Bus-y weekend

Okay so the second major bus adventure was today traveling to Apulo. There weren't any clowns or musicians on this one just food and drink vendors as usual.

The adventure began when I woke up at like 530ish and took a shower and got ready to go to the terminal with Jazmin since her school is close to there and I wanted someone to show me how it worked for the first time. I don't know if I've mentioned the buses from Suchi much but its the same kind of thing and its really quite entertaining. As a bus rolls buy or is stopping to turn around the guy hangs out the front door shouting where they are going like San Salvador San Salvador huey! But its usually really fast and hard to figure out what they are saying unless you are used to it. Like for example Alguilares sounds like Agilare! Algilare! With a hint of an s at the end. Anyways at the terminal you have all those people crowded into a small space so basically they are all shouting their bus and where its going so its quite funny to see everyone trying to get you to go on their bus.

I can't quite explain how they hang out the bus but they have a handle on the bus thats just for them to hang out and hang onto the bus by that handle so yeah its the norm here. They also shake their hand out the door sometimes when they are passing a group of ppl to see if they want this bus to stop. The guy who shouts is like the drivers helper cause he collects the money and tells him when to stop sometimes and this time he bought him food and stuff so I guess they work together most days. I think one day when I'm in Suchi I'm gonna ask the guy going to Alguilares if I can shout out his window when he turns the corner and stuff just to see what people will do when they see me (I think I'm pretty well known in Suchi by now) shouting Algilare Algilare!

Okay so now is the other fun part of the adventure the driving... It started with the Taxi which passed quite a lot of other cars on the way there and honestly they have no fear when it comes to passing cars its pretty crazy. The buses are exactly the same. At one point there was a a giante truck caring sugar cane going up a hill really slow. There were about 7 cars/trucks in between us and the truck but we tried to pass it anyways. We hit a stretch and we passed like 4 cars in one go and then barely made it back. Then we spent like 5 mins looking around the truck to see if there was room to pass. Oh btw the second car behind the truck was another bus going somewhere else but we were determined to pass two other cars, the bus and the truck. Well this is also where the bus driver helper came into play because when we were passing cars he would whistle at them to get over or let us come in if there was a car coming right for us (which there usually was). So one car finally passed the truck and then the other bus passed the truck and we were right on the buses tail so we passed him too. I felt bad because there was a small blue car in between the two buses while we were trying to pass the truck and we were probly 5 feet away from the car on average when we were trying to pass. One time we almost went for it but then backed off and almost hit the blue car on the side but we were like inches from him. Lets just say I will be happy to drive in California but I'm glad I'm not driving here haha. There was one time where we were super close to hitting cars and a few times we passed cars that went to the side a bit and on both sides we probly had about 6inches to 1foot of room on either side of our bus. Overall though it was a great adventure and I really like the buses. Its more of a fun experience than a scary one.

Sweet San Miguel Migration among other things

Today was the reunion with all the representatives of the communities... I was very pleased with myself

because I was able to communicate about a million times better than I could at the first reunion. I also liked this reunion because it was actually about me more than the other one was so I could actually help decided and give my opinion on the subject. The rest of the day turned out to be nice as well because I was actually able to skype with my parents which I didn't think I could do with just a USB internet card thing. I got to talk with them and they helped me figure out my life (which is very complicated at the moment with being in El Salvador and trying to get settled with college next year and applications for summer jobs and planning the summer when I get back home and talking about things I'm doing here that I need to communicate to the people in the US like about Salu Miel and hammocks and such. For instance the community in El Gigante has bee colonies where they make a ton of organic honey but they are looking for more people to buy it. They also have this product called salu miel (miel is honey) which is like a preventive suplement thing that keeps you healthy. I'm bad at explaining it but its pretty cool stuff. Anyways I'll make a separate post about that later.

As for now I would like to talk about the crazy (crazy isn't a strong enough word but I promised Oscar I wouldn't cus on my blog. Love you brother haha! ) day I've had today.

The bus adventure was like three stories in one and I'm sooooooooo thankful that I had someone with me to show me the way because I most definitely would have gotten lost. Anyways so the adventure started in Joquitique where we walked to the bus stop where there were also motor taxis which are like the cars that are in all the movies about india. They are little three wheeled electric ( I think) cars that are open on both sides and fit about two people in the back seat. We didn't ride those but I figured I should mention them... I got on the bus and the adventure began. First it was pretty normal except for it being super crowded as we got to San Francisco. There were candy salesmen and women with not just candy and pretty much anything you can think of to buy like watermelon, mango, cashews, and a bunch of other stuff that most of it I can't tell what it is half the time. Of course there are also drink vendors. They walk down the middle isle squeezing past everyone because everyone is pretty well packed into the bus around halfway there. Then about half way there a blind guy with a guitar comes on the bus and stands in the isle and plays a song and sings. This caught me completely by surprise cause I thought he was just getting on the bus to ride it. Well the first thought was why isn't anyone standing up for him to give him a seat... and then he started playing and I figured that out but most people didn't pay much attention to him. Some people gave him some money after he was done but not a whole lot and I think he got off in San Francisco but I can't remember. After that we went to a gas station and a person dressed as a clown came on the bus. He started to tell jokes and did a few tricks and all of it was just plain crazy idk how else to describe it. I've never seen anything like this on a bus ever in my life but I'm pretty sure this is a normal occurrence because many people seemed disinterested like they've seen this thing a million times. They were definitely not as surprised as me even though I didn't let it show. I'm kinda curious about my next bus adventure and if it will be as interesting as this was I'm guessing it could be but this was one of the more interesting buses to say the least.

Then we took two other buses to get to the house which is where I am now. The second one was playing a movie like Vampires suck or scary movie where they just make fun of a bunch of movies all at the same time. I caught some of it where they were making your mama jokes but other than that I didn't really want to pay attention to it. They had the guys from 300 in it and I think there was a plot but there never really is with those kinds of movies. Then we took a mini bus a few blocks where we walked to the house which was really close. The house is what I would expect a college house to be like I guess. I wasn't expecting it to be super clean or have tons of food so its pretty normal in my mind. I was surprised when I went to open a cabinet under the count and the whole door came off with it. I played it cool though and just put the door back in place before clelia came back into the room. Clelia was laughing and I think she might have been a bit embarrassed that my first bus experience was this crazy. I think she just wanted it to end and I know this isn't the first time this happened but I would like to ask how often people like this come on the bus. I've heard of joke tellers too which I think would be a pretty cool job but I'm very happy with my decision to go to college as well.

Well so the update for today is I couldn't go visit classes because its a private section of the university and they don't allow visitors. I also found out that if I could have visited classes all they are doing is taking finals haha so its not that exciting I guess. I did have a good time in San Migel though. I rested for the morning while everyone was at classes and played games and then in the afternoon when jazmin came back I took her out to lunch to talk about school and just get to know her better. We went to Pizza hut which has somehow miraculously turned into a sit down restaurant here in El Salvador. I didn't really care about the price cause I'm only in San Migel one day but I think the lunch was a little less than 20 dollars but totally worth it... don't get me wrong I'm really enjoying the traditional food here quite a lot but when I get a chance to eat something different when I know that for the next weeks I'll be eating the normal I think thats when you jump on that opportunity. We had lunch and had a really fun conversation about school, my life back home, differences, my spanish always seems to come up because I use spanglish words sometimes when I don't know the word and about half the time it works so its good to try but it leads to many good laughs. I've also gotten to the point where I can make jokes and be pretty much the same person I am in English as I am in Spanish which I really love.

I also forgot how nice it is to have a discussion with someone whos at the same point in life as you. Those two factors made my conversation with Yazmin that much more meaningful. I love to talk with Adults and kids but Adults sometimes don't know the technology or especially here they had such a different life with the war its hard to relate and with kids its hard to understand them sometimes and they aren't quite at my level of interests yet.

After lunch we wandered back and I had good conversations with Mercedes, Eric, Yazmin and Clelia about different topics like school, photos of me, their interests, what they think they'll do after college etc. I think I'll leave you all with the comment that is really hot here but I'm actually glad for a change in the weather although my sweatshirt will once again become my pillow for this leg of my journey.

-Secrest Afuera!

Tarde Testimonio

Well today was the day that we went to Honduras... It was very beautiful and the climate and trees reminded me of Yosemite in the highlands. It was quite chilly at times and I really quite enjoyed it. We went up to visit a friend of theirs where they had bought a small piece of property to make a casita for the summers just to come up for a weekend or something and to get away from life. We built a gate for the already made fence they had made on an earlier trip up here. We also finished the table they started the last time too. Overall it was a great experience and the culture of vacationing for Salvadorans is different than my family. They love to have food to eat. I think thats one of the main things with vacations for them. They bring tons of food and eat a lot and rest and talk and just descansar (rest/ sleep/watch the clouds, anything with not much movement involved.

We also went to visit this other community cooperative a little farther down the road in Honduras. We visited their office and dicussed the possible option of coming there on the trip. Its a very cool place and I wore my sweatshirt there in the mid afternoon (probly around 50/60 degrees). I made it pretty clear that I wasn't promising we would go there and that we already have a schedule and I don't know how much of it can be changed but I do like the place as a nice change of pace. The one thing is that from Joquitique its about an hour and a half drive on a dirt road so I'm pretty sure thats the deciding factor on that one but you never know I'll talk it over with Robert and show him my photos of the place. They have very nice places to stay but they aren't with the families (another minus in my book). Overall I really did like the place though and its a nice place to visit if you have the time.

Back on the subject of different vacations I found it odd that there was hardly any together time on this trip. The guys were together most of the time and the women were in the kitchen together but we didn't eat meals together entirely. I'm actually not sure when the women ate. I couldn't tell if it was after or before us but they were working and feeding us while we were eating which I'm not sure I like very much but its the culture and I'll swallow my American views on the subject for now. The trip up there was an hourish ride in the big four wheel vehicle that was very bumpy pretty much the whole time on a dirt, rock, gravel. It was an adventure. I was very happy with my decision to sit in the middle on the way back because my head didn't hit the side or the top of the car when we hit a bump which I rather liked. The scenary was very pretty and I enjoyed it all very much. I've found that Salvadorans are big on HOT food. Not Spicy hot but hot hot like totillas are only good when they are hot, beans (usually hot) , rice (hot), cheese (if it could be hot it would be), coffee (really hot). Cold Sandwiches and a hike for a vacation wouldn't fly with them I'm pretty sure. I've heard they all like to vacation next to water as well. I've never actually seen them go swimming much though so I can't understand why but thats what they love to do. They enjoy their vacationing and I have enjoyed it while I've been here as well so there are no complaints on this end. Simply trying to explain a different culture I'm learning.

Word of the Day: Cabal or Caval- just Central American apparently and its like exactly right or right on. Like when someone asks a question to clarify like “ soooo we are in Honduras now?” respuesta ( answer) -Caval hombre or just Caval. Tobogan- Slide Auacate (awa-cawte)- Avocado

Secrest Afuera!   

Hammocks!

I'm working on a plan for you people that will be coming on the trip. Elvias store has lovely hammocks and now is your and your friends opportunity to look and see what kind of hammock and esspecially what colors you want in your hammock if you want to buy one here. I will say that they are very comfortable and anyone you want I'm sure you'll be happy with.  I'm posting this from one right now!  

Okay well posting photos with this internet just plain doesn't work so if you are thinking you would like a hammock post a comment or let me know another way and we can work out costs and sizes.  The hammocks they make run from about 40- 100 dollars (I'm gonna get one that is about 45 and is small for my dorm) The price also depends on how many people are getting hammocks because of material cost etc  but they are very nice quality hammocks.  I will post pictures of them when I get the chance but I don't think I can with the internet that I have here. 

Siesta Synapse

 Okay well the next update on my life is that I've been having an amazing few days here at manelios. Its been extremely relaxing to be here in Joquitique an they are absolutely amazing with every detail. I sometimes wish they weren't as nice because I feel too much like a guest sometimes when they ask me what I want for dinner. They do like me and I'm going to try to help more once I find ways to help. I think today I'm going to try my hand at cooking a bit maybe making some totillas.

Yesterday we went on an excursion to San Francisco which was really cool to see the big city but I'm glad I live out here. Its much better to travel into the City than to live there. We went to the Supermarket which was a very small version of Safeway or whatever chain you have in your state. with a meat section and milk and other stuff in the isles. It didn't seem that much cheaper than the street venders which surprised me so the street venders must make not a whole lot of money from selling their stuff. Anyways we rode in the pickup again down and back which was really fun and I took pictures this time. We brought home a ton of groceries and fit them into our backpacks. The rest of the day we just relaxed... watched some TV talked. Cristobal (Manelio) showed me some pictures he had of the war and such. And we talked and got to know each other. Yoel and Edwin (Yoels husband) went out for hamburgers at this hotel and invited me along which was very nice of them. Edwin spent time in the LA for a while and so we talked about In-n-Out Burger some which was really fun. Elvia is going to teach me some cooking I hope today but its been fun getting to know all of them. Yoel is 8 months pregnant too so when the Trip comes the baby will be 3 months old at least thats what they said I didn't do the math but I think its more like 2 months anyways the point is that they will have a new Cristobal in the house.

This past day and a half have been really relaxing and energizing for me. In El Bario I was going to school everyday and doing a million things which I love too but I need a break sometimes to gather my thoughts. My plans for the next few days are: Tommorrow we are taking a trip to the Mountains around Honduras and such then on Sunday there is a meeting with all the members of the projects here. After that Barcelona plays Real Madrid at 1 and then I'm going to do something in the afternoon (haven't figured out what yet.) Monday I'm going to go with the students from here to San Miguel and visit classes. I'm going to stay the night at the student house and then the next day take the bus to Apulo where they can meet me and show me the different things I'll be doing where I'll be staying and such. I'll spend about a week in Apulo and then start my vacation adventure of about two weeks I think not sure yet. Then I'll come back for Semana Santa (Easter week) and hang out in Suchitoto and do various things like visit friends, meet new people. Live with my family in El Bario some, possibly go down to the lake with some of my students. Go to Alguilares and San Salvador one day and buy all the sports equipment I don't know I'll find something to do when school isn't in session.

My favorite words in Spanish: NOMBRE!- my translation of it is no hombre together kinda but it means like “no way” bastante (usually elongated) tons or a lot or more than enough suficente is enough. Burbuhas- bubbles just fun to say Que Barbaro! - Cool! Amazing! Interesting! Or how sad too sometimes. Que Chivo! Cool! Mostly just cool or Interesting.

SIDE NOTE. my family has decided that when Barbara comes here she needs to use the phrase Que Barbara! instead and my dad needs to use the phrase Que Barba!  

Short but Sweet

Well I'm going to try to keep my posts shorter but maybe more frequent.  There is just so much to say its had to keep it small but if I post more often I think they will be shorter.  I'm writing this while I'm waiting for the new clear lake high school website to load.... Oh don't you love internet from a USB drive thing.  

Well yesterday I traveled in a Pick up ( which they pronounce picka) so I kinda never made the connection but its a pickup that coved the back so that people can ride in it.  Its like a faster version than a bus but wow can it get crowded. Its quite a fun experience though I and it would have been better if I wasn't traveling with all my stuff which is a burden.  Anyways I arrived to Manelios (interesting story how he got that name btw) and just in perfect timing because it had started to sprinkle when we were walking and then when we got to the house and inside it started pouring like minute after we were inside.  The rain continued all afternoon and into the night which I actually really liked the sound of the rain.  We had a really nice dinner conversation about my summer job, University, LA, Surfing, Roller Coasters and other various topics.  It went on for a while after dinner and then we pretty much all just went to sleep.  Overall it was a good night because I practiced a lot of my spanish and learned a lot of new words like llena, cigara, ballena ( full, insect that makes noise, and whale).

Today I went to the store where Manelios wife works with her sisters in making many different objects like shirts and hammocks and jewelery and pretty much everything in between.  I had a good idea about having people on the trip who want to a certain type or size or colors in their hammock can let me know fairly soon and then they will get the materials and make it and you can buy it when you come to El Salvador!  Perfect right? well I'll explain more about my idea when I've taken pictures of the things they sell so you can see what I mean when I talk about different styles of hammocks.

Anyways thats it for now... need to do applications and stuff which isn't very fun but I need to start someday.
-Secrest Afuera

More pictures to finish EL GIGANTE!

The English and Language Teacher

Students chillin on the steps

The School

The Food Stand

The Soccer Field again

The View from the School

Pictures! (only my favorites cause there are tons)

Paraketo!

My room behind the yellow drape at chambas house

Our Bathroom! behind the black tarp thing

Road in El Gigante from Chambas house

Road to Quique's house in El Gigante

Their new Corn and Coffee Grinding Machine for the Cooperative!

Just thought it was cool and look at the pines in the backround!

AHHHHHHH More PINA (pine) Trees

Quiques house

Coffee! They let it sit in the sun for about 2 days and then grind it and then eat it!

Puppies!

She's my favorite

The Kitchen sweet wood stove right?

The Pila

Quique's Bathroom

My new FRIENDS!

The Hotel where I use internet

The soccer Field From the School which is on a hill

The infamous water Tank that leaks constantly not sure why..

Some Students in their natural Habitat. High school to be exact

Siesta Synapse

Okay wow.... Just finished another long application for scholarships to Guildford. I guess it only took me like an hour and a half which isn't bad. But now I'm gonna try to remember all the crazy events that happened yesterday

SIDE NOTE! I don't know whats been happening here but its been raining pretty much every day I've been here and it feels like winter. Its actually been getting pretty cold here too I wish I had my sleeping bag just to curl up with some nights but I'm not that cold so you don't have to worry about me (mom and possibly dora D dog but she worrys about everything)

Well the last two days I've spent here at Quique's ( I got someone to spell it for me haha) house which has been really nice. I enjoy their family and especially their dogs. They have two puppies which are really cute (I'll post more pictures soon don't worry)

These last few nights I've been teaching a small group of students English which has been really fun and hard at the same time because everybody in the group has different levels of English and some just don't want to talk much either because they have Pena. Rafael and his Family are actually very good at English and I can understand them and have a conversation with him and his son and daughter which is really good. Rafael's son Rafael actually has really goo questions and speaks really well but he doesn't want to speak a lot in front of me which I think he will get over sooner or later. I went to the school yesterday and talked with the English teacher and got some strategies for teaching English which helped me remember how I learned spanish and the different games we played and such so it was a good experience overall.

There were many more surprises at the bachillerato tambien (high school also). First surprise was their soccer field was actually quite nice and had stands for people to watch. The next surprise was I met a guy from Maryland there who was salvadoran and a senior at the high school there. They have three years there at the technical school ( I will explain later the differences) and he was in his third year. At first I didn't believe he was from the states because I thought he had just practiced English a lot like some students who talk to me but after speaking to him a while I realized that he really knew his stuff in English. He could have a really intelligent conversation and help me understand things about the school like the technical school and why he came back to El Salvador to visit his family and that he'd only been in El Salvador for 2 months and after he graduates he is gonna go back to the US because he is a US Citizen because his mom is (all very interesting stuff and I hope to visit him sometime maybe) He had great insight about differences in Culture and we both had a question about this water pump that constantly leaked about a gallon of water per minute but for some reason it didn't bother anyone else at the school haha. He's going back to the US after this year but if we visit the school while we are here in El Gigante we can meet everyone.

The difference between General and Technical is Technical has a third year of High School while General is just two years. Both can go onto University and you don't need different grades to get into either its just which ever you prefer which surprises me that the numbers are about equal 50/50 in General and Technical. I would expect that there would be more people in Technical school because its free education and people said its harder and you learn more there. In the third year they have a specilization within the technical school that means some can work in Secretary work (learning typing skills and such ) or general administration. The school is very organized here with a bell system and computers for the technical students to work on in the secretary position and computers to take apart and learn about. All was very interesting.

I visited classes, helped with English (they had a test to sing Yesterday by the Beatles which was pretty cool although songs usually don't have good grammer or make sense half the time haha so you have to be careful with which songs you pick. I also saw different classes like computers, talked with students about their education and plans for after high school, practiced some English with some, and just took in the experiene. I went back the next day to take pictures because I forgot the first day. I was very surprised to see the differences here at this school. There was a much more clear bell system but it still had differences that weren't the same as the schedule in the US (I'm not trying to compare everything to the US but just trying to give an explanation based on what you guys know about which is the US) . One thing that was extremely different at this school that I hardly ever saw in El Bario was relationships. There were a lot of people holding hands, holding each other etc. which is normal for a high school but I was just surprised because in El Bario it wasn't evident at all which is maybe just because people travel from a much farther distance in El Bario? I honestly can't explain the difference but thats what it was.

After that I came back to the Hotel to check my email which is when it started to rain. I forgot my plug and I was going to skype with my parents and the lady was very nice (like all salvadorans) and let me barrow her umbrella. I saw a few people from school waiting under cover for the rain to stop and I have yet to figure out how people here look so nice and clean when they don't have showers (just pilas usually) or use a cement toilet. Don't get me wrong I understand how you can look nice and have that too but its just surprising the different kinds of women you find here because they are in no way girly girls and they aren't scared of a lot which is really impressive. Its also really impressive that they walk on rocky unsteady roads in heels and tight jeans or skirts (and they walk 2 kilometers sometimes in heels is ridiculous! ) I guess it just goes to show you fashion is all over the world even when they have hardly and of the luxuries we have they still manage to have amazing looking women. Props to El Salvador!

To continue with my story I skyped with my parents and then talked with friends on facebook skype for a while. Then I went home after the rain had stopped and ate dinner and went to the bathroom where yep there were cockroaches on the toilet (lovely right?) well my host mother came and rattled a stick to shoe them away so then I went to the bathroom and when I got up they were back but it was an experience and I think this experience is helping me to not be surprised by anything which is a skill you need if you are going to be a peiatrician “what? A kid stuck a marble up his nose? And ate the Q from Scrabble? I've very sorry to hear that... how did you guys finish the scrabble game with out it? Did you win the game? … no yes I know I'll be over there in a bit but its not an emergency this happens all the time last week a kid swallowed the word BAD... yes I know fitting right? Too bad he couldn't swallow the word INDIGESTION but thats okay because it wouldn't have counted in Scrabble anyways cause its more than 7 letters...

Okay so now that the comedic relief has arrived or fallen flat whichever your opinion is, after my bathroom experience I went and had a nice conversation in English with Rafael and his son Rafael in English and some spanish but overall it was a good night.

Sucio- Dirty (laundry) marcador – score like the score of a game. Perrito- puppy!

Dirty Laundry

Well usually this is used as a phrase to mean something else but in this case its quite literal.  I hate it.  I don't know what it is but its worse than doing the dishes in my mind I just can't seem to make myself do it.  I'm sorry ladies but I might just have to find a wife that loves doing laundry.  I can cook and clean pretty well but Laundry is my kryptonite so you'll just have to live with that blog readers/ future wife.    Other than that my  trip is going pretty well.  I avoid doing laundry for as long as possible and then sometimes I get lucky and it magically gets done ( only happened once this trip and it wasn't exactly magic but still)
Well the other posts are more serious but I do wish laundry didn't exist.
-Nate

Siesta Synapse

 Wow today has been an interesting day. We had a meeting for the cooperative in El Gigante all morning and I survived about two hours of and the second hour I understood about 2 percent because I was just too tired to think and I was thinking about projects in the future and what I want to do in other communities and what I can do while I'm still here etc. I came up with a few projects in El Bario like I want to fix the basketball court and paint a court and fix the backboards too and maybe build a wall ball court if I get really ambitious. I also want to help teach typing because I have the skill and can teach it and its especially useful in this day and age. I also thought about going to visit the house of College students and staying for a night to see what they do and stuff. I met a few at the meeting (we started talking because we were all really hungry cause the meeting went on really long) I got in a really interesting conversation with a student who is studying to be an enfermera (nurse) and I asked about visiting classes with her since its on a subject that I like which I think would be much more interesting to listen to.

So after the meeting we had bread and coffee which was very nice. I also started to rain in the afternoon which is really odd and doesn't happen often but I mostly rested for the afternoon because it was raining. I don't know what happened but I was showing the kids my computer games and for some magical reason Monopoly worked for the first time on this computer and so I played it some and then it suddenly shut off and didn't give an error message when the kids had gone after a little while. So I relaxed for a bit and did that and then in the late afternoon I went out to use the internet at a nearby hotel which they let me do for free since its my computer but I bought a soda to be nice and cause I miss soda sometimes.

I was checking facebook when a lady I met in El Salvador had posted on my wall and asked if I was coming back to Suchi soon. We talked and I invited her to come to the school I will work at in El Bario. I then found out that she is getting married to the bar tender Jesus in Suchitoto in May and I'm invited to come. So.... I was pretty shocked by this and still couldn't understand how or when this happened but it did explain her profile picture I had been wondering about. So she and my friend Boris showed up on chat and we started talking about my trip to Guatemala (with Boris) and getting married and how it happened and what she is going to do ( with Angie). Apparently she is going to move to suchi in April so that makes it good because she will probly visit and maybe even help me in some of my projects at the school like help talk and teach the English teacher there and other things I can't just do all myself cause I don't have the time. So we talked until my computer was about to die and then I had to go but I'm excited about this new opportunity for her and what she will encounter. A small part of me wonders if she is rushing into this and things could happen when they move to the US but thats just from stories I've heard and every case is different.

Then I came back and had the most interesting meal I've had in my time here in El Salvador. I asked later about it and it turns out I was right... We had MAC AND CHEESE! Well it was spaghetti but still it tasted pretty much exactly the same although it was kinda weird at first cause I didn't believe what it was.

Then after that I went and gave an English lesson in the library with about 6 students including Rafael who is really good and I'd like to have an individual conversation with him more often because he can really speak well just his pronunciation needs some work but I can understand him fine. Many of the people hear are very good at English at least the group of them that were here tonight were very good. Some like usual didn't want to talk much but they were intelligent with their questions which was nice. I kinda felt like I was just saying things they already knew but I guess any review is good and we worked on pronunciation. Overall today was an amazing day and I hope that the rain stops so I can get out and explore more during the day. But! I did get to read some more of my Marla Ruzicka Book which was good for me since I'm horrible about starting to read. Its been raining a lot recently for Summer here so I don't know what it is. I think its me and where ever I go I just bring the rain to me.

Words: Bastante – a lot, tons, colmena- bee community thingy, lima- sharp (mas o menos) Por lo menos – At least, patita- the word you say when talking to the parrot and you put your finger out for it to stand on... “de vera” - really? Seriously? Cargar- to charge like charging a computer. Ratito- short time or short game. Raritito- even shorter game/ time.   

El Gigante (once again sick un poco)

Okay update number 2! (wow that could be horrible horrible pun) Anyways so I've decieded to play it safe today and not go to the University with Karla because this morning I started to feel sick and I really don't want to be on a Bus with some motion sickness and vomit on other people so I think its best if I stay here for the day. I don't know what I'll be doing because I haven't really thought that far yet I just know for now I want to test out my body before I put myself in a position of getting others sick or making them very uncomfortable. I don't really like to talk about it much so thats all you people are going to get on the subject.... Well today I have a few ideas about what I could do. Depending how sick I really am I might just stay in be and read, play Diablo II or sleep or I might get out and take some pictures of the community and practice English with one of the guys here who is actually really good and I can understand him. If I'm feeling up to it I'll probly walk over to the office and use internet to look up a few things and send emails and post this Blog! I slept okay but it was difficult because sleeping on one side made irritated both bee stings on my left side and then on my right I had some difficulty because I bruised that side of my hip in a soccer game in El Bario by boxing out a guy really hard to keep the pass going to my team. I'm proud of my box out though so I guess I'll just deal with the pain. Both really aren't bad its just when you put your body weight on top of them it makes it difficult to get to sleep.

Well thats it for now but I'm sure I'll keep you updated throughout the day since I have nothing all that important to do.

Middle of the day:  I can definitely feel that I'm not all perfect but its only gotten to the point of my stomach feeling a bit wierd nothing dramatic like throwing up yet.  My guess is its the cheese but I have honestly no clue.  Maybe the gods just didn't want me to go to University today with Karla ( I think thats the most probable)  Anyways I'm here at the cooperative writing some emails and feeling decent but not great.   The morning was fairly uneventful and the afternoon looks like it will be the same.  Nothing much to really talk about except that I'm okay and not dying. 

-Secrest Afuera

El Gigante Adventures

Okay well today has certainly been an interesting day that has just kept getting more and more crazy but I think its done being crazy for now since I'm home an writing but I think I have an English lesson later today so we'll see how that goes. At some point today I felt like a complete Gringo but there really are some things that are unavoidable and you need to learn the hard way.

Well today I woke up at 5 because Chamba said that we were going to start our day then. Well it didn't seem like anybody was up then so I just went back to bed cause it was still dark and set my alarm for half an hour later. Well half an hour later I heard people starting to get up but I didn't want to so I kinda slept in a little bit till 6 then I got up and they gave me coffee and bread and then I thought we were going to go do something but nothing really materialized an we were just waiting around till Breakfast around 8. I felt at home though because it was actually cold enough to be a little chilly in my jeans, and hoodie which felt sooooo nice (not the being cold part but you know being able to wear other things besides shorts and a tee shirt). Anyways we left after breakfast to go see the cooperative building office which was pretty nice. It was the other way from Perkin which was cool and way up the hill (like everything in Morezan it feels like). I looked around and eventually used a bit of internet there from their computer while Chamba was working on something. We left at like 930 and when we got back instantly started to get ready to go see the bees and crops so I was kinda surprised because for some reason they had a plan they didn't tell me exactly. So we drove to the “fika” or farm thing whatever its called and we toured around a bit. It took a really long time to drive there which I was surprised cause I didn't remember it being that long but it was like a good 20 mins in a car maybe 30. So then we did some bee stuff and I helped them carry stuff and then they said I was gonna go hang out with a friend of theirs while they did the bees which I tried to say I could help with the bees but I later found out that I'm very glad I didn't help because it was really hot in the middle of the day in a hot bee suit and on top of that the bees are angry haha.

So I went over to this guys little hut which was really nice. He had a hut with a hammock and a bed thing and it was quite cool when the breeze blew in which was nice. I laid in the hammock and I think dozed off for about an hour... Waking up early is hard and I don't get in those good long hours. Then we went on an adventure which chamba had mentioned a waterfall which I never actually saw one but I think it might have been because I fell asleep we kinda changed plans. Anyways we hiked up most of the way which really turned me around because we arrived back in El Gigante in like 45 mins which I was pretty sure that the drive was mostly uphill but somehow its uphill both ways. But we suddenly appeared back in the town and I was like wow that was short.

Oh the part that was interesting was they had warned me to be careful when they were doing the bees and not walk close to them but we had to walk kinda close in order to get to the road we needed to. So we were walking and these angry bees flying really fast buzzed into my hair so I tried to brush it away like you normally do with bees (Mistake! Because these are already angry bees and they call their friends). At one point I had like 4 bees in my hair and two buzzing around my arms but I only ended up with 2 stings ( I think maybe an extra on my head not sure). Soooo essentially I got lucky but it could have ended worse than it did. They stopped hurting now though so I'm fine. They just are kinda irritating when you get them. So yes when the people that warn you to be careful about bees are people that work with bees you should listen to them... although looking back it was mostly instinct that I swated at the first one and then it just progressed from there but I did pretty well considering. Oh and the friend that walked with me had a machette about half the size of his body (which isn't huge to start with but still) He was really cool actually and he sleeps up in his field at his little house to protect against lizard creatures that attack his crops (and I'm not making that up haha). He fought in the war and stuff but we didn't do a whole lot of talking because I was tired, had been stung, and most of all who wants to talk when you are hiking up a steep hill and are already out of breath to start with haha.

Yesterday was a fun day as well because it absolutely poured down rain in the night and I watched some soccer on tv which was fun and enjoyed the pouring down rain which I really love the sound of here even though when it pours this hard a few drops make it through the roof ( I don't know how and believe me I looked) They just got a new machine for grinding corn and coffee instead of using someone elses machine I think.

Words: Picar (sting) abeja (bee) Salu (see ya) desarrollar ( develop) vaya- command but also used in the form of (okay got it) va (also okay used the same as vaya) temprano – early tarde- afternoon or late Tomar- to take and to drink ( more to take and drinks kinda like to take a drink) Caer – instead of the “water is running” the “agua esta caendo (sp?)” 

Siesta Synapse

Okay well lets start off this writing adventure with a dream I just had today. I was dreaming that I was playing soccer with the kids in El Gigante (I think cause thats what I did with them last time I was here) then someone said we have to go and all stop playing cause its getting late. I asked what time it was and they said 10:50.... then I woke up and out of curiosity looked at my clock and it said 10:58.... That was pretty crazy that my body knew what time it was just from its body clock!

I guess I'll continue with what happened today and how I got to dreaming in a hammock. So the night before I stayed up way to late talking to my parents and friends on facebook and skype but it was worth it I think. Then today we got up at 4:35 am and left for San Martin with Robert driving. We got there and I got a snack and then switched cars cause I was riding with Nelson to Morezan. I tried to sleep in the car but the roads are really bumpy and there wasn't anything soft to put my head on but I succeeded a little bit at this task. I woke up some and talked with Nelson about a few things like the trip before, my trip now, what I might do while I'm in El Gigante etc.. I was pretty much half asleep the whole ride so it went pretty fast. Then we got there and I met my family that I was staying with (Chamba who I'm pretty sure is Salvador but not sure at the moment cause he hasn't come home yet but I'm pretty sure they are the same person. Well I had coffee and bread a bit and then laid in the hammock and fell asleep. I woke up a few times and moved but overall it was really comfortable. I talked with my family some over lunch and afterwards and I really like them they are nice people. After this I'm gonna go walk around the community a little bit and meet people. They remember Bren and I think some people remember me but I'm not sure.

Okay now to remember the crazy weekend and the few days before it. Well Friday I went to school and taught in the morning some but then I didn't have classes in the afternoon so I relaxed and helped Wicho with the Cows which was fun because I got to call them putas and throw sticks at their but to get them to move ( don't worry maggie I didn't throw the sticks hard) Then I mostly just relaxed and got ready for the next day by planning my biology lesson for the morning and packing my pack for tomorrow to go to my game in Suchi right after class. We also watched Megamind on my computer and Josa really liked it. I had already seen it so I kinda watched it and kinda prepared for my lesson...

Then the weekend got interesting on Saturday...

I got up went to my class and tried to teach Biology to high school students in another language. I struggled with it but I think that I actually taught them some about biology and I at least put the basics down so when they learn it in class it won't be totally new to them. I felt good because I got a few “oooooooohhhhh's” like oh now I get it... In class I taught about Evolution and Natural Selection and then about the cell and the different parts. Its hard enough to teach biology but then on top of that with another language... After the lesson my head wanted to Explode and I was extremely frustrated with myself and tired but I wasn't really mad cause I knew that it was a pretty impossible expectation of myself to be able to teach perfectly in another language.... Then I went to my Soccer game in Suchitoto which was fun and such a crazy experience in itself. I had told my team I didn't think I could make it but I made it there like 10 mins before the game so I suited up and started cause they needed players. I scored the first goal of the game pretty quickly actually off a rebound from the goalie. Then they scored and we scored to make it 2-1 and then they scored one before half to tie it. In the second half they scored three goals to make it 2-5 them and then with like 15 mins left we scored one to start our streak. In the last 15 mins we tied it and scored another to go up 6-5 which is how we won very dramatically. I had a great time and then hung out with my team after the game some until heading back over to the center or something ( I acutally don't remember what I did but I kinda just wondered around for a bit and then headed back on the bus and relaxed.) Then I went to buy stuff for my family before taking the bus home where I met a student on the bus and talked with her about what she did and other stuff. I invited her to an english lesson which she wanted to come to but she couldn't I think for some reason. But she is a good student and really wants to learn. She is in 8^th grade and pretty tall so she might be much older than an actual 8^th grader but I've given up trying to guess because I really can't tell. Then I went to my house and waited for students who never showed up for the english lesson so that was kinda disappointing but I've decided to change my system of either going to their house or having class at the school because them coming to me just doesn't happen so idk.

Sunday was fun as well because I was already kinda sore from my game on saturday and then relaxed in the morning and did some scholarship and other stuff. Then in the afternoon I went and played for the El Bario team where I played with the second team and scored the first goal in that game as well kinda on the same kind of thing cause someone shot it and hit the post and it came to me and I kicked it past the goalie. They were all really impressed with my Flip Throw-in there and many commented on it. It was a great soccer debut for me cause I scored, played well other times despite some miscommunications and I showed off my flip throw in that actually went decently far for not having practiced recently. All of El Barios teams won which was good to see but I had to take off kinda early cause I had to catch the bus to Suchitoto because I had promised I would play basketball with Carlos on Sunday at 5 so I got there like 515 and nobody was there so then I went to go find Boris but Boris wasn't back yet from his 7 waterfall hike and so I went back and Carlos was there but his friends canceled so it was just him and me so we played two games of one on one and he only dribbles with one hand so I let up some and it was pretty close but I won both times. After that we went out for papusas and talked which was fun to get to know him more. We talked about basketball and stuff and he follows the NBA which is really cool so when I get back to Suchitoto he invited me to watch the NBA Finals with him so I'm excited for that. Apparently Argentina changes all the ESPN stuff into Spanish so they get cable from there.

After Dinner I went to check out the new Danish pad where they have two pools and its pretty much amazing (it used to be a hotel)  So yeah hung out with them skyped my parents and talked with others that I miss very much and had an overall great night. I miss my family in El Bario already.  Not that I don't love this family too but I miss chickens laying eggs in my room. However I don't miss stepping in chicken poo but thats a small price to pay.   

I was extremely tired Monday when I went to school early in the morning but I managed to get through the day and my PE classes have become pretty self sufficient (I love it when that happens) like they can lead the streches themselves and form lines faster and not fight as much its just overall improvement in two weeks.  I said good by to my students and said I would return in April probly after Semana Santa (Easter week).   I had another english lesson on tuesday and in the afternoon I adventured to a community outside of El Bario on the dirt road from El Bario.   

This was an adventure of a lifetime. So I borrowed my host brothers bike and set off and got there actually early so I continued on to find my students house instead of finding where we were going to meet. We met up and then walked between fields on this path that we moved two barbed wire fences to get through.  We got to this amazing view of a lake where we just sat for a while and talked practiced some english but spoke a lot of spanish too cause her friends were there and I wanted to ask some questions about culture and life.  We then eventually walked back to where we left our bikes at her house and my back tire was flat so we pumped it up and then I took off down the big hill.  the big hill was fine except that I don't have brakes on the bike I borrowed so I used my shoe (lesson to those of you who don't have breaks use your shoe!)   Well now that I looked at my shoe today it wore through quite a lot you can see where the shoe hit the tire I'll take a picture of it and post them later.  Speaking of which I have many more pictures to post including some of my students and some of my favorite english class (9th graders).  Anyways so I made it down the hill fine and I actually didn't have to break a whole lot I just let momentum take me.  I was doing fine and I noticed the tire in the back was flat again even though I just pumped it up but I was close to home so I continued. A little while after that I was peddling an the tire just stopped rotating and skidded  so I got off and looked what happened and the inner tube had popped, ripped, came out of the tire and wrapped around the axel of the tire so a man with a machette came and helped me cut the inner tube off so I could roll it home and I felt bad so I left a little money to pay for it cause its wasn't my bike.. Then I took off for Suchi where I met up with my centro de arte friends where we went to a place where they have movie nights tuesdays and serve hot dogs! I got two cause I was starving and they were soo amazing....  we watched convicted in English with Spanish subtitles which was really good.  Then I came back to roberts and stayed up way to late skyping people and thats the update full circle I guess....

Before I forget I'm going to write a bit about my experience here in El Gigante. I'm staying at Salvador's (Chamba's) house and its quite nice. They have a big area and I really haven't hung out a lot in the other parts of the house but I'm getting around to that. My computer says there is internet but I asked their kid and they say they don't have it. I'll try to get to the bottom of it later but I don't really want to ask at the moment. They have a parquet which is really cute and other houses have really nice dogs. They are dogs that I can play with and bet to which is awesome! I was a little disappointed that for some reason they never finished the septic tank in El Gigante and so the digging we did didn't end up creating a toilet for us to puke in the next time. He explained a little bit about what happened that it was leaking or something...I didn't catch all of what he said cause they mumble here so sometimes I try to repeat it to make sure I got what they said right before I answer which can be a bit confusing sometimes. My family is really nice... we have chamba his wife, and two kids Karla who is in University and I'm going to go with her on Friday so that will be fun. I'm not quite sure what they do here because its such a small community but people go off and work but they haven't told me what exactly they are doing haha. Tommorrow I'm going to go work with the bees so thats gonna be an adventure. Oh and they have a boy who is in 3^rd grade here that I've been talking to a bit. I'm going to see the macadamia nut trees and in the afternoon tomorrow I'm gonna lead like an English practice session for a few people here so that will be nice. I feel like its a very self suficient community here and they don't exactly need much help other than what they got from the bee's and trees and scholarships so I don't know what to do with helping here all the time.

Questions about my travels? anything in specific you would like me to write about? A lot I don't write about cause I'm just used to it by now too haha.  

School and El Bario

 So these last few days have been eventful.... To start there hasn't been any running water for the past two days so we've been using water we had in our pila which is almost out. They said yesterday that it would be working in the afternoon or if not it would for sure be working this afternoon but so far niether is true. I do trust that they are working as hard as they can to fix it though so I'm not worried. I'm not that worried about water either its just been an interesting few days and its actually lessened my work load because we can't have pe in the mid morning cause its too hot and afterwards kids will want water which there isn't any...

School has been an interesting adventure as well actually. All the kids seem to love me ( who wouldn't -Arogant Nate) I don't quite know where to start because I think that all the high school kids are really cool and nice but its hard to make friends with them cause I'm their teacher too. The style of learning is much more different as well. There is much less structure and homework and I personally feel that there its much harder to learn in this environment here because you really have to put in extra time outside of class without a textbook and practice what you wrote down in your notebook and in class its difficult as well because esspecially in high school (like most highschools I guess) there are those few in the back of the class that don't want to learn and never do their homework and disrupt others from learning. In the past two days of English the teacher wasnt there. She came today and was helpful as well but she also had to do paperwork so I ended up teaching the middle class of 8^th Graders. There is really a lot to say about English these past few days and this whole week actually so I think I'll make a list:

-It feels weird to correct the English teacher during class but I've had to a few times because for instance when we were teaching today we were starting with our first year students and talking about the verb to be. And when she was sayin the phrase in english she wasn't using a or the so I said something. Nobody noticed cause they were all confused themselves but it felt weird idk. I kinda feel like I'm taking her job which I don't want to make her feel like that.

-I really love my students that are taking the morning classes because they know soooo much more in just a week and they have started to talk with me and practice speaking which is the most important. There are a good number of very promising students in both 8^th and 9^th Grade which I'm really excited about. There are some good ones in 11^th too but they are almost done so I don't have much time with them and nobody in highschool wants to practice with me in English which kinda sucks but I know they are busy cause they have classes all day instead of just in the afternoons.

-I've also started speaking with 9^th grade students in the afternoons during recess which I like cause its just a bit of practice but it really helps to reinforce it. I also get to ask questions about culture and what they do during the day and stuff so I'm learning family dynamics which is pretty cool. I really want to push this one student to convince her dad to have her continue on and go to high school because I think she has that drive to really do well and finish school and do well in the world and not just cook and clean and work at the house (yes thats just what they do here I've learned to accept it)

-The high school students gave Dialoges and I literally had to sit up in the first seat and lean over my desk to hear what they were saying. It was partly because we had the kids in the back who were talking some and mostly because everyone spoke really quitely and some of them made absolutely no sense and I had to ask what they were trying to say after wards.

• Homework: I'm really confused about homework because I've been giving it out to most classes that I teach and the only class that has done their homework has been 9^th grade. The trouble is that I've never seen homework that has to be turned in like stuff that I would grade. Infact I've never actually seen the english teacher pull out a gradebook the entire time I've been working with her. I think I will ask how this system works because as of now with the grading system we have now nobody volunteers for exercises and examples and we are at a stand still because we can stand up at the board and talk and talk all we want but if they don't put some effort in they aren't going to learn. I'm thinking of a system I would like to implement like Daves card system where everybody writes a card with their name on it and I go through and call people out for different problems.

-Its sometimes a bit difficult without textbooks. Honestly I think that is one of the main disadvantages because it wastes class time when we have to wait for them to copy down whats on the board and we can't just say look at your book and do this exercise we have to write it down on the board and then have them copy it etc and then start the exercise.

-I haven't started the candy system because I don't know how I want to implement it. If I do a ticket system I have to make up the tickets and supplys are pretty low here.

-Essentially I think the things that are holding back the students from learning is A: lack of incentive because from my view grades either don't matter or she gives easy grades and doesn't grade all the homework because she doesn't have time for that. B: There aren't any books to assign homework from or for kids to study with at home C: Many have given up and don't even try to do their homework ( I'm pretty sure this is also related to lack of a grading system and structure.

Overall, I love the school but its nothing like school in the US which I really shouldn't be comparing it to that but I want this school to be the best it possibly can. I'm excited though because it means that there is lots of work to be done and I have been creating a list of things I want to do when I return. Its different because the bell system an the recess kinda changes daily. I have a schedule but I can usually assume that it will be changed most days for example not all the kids can have an eating recess at the same time cause there is only one snack bar so they tend to stagger them and don't tell me which ones will stagger which days so I sometimes just don't have that PE class in the afternoon. Honestly I should have talked with every teacher individually and said I'm planning to take your kids for PE at this time today but I haven't been doing that well recently. Recess also seems to continue on for extra time everyday as well cause its not a mechanical bell system and sometimes there really isn't a bell at all.

With PE I've been doing great and teaching new games that the kids have loved recently. I taught them sharks and minnows on land and spud (papas) elbow tag (didn't go well with the little kids) relay races and futbol too. I also started with some basketball but I need to find a pump. Honestly I've been kinda lazy with my volunteering here just because I know I'm only here for two weeks so I've been making a mental list of things I want to do when I come back to make my classes and the school better but I haven't done them all now although I really should find a pump to start teaching basketball and be able to do a station thing with frisbee, soccer and basketball. I can't figure out how to get girls to stay with me or for that matter I can't figure out how to get some kids to participate at all some days. I try to make it fun but honestly its extremely frustrating because I can't quite articulate myself they way I would like to and some of the kids (especially 2^nd grade just start fighting no matter what and I honestly feel bad for the teacher because I've yet to find a way of stopping it. I've taught them a freeze which helps a bit and I've talked to them many times saying that we won't play soccer if it continues but I don't know a good way of punishing them that won't make them get mad at the one kid who started the last fight. I kinda snapped today when the other team won at a game of soccer. I wasn't mad at first cause we were winning and then it started to get out of hand with kids playing unfairly but I kinda let it happen which was a mistake and I tried to make it fair by playing better myself which eventually backfired because they tied it up on a questionable goal and then in the last minute scored to make it 2 to one. This wouldn't have been bad except that this group A: always fights and yells at eachother and B:once they one they started chanting we won we won we won. I was soo mad that I tried to explain to them that is wasn't nice but I couldn't articulate well and eventually I just gave up. I need a way of punishing students or threatening students because to be honest I really can't figure out a way to teach these kids how to play fairly and how to be good sports and be kind to others. They have grown up all their lives with it and honestly they need it to change but just positive encouragement isn't going to change their behavior because its already been trained into them to antagonize each other. To be honest just writing about this makes me frustrated and disappointed because I can't seem to get through to these kids. Especially running an entire class of PE when I don't know names and I have to keep everyone in order and keep people playing its pretty much impossible to teach the kids that need the most help how to be good sports. Its like English I can talk up at the board all I want but its not going to help everyone. I worked with this girl today in 7^th grade that after 3 times and me helping her word by word how to write I am tall. We are beautiful. They are happy she couldn't come up with an example of her own when I told her what pronoun to use like we or he or she.

Thats all I have for now because I'm tired and I think that I've been typing a lot (wow I'm on Page three) especially about school but it was important to get it all out there because there are lots of things I need to do and figure out at the school if I'm going to help to the best of my abilities.

I'm Superhuman! (or at least Salvadoran) *knock on wood*

Well its been around a month and two weeks almost and I have yet to get sick here! I'm pretty excited about it since I've heard most of my friends say they got sick but you will all be glad to know that I've been doing well and haven't been physically sick.  Its debatable if I'm mentally stable... but I'd like to think that its either the sun or I was like this this crazy and hilarious before I came to El Salvador (Thanks mom and dad... look what you've created.)