20

it rained today. for the first time in months. i danced in it. wondered at it. wouldn't leave it's side, afraid it would abandone me. and then it did. but it left behind a memory of it's pending return, true as the dusk breaks. until it does, im like it's faithful pet, sitting in the window, waiting for my master to come home.

19

it's 8pm. a beautiful hour. it's dark, but the town is playful.
I’m sweeping my house. I open the door to dispose of the dust, and there, sitting on top of his own mountain of sand, is a five year old boy. he's smiling, like he's expecting me. and he probably is, or at least hoping. he's been playing outside of my house more and more. we've spoken a few times already, to my enjoyment. and his. he asks the best questions. tonight, he asks me: "do you understand Spanish?" now, anyone that knows me knows that i live to say sarcastic shit. but it's different when a 5 year old kid is asking the questions.
"yes, i do understand spanish, and English too!" He is very impressed. He thinks of a very important question- i can tell by the serious look that appears on his face.
"How do you say 'Jose' in English?"
I tell him: "well, it's Joe."
He's confused: "I don’t understand."
I Sympathize: "me neither."
The next question takes me by surprise: "is your dad alive?"
"yes."
"when he dies, will they bury him?" I'm pretty sure that dad wants the alternative, but i don’t want to get into that.
"Yes. when my dad dies, they will bury him."
"In El Salvador?"
“No, he's never been here. He lives in the united states, where I’m from. we'll bury him there."
He asks me more fantastic questions for about 10 minutes. I’m sitting in my doorway, bathed in the light coming from inside the house. he's sitting in the same spot, playing in the sand, without a worry in the world. He confirms several times that i speak english, and spanish, and then i ask him some questions.
"Where do you live?" It's now going on 830, and this kid is out a night, unsupervised (I’m secretly jealous).
"Down in the colonia" (a few blocks away).
"Are your parents alive?"
"Yes. They live in San Salvador" (which explains the solo missions to the gringo's house?).
"How many brothers do you have?"
"Eight."
By coincidence, one of them walks by, and the little boy, smiling, joins him as they walk into the darkness, leaving me feeling kind of abandoned.
But i stand up, brush myself off, smile at the night, and decide it's good to be alive.

18

what a game.
i'll get to that.
i was out late on friday, and only slept for a few hours. Yesterday morning, after getting up and eating, i put myself back to bed. but couldn't sleep. i read. and listened to music. but my mind raced. and i felt good. so i got up. i did pushups and sit-ups. and cleaned. and then she called. she was headed to san salvador too. with a friend. she told me, no quieres ir con nosotros? of coarse i did, i said, and so met them at her place and we took off for the capital. after living here a year, i have become more than used to the realities of Salvadoran public transportation. but i still marvel. hot buses, packed with people. and no one gets pissed. this would never fly in the states. people push past each other and do other things that would cause a fucking riot among americans. but here, no one is bothered. it's amazing. it has had a very positive effect on me. so, the three of us pile onto a bus, and find three seats, two together and the other across the isle. it's a 90 minute ride, and the open windows allow a nice breeze. but an hour into the trip, we stop. there's been an accident. an 18 wheeler has flipped over, and traffic has been stopped. we don't know this yet, the cause of the accident, and really only care that we're not moving and suffering in the heat. but we pass the time. I’m secretly pleased to have an excuse to sit co close to her. And for so long. I show the two girls my ipod, and pick out a playlist for them to listen to. we tell jokes. Talk about love. It’s nice. She’s holding my hand.

we get to san salvador, and i tell her something in english that i know she wont understand, because im shy, and tell them both goodbye. i walk to my hotel, picking up speed as i approach. there, my friends await. i stumble into the room and demand beer. inside my best friends enjoy air conditioning a sports on television. but there needs to be mayhem. so i start yelling at everyone. we drink beer and insult each other for 30 minutes, and then pile into a cab. our destination is the stadium, the objective to survive a soccer match between team USA and el sal. it's my second time to the stadium, so im prepared for the madness. we find a group of friends drinking beer outside. hugs and high-fives are exchanged. we buy el salvador tee shirts and i begin yelling things like Los Pinche Gringos VAN A PERDER! Which everyone loves. More friends and more madness inside. i haven't seen some of these people in a while, and im already in a good mood. we chat, and enjoy the filling of the stadium. Team El Salvador enters the field, and we cheer. Team USA enters and we boo and whistle. i let loose another vulgar insult. the people around us love it that we're whiter than christmas and cheering for el salvador. this is reinforced by a goal scored by el salvador. and another. but then the crowd grows bitter: the gringos score 2 goals in the final minutes to tie the game. the good news is: a tie still pacifies the crowd, and we are allowed to leave the stadium with out lives.
i took a lot of pictures. great pictures. but also consumed a lot of beer. and put my camera down somewhere, or had it taken out of my pockets. i know. i really enjoyed posting those pictures. and i've made a promise to post something everyday for a year. so, my words will have to do. i'll try to mix it up.

sunday evening. always pleasant. yesterday's game will give me great conversations for the next week. i need to plan tomorrow's english class, and possibly write a letter. to her. in spanish. i've never done that before. wish me luck.

16 & 17

Last night was kind of a kick in the ass. My friday nights are a little tamer than they used to be. Boozing with my buddies back home has been replaced with more nights sitting in my hammock. and you know what, it's kind of a nice, needed change.
And by that i mean sometimes i'm bored to fucking death.
But not last night. Last night, i sipped wine and ate delicious, little appetizers at the opening of an art exposition. w t f ? peace corps? sure. but that was the end of the night. ABTIM i went dancing with this hottie that drives me kind of crazy until early this morning.

IM GOING INTO THE CAPITAL IN A FEW HOURS TO WATCH TEAM USA CRUSH EL SALVADOR!!! But this Gringo will be wearing Blue and White and cheering for the Salvos. At least on the outside.

love you so much, sis. thanks for reading these. come down here, and we'll have a great time. same goes for anyone else reading this.

paz y amor,
w.

14 halfway 15

i meant to write something yesterday. i had so little to do that i forgot.
get it?
yesterday was kind of a big deal. to me, anyway. it was the half way mark. of this whole peace corps deal. yea. half way done. gone like a fart in the wind. where did it go?
big plans tomorrow. and saturday, jesus, we're going to the world cup qualifying match, USA v. El Salvador. God help me.


so, the pictures:

1.i was walking by the park in my town and saw these two gentleman playing the guitar.

2. that's my bus stop, outside town. with the volcano behind it.

3. the nearby town of santiago, a bigger town, with coffee plantations in the distance. yea. shade grown, gourmet, salvadoran coffee. and everyone i know here drinks instant coffee. i do too. but i also have the good shit, which i drink every morning. it makes everything ok.

4. two of my english students misbehaving. class was hilarious today. we played a vocab game and the winner was to receive chocolate, so everyone freaked out, or pretended to, even me, and we kind of laughed our asses off and yelled at each other and i gave candy to everyone.

5. two more students. it's a good time. drop by if you're in the neighborhood.
get it?

13

a good day today. i taught english class in the morning, and again in the afternoon. y tambien vi la chamacha.

in the below picture are two good friends of mine. one, brad, you already know. the other is Richy, about the chillest (that's slang for easy-going, dad) kid here in el sal.

buenas noches, vatos.

El Bajabador.

12

there's so much to say. so much. i wish i knew where to start. i feel like a little kid, walking down the street alone for the first time, a wanderboy. i am different from everyone but no longer a stranger. everyone says hello to me. i teach english. i talk to people that are so poor they dont have shoes. i see joy in the face of a 2 year old boy, and know that everything will be ok. i have dinner where i always do, and take my own turn teaching Fernando how to read, and confide my secrets to his two year old brother. and there's a girl. she came over twice today, unannounced. she sat in my hammock. and her friend wore my cowboy hat.
and the days go by so fast.








some days are still really hard. and i dont know why. im kind of hard on myself. i came here wanting a change. im getting something else.

10 & 11

yesterday, i went to the bach with Brad AKA The Stallion. We went to playa cuco. it was a really good time. we talked, walked on the beach, drank some rum. it was very bromantic. i needed some brad time.

today, after getting home, i went to Mass in the nearby town of Santiago De Maria with my new friend Narda. it was a nice service, minus when the Padre spoke poorly of protestants. i forgave him. then with Narda already outside talking on the phone, her brother and i tried to leave before the priest passed us. to which some lady said, over the PA systes, "please wait to exit until after the padre passes." oops. yea. but the brother and i joked about it.
after church, Narda hosted a little birthday party for a friend. it was simple, and fun. just six of us. Narda is very good to her friends. she's the most remarkable woman i've met since being here, and the first girl i've been interested in. hmm. we'll see.
good night.

8&9. dancing with narda in san miguel.

i was planning on posting something last night but got in a little later than expected. FINE BY ME. i went dancing in san miguel with some friends of mine- a girl i recently met and some of her friends. it was VERY fun. My friend's name is Narda. I met her through an NGO in a near-by town. She seems rather special. It's always nice to meet and befriend wonderful people, especially if they happen to be beautiful. Narda is in the red dress.
Tonight, im headed to see a band play in the town of Berlin. Should be fun. I'll take some pictures.
happy weekend.

7

i walk up to the door. no one seems to notice me. the yard is 50 feet wide. at one end, i see Rosie, washing clothes. i begin to sneak in. Ya viene el Gringo says a voice i recognize. Carmen. Her voice has that unintentional quality of announcing her mood. she's happy, i can tell, if not a little tired. i straighten up and walk into the yard. Not untypical of Salvadoran properties, it has a large yard that dissects two small structures. both have covered porches. it's pleasant, once you adapt to it's beauty. It's simple way. And ive done that. i greet the three adults there. all warm people. each in their own distinct way. But im quickly distracted by the absence of the kids. and then i hear laughter. innocent laughter. two kids giggling. so i follow it and walk into a room and then freeze as if terrified by the two year old. i make a face like i've suddenly had a fart with a prize. i then walk across the room, and into a handstand, my feet meeting the wall in front of me so to stabilize me. more laughter. that kind that comes from wonderment. i regain my feet, and look up to see four faces. and a two year old ass. Christopher is bent-over, peeking at me between his legs. That's his hand stand. but that's as far as her can go. he stands. we laugh at each other. he then chases me out of the room. and around the yard. his family is laughing. other people show up to buy tortillas- which is why i have come- and they laugh too. Ten people laughing. Together. Is there anything better? Sometimes. But not tonight. I should have taken a picture. I will soon.

The pictures:

The top picture is my house. the bottom house is my neighbors across the street, taken from my place. they're redoing the streets. taken in january.

6

in january i went to a beach about an hour and a half from where i live. it was fine. i went with a woman and her four daughters. the mom and i drank beer in the back seat on the way there. i mean, laugh out loud funny. i've been to half a dozen beaches here now. they're surprisingly different. but all beautiful.





another peaceful, lovely night here.
y en unas horas ya voy a very la chamaca. "T m gust." Lo mejor mensaje q he recibido aqui.

paz y amor,
w.

5

el salvador elected a new president.
Very interesting.
Read about that here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/world/americas/16salvador.html?scp=3&sq=el%20salvador&st=cse


so, im going to hang out with this girl. and her friend.
but i gotta go.

i leave you with this, a picture of two dogs, uh, playing tug of war:

3 & 4

first picture: english class. they're a great class.

second picture: a very pretty lagoon close to where i live.

2

a few weekends ago, i went to the other side of the country to a place called Juayua. It was a lot of fun. On the work side, we gave some important talks on AIDS and arranged for a famous M.D. to come and give a lecture about AIDS to a group of teachers and health promoters, so that they could communicate the same information to the people in their community. we also took a nice hike to these beautiful waterfalls and did a little high-diving.
Disclaimer: i ddint' do much work: it was all L.B.).

1

so, i've been here for a year now. And a day. Pretty wild. In honor of being here one year, i am going to post a picture for every day for the next year. most days i will only write a little. other days, i'll write a little more.
(disclaimer: i got this idea from another volunteer, mr. L. S.).

we'll start this off with some construction pictures. we're paving most of the streets in town. this includes the road seven feet from where im writing this. it's been going on for some time: they tore out the coble stones about two months ago. since then, my house is perpetually covered in dirt. im kind of used to it, which is sad. but im not sad. im happy. content. i hope you are too.
love,
me.