around noon. I caught a taxi to my friend Danny Burridge's 'bourgeois' house in Miralvalle (a district of San Sal). Danny was one of the on-site coordinators for the NEVOSH delegation I did with Grandma Ann in January. He's been living in El Sal for about five years, recently working with at-risk youth in La Chacra, one of the primary gang areas in San Salvador. Thursday evening I met some of Danny's anglophone friends (who are here working for various NGOs) for a political discussion. What a bunch of interesting, intelligent women (oh, and Danny)!

Friday was somewhat more adventerous. Because Danny is associated with La Chacra Parish, the gang members know him, so he's probably in less danger than anyone else careless enough to wander into the area. And, banking on safety by association, I was able to accompany him to the Open School there on Friday. The only attack we suffered was from a gang of excited children who rushed us when we arrived at the school. I escaped with only three or four girls hugging me happily, but Danny was buried under a pile of kiddies screaming "Buuuuurrrridge!" I could probably spend pages writing about my afternoon in La Chacra alone, but your time is sacred, and most importantly, I could not do justice to the experience.

Saturday, one of the part-time residents of the 'bourgeois' house, Eduardo, was kind enough to drive me up into the volcanic mountains surrounding San Salvador to show me La Puerta del Diablo, the devil's door. There are a couple rocky crags you climb up that offer a stunning view of the city to one side and the ocean to the other. Or so I am told. Unfortunately, the whole area was in cloud. We had a great time climbing around and eating pupusas (kind of a stuffed tortilla and the token food of El Salvador), but did not see much of the countryside. That evening I helped Danny and his friend Danielle do some studying for the GRE, though it was mostly drinking beer and eating pizza and lauging. Then we braved a drenching rain storm to go dance to a live salsa band at Cafe la T (get it?) I still cannot move my hips well enough to really salsa, but maybe one day I'll get there.

Sunday, I set out on an adventure of my own. Danny helped set a little agenda of busses and walking through more or less safe areas of the city. I visited a few markets, the city center, and a park with a wonderful art exhibit themed "Dependence and Independence" and a wall (possibly a block long) listing all the names of civilians who were murdered or who disappeared during the civil war in the 1980s. I also visited the cathedral and an amazing modern church (Iglisia de Rosario) in the center. A full, interesting, and uneventful (in a good way) day.

Today I took a bus to Suchitoto, about an hour and a half north of San Salvador. This is where I will be spending the bulk of the next three weeks at the language school Pajaro Flor. I went straight to the house of my host family. Mi madre es Nena, y mis hermanas son Mariela y Josylina ( really do not know how to spell their names), y mi hermano es Nelcito. (There, the extent of my Spanish, with out accents since I haven't figured those out yet). Mi padre, Nelson, will apparently be home this evening. The family runs a pupuseria (pupusas every night for dinner, hoorah!) and are extremely welcoming and patient with my terrible Spanish. I have my own room, perched above the little courtyard. It is lovely! I also managed to find the school where I will be studying, and it is incredible. The "classroom" is outside on a terrace overlooking a lake surrounded by mountains. More pictures to come!

Well, I am going to leave this stuffy little internet cafe and go back outside for more exploring! I just wanted to say I am here, safe, and having a wonderful time.

Until next time!
Lys