Happy New Year

I don’t have a lot to say right now, as things have been rather slow here at my site. I’m really glad that XMAS is finally over because it was definitely very hard for me to be away from my family. Salvadorans celebrate XMAS on the 24th, and the 25th is a day of relaxation. The family I eat lunch and dinner with invited me to go with them to another family member’s house for dinner on the 24th. There were probably 40 people there, and we all took shifts eating because there wasn’t enough space for everyone. My dinner consisted of a turkey leg, rice, tortillas, and a coleslaw-like salad. After the dinner they brought out a piñata because it happened to be someone’s birthday as well. They were really surprised when I told them I’d never hit a piñata before, so they decided to blindfold and videotape me trying to break the piñata. I think they really got a kick out of watching the gringa acting like a fool.

I spent the 25th hanging-out with the same people at a poza (swimming hole) in the park. After the chicken was killed and de-feathered in the morning, we all set-off on the 30 minute hike into the park to the poza. There were way too many people at the poza, but nobody seemed to mind. Once I saw people washing their hair and their recently killed chicken in the poza, I decided to go up river a little bit to swim in a smaller poza by myself. You should see all the stuff people bring with them when they spend a day at the river…big pots and pans to cook with, hammocks, TONS of soda (I think my teeth are going to rot out of my head while I’m here), all the stuff that is needed to make a big pot of soup, and then some. I ate my first chicken foot, which was still attached to the leg, and I’d have to say that I really didn’t like it.

I spent New Year's Eve with the kids next door and it was a ton of fun. I ate dinner with them, and then I watched them set-off fireworks all night long. They aren't the pretty ones like we have in the states...these ones just make a lot of noise with no colors. A lot of the teenage guys here have firecracker wars which seems wicked dangerous. They don't pay attention to where they throw them, and they just chuck them at each other in the middle of the street.

Last week one of the park guards drove me to a nearby market area so I could buy a few things. I came home with a small 2 burner tabletop stove (it’s kind of like a camping stove), a gas tank, a wood table to put my stove on, 2 plastic stools, and this 4 shelf thing to put my food and dishes on. I don’t really like the fact that I have a propane tank like 5 feet from my bed, but I don’t have any other options. I really wanted to buy a tabletop sized refrigerator, but I couldn’t find one anywhere. Now that I can boil water I've been eating a lot of oatmeal and coffee for breakfast...we'll see how long that's going to last!

One thing I really like about my pueblo is that I don’t always have to leave in order to buy things that I need. People walk through the pueblo every day selling all kinds of stuff. For instance, the other day I bought a big piece of watermelon and a piece of cantaloupe for 50 cents from a woman who was selling fruits and vegetables out of a basket on her head. This morning I knew the bread man was nearby because I heard the bike horn that he always toots. So, I opened my door and waited for him to walk by…I bought 10 pieces of French bread (kind of like a sub roll here) for 50 cents. I also bought a mirror and a mop from 2 other people who were traveling through. These people spend their days walking from one place to the next selling stuff in order to make money. One of the best parts of the day is when the ice cream man rides through town on his bike….12 cents for an ice cream cone!

So the other day I found a very large scorpion in my house…it was chillin’ on my mop. I don’t know how it ended up there, but it definitely freaked me out. It was the first one I’ve seen at my site, and it was the biggest one I’ve seen in El Sal. I’ve decided that they scare me, and they are really ugly…I killed it with my sneaker. A few of the kids who live next door were over at the time and they even freaked out and climbed on top of my plastic chairs. They told me to be very careful because those things can kill you…I was like “thanks.”

That’s about all for now. I need to go wash a lot of dirty laundry….by hand. Oh, btw, I just typed posted this blog in the mayor's office...I'm now hooked-up to their wireless internet...crazy!
Take care and Happy New Year!