El Salvador

We were in El Salvador last week with Nita (Peleh's grandmother) and Tio Frio (just 'cause it rhymes) aka Uncle Mike. It was warm, dusty, tastey, fun, and beautiful. We ate lots of delicious fresh fruits, drank delicious fresh coffee, and played in the Pacific and the mountains. We made some friends at Michael's Peace Corps site, including Kanguru the amazing dog with use of only his front legs. We rented a pick up truck and drove all over the country (about the size of Massachusetts). We saw little towns, tiny communities, bigger towns, and the capitol. We spent some time at the beach and played in the surf of the Pacific. I wasn't really able to enjoy the waves as much as I used to because I was too nervous about Peleh being swept away. It was tons of fun to speak Spanish again. I was impressed at my abilities to bring forward the vocabulary I hadn't used in years - like at the San Salvador airport when I was able to ask a woman if the bathroom was full before I busted in and vomited in the garbage can, because the toilets were in fact all occupied. I didn't end the trip well and am still fighting a head cold but still had an excellent time.

It was a lot of fun to hang out with Michael and see him in his element. His language skills are impressive, as well as his driving. He's very generous and easy going, yet firm on matters of principal like bargaining and tipping. It's much more fun to talk to him on the phone now because I can picture him in his little home, or in some city or pueblo.

It was a fun trip. El Salvador is beautiful and the poeple are little and kind. I was disappointed about the lack of indigenous culture, but we did pick up some indigenous clay pottery.  Now we're back to cold weather and work.

Peleh and I were very sick this week. Peleh is pretty much completely recovered from having RSV - [Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. (CDC.gov)] He still has a little bit of a cough, but the doctor said he'll have that for up to 4 more weeks. I have a really bad head cold.