Post-JD...for reals yo.

Life in El Sal can seem a bit unrealistic at times. I spend between $1.20 and $2.00 everyday on lunch. Everyday I get the same thing. Rice, Avocado, and Tortilla + coca lite. The mood of the lady who checks me out determines the cost. I think it is because I get such an abstract order that she cant remember how much everything costs! For breakfast I spend $.40 on a cafe sin leche. For breakfast...nothing. For Dinner...typically pasta with olive oil. Total for the day....I'd definitely say less than $5.00. But this is a fantasy world and when I get home my true POST-JD life will be waiting for me. When I come home for instance I will have to find a home to rent. A single girl and all I want is a nice home with a backyard to plant some flowers in where my kitties can roam around....price=650/mo+bills (or more). Price of cats....$40/mo (if not more and if I starve the poor babies). Then I have to pay car insurance....never paid that before so I have no clue...50/mo? Cellphone bill=40/mo. Student loans.....no comment....no idea (cant afford em). Health insurance, 90/mo. car lease....no clue haven't bought the car yet (too much). Barbri=too expensive...probably in the thousands. Gasoline=100/mo? Food=starving. Clothes=stealing. Life=over.

This is very dramatic. I haven't been stressed since May. No joke. Not a single bit of stress in my life since May. I am happy and El Sal is proving a stress free life. Maybe I will stay. The real world seems too scary.

Honest: I'm freaking out.

A few pictures.

Hey guys. I wanted to show you a few pictures of my past two weekends. Last weekend we went to Antigua and this weekend we hiked a volcano. Hope you enjoy!

The most beautiful restaurant I have ever seen. The food was amazing.

The crew. 3 interns, 5 marines and a security guard with a machete...

The lovely ladies and I visiting an old church. The little old man who followed us around and charged us without our consent strategically placed us in these positions on the columns. A job well done little mayan man.

I dealt with it.

I would never say I conquered this beast. Rather, I dealt with it. Last week the Marines and interns talked about climbing the Volcano. A tourist attraction in El Sal that is a must. Prior to heading out I heard that these things are easy-breezy. The car takes you all the way up. You climb 20 stairs. You are there. It is beautiful.

Think again. Volcano Izalco is nothing like that.

The guide starts by asking if we all have water, food, and if we have health problems. After some convincing, I got a bottle of water. No food. And we were on our way. After taking 1,300 steps down through the jungle, we arrived at the base of the volcano. Now at this point I would ask my readers to take another look at the picture above. Steep slopes. Covered in sand and loose boulders. FUN! I made it almost all of the way up and I started to shake. I was getting dizzy and achy. The armed guard, Jorge, told me that it was only 5 minutes to the top. I stood up. Looked up. Sat down and let the others go without me. Literally if I wobbled even slightly I think I would have slid down the Volcano and died.

So I practiced my spanish with Jorge for a bit and then the others met me where they had left me only 20 minutes before. Down we go. Slipping and sliding we went and finally made it to the bottom. Exhausted. We had around 3 people down at that point with the shakes, hunger, and in desperate need of water. Oh no. 1.5 hrs to go up 1,300 stairs. I think the stairs were the worst part of the trip looking back.

Either way, it was worth it. But, I would never say that I conquered Izalco. And guess what, I DONT CARE! Maybe that is a metaphor for life.....Think about it.

Peace homies!

Latin Women

When I was in undergrad I took many classes on religion. One of the most interesting topics I encountered was the one of reincarnation. A man walks through a desert, trying to find his path to his next life. And elders guide him along the way. Even more intriguing is the concept that we take away bits and pieces from all of our past lives with us and they help to shape us in our new life.

So, I have decided in my past I was a latin woman. Everyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I am a bit of a princess. Without even realizing it I tend to be, how do you say..."needy". (added diplomatic emphasis). The culture of latin women is just like that. "Needy". A latin woman has never touched a dish. This amazes me. The maid only comes on Tuesday and Friday. Latin families eat 7 days a week. But the dishes will NEVER be touched by a latin woman. They will stay in the sink, smelling up the house with flies circling until Friday. No question. Latin woman don't do the laundry. Latin women don't take out the trash. Latin women don't cook their own meals. I am surprised latin women have the energy to even turn on the TV.

In a society that is seemingly impoverished, a maid will be paid $150.00/mo. and the average person only makes $78.00 every 2 weeks. I mean you can do the math. It doesn't leave much else in the bank. But it doesn't matter. Latin women don't do the dishes.

Now hopefully those of you who read this blog (my family) wont be offended or take this the wrong way. I am speaking generally of the latin culture that I know and live in. Maybe south of Panama this isn't the case. And quite honestly when I was in Guate I took some pictures of women doing the wash in a huge cistern-like area in the middle of the city. Who knows if those were maids or not. Hell, maybe N,S,E,W of El Salvador this isn't the case. You get my drift. El Salvadoran women don't do the dishes.

So..In my past life I believe I was an El Salvadoran woman. And if not, in my next life I want to be one.

What I can't wait for.

Lately I have been thinking about when I finally get a house of my own. I am so excited to hopefully get a backyard and a living room and bedroom to decorate!! Which is why I have been loving my design blogs. Let me show you what my future house will look like...

the fusion of these two concepts will make the backyard an incredible place to entertain or cozy up with a kitty.

No fusion necessary there isn't a more perfect bathroom.

go figure.....i like cats.

The perfect spot for plate of Nick's hummus, toasted pita and fresh green peppers.

I WILL have this someday. Watch me.

A lovely place to dream.

Here is my house. I can't wait for it. Now all I need is some $.

Feels like home.

Each and every day I am in El Sal I fall in love with it a little bit more. This weekend I experienced the beach. Black sand, 14 ft. waves, cuts and bruises, hammocks, and sun. I don't think it gets much better.

With some ladies and the motor pool we embarked on our journey at 9:45 a.m. Along the road to Costa del Sol were the most amazing sights. We saw a cow tied up to a fence post like a dog, naked children, women with pots atop their heads, a car vertical in a ditch, laundry day in the creek, horses eating grass, chickens, men selling fish, and women selling tortillas. It was incredible. I couldn't help but smile and think to myself how much I love it here.

When we arrived at Club Salvadoreno we were given our "bungalow" number (21). Two hammocks and a picnic table overlooking the crashing waves, black sand, and sun filled sky. And so we went....fearless into the ocean. I must first say that this is the surfing capital of the americas and possibly the whole world. But we didn't care. We went for it. An 8 ft. wave later, we were down. Thirty seconds in the water and we were hit head on by a giant wave. With no where to go we scattered. I stood the longest (which probably why I bled the most). A few seconds of confusion and embarrassment later got up blood streaming down our legs and feet.

We walked to a sandy part of the beach across rocks and sticks with our bloody feet and pain. High tide and all the sandy part was full of water so we climbed on top of a rock and sat and enjoyed the sun and secretly tried to slow our heartbeats. Another trek across the rocks and we made it back to our bungalow. Next step....lunch and the pool. No more ocean for us thank you.

Around 4 o'clock when we decided to go home the tide had receded and the beautiful, walkable beach was exposed. Too late. We already had motor pool on its way. Maybe next time we will take our lessons learned and wait until low tide to adventure into the water.

Spenglench

I often find myself clenching my jaw by the end of the day. Conducting work in a language that is foreign is very difficult. I take the shuttle to work at 7:15 a.m. everyday and the spanish begins. It is a great language I have decided. Unfortunately, I know none of it. Everyday I order Solo Arroz y cafe sin leche. I commonly respond to questions with si o no se. My favorite response is "I don't understand you" and then I proceed to look around for someone who will translate only to find that they repeat the atrocity slower and even more complicated than the first time. Add on embarrassment and you have a recipe for my job, 8-5.

It isn't as bad as I make it sound. Those who know me would probably agree that I like to exaggerate. I do operate under a lot of confusion though and my days usually end with a migraine. A guy came into my office today while making his rounds saying hello to everyone and I had just come back from a meeting conducted entirely in spanish (as they always are). I kindly apologized for not being able to get ANYTHING out and expressed that I had a lobotomy and was still experiencing brain trauma. He kindly left my childlike brain and I alone in my office. Only to later return that afternoon to ask if I was okay and if I could speak yet. To which, I responded with Oui.

Why am I so confused? On a daily basis I am speaking Spenglench (i made it up) and no one understands me. And I am taking an advanced spanish class because no one will let an intern take spanish here. Dios!!!! Ayuda!!! Por Favor!!!