A few more weeks of dry before the downpour...of rainy season.

Just hanging out!

Gosh, I am really starting to slowly realize how much I love it here. My dear mother decided it was best to return to the United States, despite my convincing her to stay for another three months, without air conditioning, hot water showers, hamburgers at every corner, and of course…paved roads. After she bid her farewell, Semana Santa started here in El Salvador. This week long holiday basically refers to Easter, but for some reason there is no school for the entire week. Most people still work during this week. I am always surprised how hard people work here, all day in the sun in the fields or the coffee plantations. It amazes me how people in the United States work by sitting at their computers all day (I know not everyone, obviously). It’s just a different life, that's all. Any who, my host sisters had to work pretty much every day, all day at the restaurant in my site (yes that is right there is restaurant and hotel in my site, so cool) because of people visiting. But, the day before school started my entire host family, plus the family across the street (all four kids plus two friends) and another family all walked about 45 minutes to go swimming in the river.
Now, most things in El Salvador I do have to say I set too high of expectations, but if you set really, really low expectations of everything…then you are always pleasantly surprised. :-)

(Pastor's wife made three little purses from the class I taught and is selling them for $2.50!)
Anyways, this place was actually very beautiful, it costs 50 cents to get in, there was tables and picnic areas, pools to swim in, changing stalls…and wait for it…wait for it…a bathroom (a.k.a. latrine hole, but had a door). I know, classy. My family cooked up about a billion and one tortillas, chicken, coleslaw (called repollo…not sure why…) and fruit salad called tutti fruiti, which I find hilarious and if I ever have pot lucks in the future I am putting out small little note cards on the table and will label any fruit platter “tutti fruiti”. It just makes you giggle, doesn’t it?

"Tutti Fruiti"
I contributed in making chocolate chip cookies (probably no has had before) in my little toaster oven the day before and everyone said they liked them, I think they were telling the truth too!

Walking along the highway on the way home from a day of swimming, why do you need sidewalks when you can just walk in the middle of the street? :-)

During Semana Santa I quickly became bored with nothing to do so I call up a friend who now works for Habitat for Humanity and helped for two days along University students and professors to build around 15 casitas (small homes) in a community about an hour from me. It was nice to get some hard labor done and see the results quickly. I may or may not have regalar’ed (Span-glish for “gifted”) like 35 mosquito bites, but they are healing...I swear...

My friend Lindsey and I with two artitectural professors doing community service with Habitat for Humanity, both wanted to volunteer alongside their students during vacation to help build houses!

"Hitching" a ride, hopefully I don't get kicked out of PC for this, not wearing a helmet. *After this photo was taken I was dumped into a pile of sand, it sure felt good to take a bucket shower after that day! :-)
This past Wednesday a bunch of us went to Ahuachapán to buy my younger host sister her 15th birthday dress. This is a HUGE deal. We found some for $200! The amount of money for that dress could easily feed a whole family and then some for an entire month here, so both the Madre and I advised to buy a cheaper one in the market so we could use the money gifted by her uncle for the party (a.k.a. chicken for dinner). We found a beautiful fuchsia colored one (traditional is pink tinted) for her, plus little matching gloves and a crown (nope, you are going to wait till AFTER the party to see the photos ;-). We are having it at the restaurant (the manager offered it to my family to use for free, HUGE deal). The party will take place on the 25th of April (her actually birthday) and I am beyond excited. This is a huge deal, because most people do not get married here (too expensive) and just move into their boyfriend’s house and start having kids. So this will probably be the most expensive dress (It was $75) and event she will ever have (I hope not, but most likely so).

The mural is coming along as well! I started tracing the World Map we are going to do right next to the El Salvador Map and we painted the El Salvador map this week. Even with my luck it rained (lightly) three times since we started on Wednesday and has not ruined it. Gracias a Dios. I am really happy with it and will post a photo when it’s all done, but here is the process with some kiddos.

Painting!
This week I had a great meeting in Ahuachapán with the Centro de la Cultura. Basically my cousin, Matthew Katz gets to travel all over the world for work (so lucky, but every job has its draw backs) and one of his co-workers happens to be from El Salvador (and work in Brazil, no big deal). His father just happens to live here and just happens to work…in the largest city near me…in my department…only an hour away (by bus). We have been e-mailing a bit and finally met up on Thursday. He showed me around the beautiful building he works in, met one of his staff (Director of the whole thing) and I already have two recycled art classes set up to teach there. Hmmm, I love when work comes so easily! I am super excited about expanding some of my work beyond my community too. He was so generous, took me to lunch, showed me his house and would not allow me to leave without a huge bag of mangoes from his tree in the backyard (since then I have eaten…maybe 6 of them…maybe).

It was a wonderful, random, and amazing visit. It just goes to show you the world is really VERY small.

(can't buy this in Whole Foods! Fresh honeycomb! Ate it on the way home...)

Next week I am heading to San Vicente for some Spanish class as well as for a committee meeting (I will explain more after the meeting) on Monday which should be a nice change of pace. One more photo before I go...I swear I did not set up this one, found Tigre sleeping in my backpack, such a good little Peace Corps companion. ;-)