This week

(If you already read this in an email, feel free to disregard)

Monday--researched microfinance in the cibercafe...ate at our favorite little pupuseria (la pupuseria paciencia--and it is called that because it takes FOREVER sometimes. but if I were to do an ad campaign for them, their slogan would definitely be (worth the wait).

Tuesday--Mother's Day in El Salvador. So naturally we went to Hiper Paiz (i.e. Walmart's name in El Salvador). I know, I know. But I was looking for PowerBars and sports bras. And then I remembered that women in El Salvador don't really go to the gym...oh well. We got flowers for our cook, Estela, and the boys sang her a mother's day song in Spanish.

Wednesday--Spent the whole day with an organization called FUDEM, doing preliminary eye screenings for kids at a school in Ahuachapan. And when I say the whole day I mean, of course, that we took a 3 hour break to go to the beach..in our clothes..and mosy around until we went back to the school at 1. Gotta love it. Tony and Andrea were the FUDEM employees we went with and they were great.

Thursday--We went to an organization called CIPI, which is like a transitional school for girls that have been abused or have had pretty rough circumstances so far. It was really fun to get to know the girls and see the school that they live and study at. They are all so fun and just seem like normal girls, so it will be really interesting to get to know them better and work with them this summer.

Friday--Visited an NGO called ASEI that works with microfinance and ate at a fabulous little place called Cafe con Sazon. I got this chicken filled with cheese (think cordon bleu) with rice and tortillas. YUM.

Lessons I've learned so far--
You need two free hands to ride the bus.
Coke can kill anything that might make you sick.
Pupusas are way more filling than you would expect.
Don't tell BYU, but...living with boys can be pretty entertaining...especially when one of them brings his own shower in a bag...and decides to shower but also contribute to the meeting in the living room by yelling across the house. Oh brother. (he kept it decent, no worries).
I eat way more yogurt than I realized (we didn't get a fridge until yesterday and I about died from withdrawals of all things cold and refreshing)
Bags of water for 10 cents...interesting.
My hair is about 2.3 times curlier here. Cool.
Doing all your laundry by hand is pretty satisfying.
I've definitely caught the travel bug. and the packing light when you travel bug. I'm very proud to say that of all the people in our house, I may have packed the least.

Okay...and the important stuff I'm learning--
Life is so much slower here, and I really love it. Everything I'm doing is so focused and I love not having the distractions of cell phones and constant gmail updates.
I really really care about people. I think they are so fascinating.
Spanish is harder than I expected..but I'm getting there. My progress is what I make it though.

I already feel at home, and that just makes everything better.

The first 24 hours

I can't believe it has only been 24 hours since we landed in El Salvador last night.

A few updates-
-The food here is incredible. The only problem is that they give us SO much of it. I feel bad leaving -anything on my plate, so I'm trying to stuff as much as possible. It's so delicious though. (chile rellenos, the most amazing rice, and all sorts of baked treats)
-The traffic is pretty crazy..but we're learning the bus system and looking both ways.
-I took lots of pictures, but I haven't had a chance to download them from my camera yet. But be excited.
-Today, the driver of the microbus we took to the Habitat site was playing a CD full of classic 80s love songs. It was fantastic.

I'm realizing how much Spanish I can't actually understand. I can understand the other members of my group when they speak Spanish, but when locals talk to me...sometimes I end up just smiling and laughing. But I'm learning.

The house we are renting is really nice. It has a spectacular view and a sunrise that I woke up to at approximately 4am.

We spent most of the day today working with Habitat for Humanity (something I've always wanted to do), and it was so satisfying to do some serious hard labor. The area we went to is called Ahuachapan and it is beautiful (it's in the country and I was reminded a lot of Oregon on the drive out there. It's really green and full of trees).

I'll write more about today when I'm able to add pictures.

I think I must have some natural ability to feel at home most anywhere I go, and for that I am very grateful. I don't quite have my bearings yet, but I will soon, I'm sure.

I'm going to stop by SuperSelectos (the grocery store--yesterday, I bought a mango, banana, water bottle and some pan for 97 cents. yessss.) and then head home to wash off the dirt and grime.

Tomorrow--Eye Camp initiation training, and meetings about teaching English classes. Can't wait.