Day 14: Despedida

Thursday September 10, 2009

Vocabulary

hombre: literally "man" but here used as an all-purpose exclamation, kind of like "wow," "oh my goodness," "well," and "um" all rolled into one

no hombre: sounds just like "nombre" ("name"), but literally "no man" and used as an all-purpose negative exclamation, like "no way" or "get out of here"

Photos

Despedida

I should have put today's vocabulary ("hombre" and "no hombre") in the very first post.  "Hombre" is absolutely ubiquitous.  I'd noticed it talking to Manuel's parents on the phone and thought it sounded funny, but it's used by everyone and in many more situations than I had realized.  Non-vulgar non-profane exclamations are a major gap in my Spanish, and even most Hispanic church members that I've met use "Dios mio" ("my God") very regularly.  It would take me a while to get used to using "hombre" this way, and of course it would sound funny to most Spanish speakers, but it's nice to know at least there is an alternative in at least one dialect of Spanish.

Today was my last day in El Salvador.  It's a long ride to the airport, so I pretty much did last minute packing, said some last goodbyes, and left for the airport.  Once there I accidentally got in the line for those with extra baggage, so all the people in front of me took a really long time.  But there were many fewer people in front of me than there would have been in the other line, so I think it worked out about the same.  The baggage clerk was a young guy who had obviously spent time in the US; his English was better than his Spanish.  He seemed happy to be able to speak English with me.


Once I was past security, it felt a lot like I was already back in the states, and I felt like the whole experience was already starting to fade.  There were some darling little blond, blue-eyed children in the waiting area speaking perfect Spanish to their American father and Salvadoran mother, which gave me hope for teaching my children Spanish someday.


On the way here I noticed that most of the passengers were elderly and that many required wheelchairs.  This time around I counted the wheelchairs.  There were thirteen.  The most I've seen before is about two.


And before I knew it, I was back at JFK, with Manuel eagerly awaiting me and a psychiatry rotation to start in two days.  I hope you've enjoyed my account of my trip.  It was quite an experience.

Day 13: Tamales

Thursday September 10, 2009

Vocabulary

elote: white corn used to make tamales

brisas: coals

Photos

Tamales

Today's activity was making tamales.  The photo album gives a step-by-step account of how they're made.  It's quite a project, but the final product is delicious.  They're different from Mexican tamales, I think primarily because they're made of a different kind of corn (it's white rather than yellow).  They are lighter and finer in texture, not as grainy.

Since I'm leaving tomorrow, I started saying my good-byes today.  We're also filling my luggage (I'm allowed 50 pounds per bag for free) with various things to take back to the states.  The tamales are the biggest thing, but today we also bought all the quesadillas she had from a woman who was selling them. Tamales and quesadillas are the most popular food items to send to the US since they're hard to find there.

Day 12: My (adopted) Team Wins!

Wednesday September 9, 2009

Vocabulary

barrieron: they swept (in a sports context--I don't remember which team swept which team)

saldo: balance (as in the money left on a cell phone)

Photos

Talking to Manuel

Funny Signs

I'm getting a little bit tired of being here.  I think a week and a half rather than two weeks would have been the perfect amount of time.  I miss Manuel (though at least he calls regularly, see "Talking to Manuel" album) and school, and I guess I'm getting bored.  Not that much happens here, and most conversation revolves around things I either know nothing about or don't understand (or maybe both, though it's hard to tell when I don't understand).

Since I'm leaving in two days, it definitely feels like the trip is winding down.  I'm making sure I give away the last of the New York tee shirts I brought as gifts and buying the souvenirs I want.  Today we went to Usulutan one last time for that purpose.  It's not a big tourist center, and I didn't want to buy a lot of souvenirs, but I did get a few things.  


One of those things was a map of El Salvador so I could have an idea of where I've been while I'm here.  Today we went to at least five stationary/book stores and none of them had maps.  Finally we ended up at the same place where I bought my little notebook at the very beginning, and they found a map, after at least 10 minutes of looking through stacks and stacks of posters.  Success!

I also got photos of a last few things I've seen a lot but not gotten photos of.  The "funny signs" album has a few of those.  My favorite signs are the ones for funeral parlors.  I thought it was a little funny that they all advertised 24-hour services, but then I saw the one for the "Prevention" funeral parlor.  That takes the cake.

Another sign I was sure to get a photo of was of a "parqueo" ("parking lot").  My dad claims this is a Spanglishism (it can also be called "estacionamiento"), so I took pictures of two different "parqueo" signs to prove to him it's not just Hispanics in the US who use the word.  And yes, that's 50 American cents an hour.  What a deal.


Speaking of Spanglishisms, I've realized there are several English words that are used all the time in New York Spanish, the most common being "okay" and "wow."  My theory is that the Spanish equivalents differ by country so much that it's just easier for everyone to use the English words.  But they are deeply entrenched in my own Spanish and I have made little progress in trying to replace them with Salvadoran equivalents while I've been here.  I realized just how foreign the words are here when today one of the little girls asked Ester and Luis what "okay" meant and Luis answered that it means "adios" ("goodbye").  So when I've been saying "okay" to mean, well, "okay," all this time, Luis thinks I've been saying "goodbye."  Great.


In addition to the lack of Spanglish, there is an almost complete ignorance of the geography of the United States.  Many different people have demonstrated that they have no concept of the difference between LA and New York, for example.  It's all just "alla" ("over there").


My bad sunburn has gone from painful to itchy to peeling like crazy.  It provides endless entertainment that my skin is falling off for the little girls, since sunburn is a new thing for them.


I packed my bags as much as possible to see how much space will be left for tamales.  I'm going to transport tamales for us and all of Manuel's siblings.  Tomorrow will be spent making them, but we wanted to get an idea how much extra space I have.  I'll be able to fit plenty of tamales.


Tonight we watched the national team play Costa Rica.  It was nice to cheer for the same team as Luis, and I must be good luck or something, because our team won!  It was an amazing game (and I don't even like sports!).  There was a "phantom goal" that was obviously a true goal (the ball had crossed the line before the goalie blocked it mid-air) in the slow-motion replay, but was called as not a goal by the referee and so didn't count.  The commentators kept going on and on about their "phantom goal" and how they really should be winning and had been robbed by the sports' refusal to use technology.  With about 10 minutes left and the score tied, they had already written it off as a loss, but in the last two minutes there was an amazing goal and we won!  Very exciting.

I haven't watched a ton of TV here, but every once in a while we do watch something, mostly the news and Desperate Housewives (inexplicably, Luis is a fan), and once a whole movie (The Fugitive).  It's interesting to watch local news and try to get an idea of what's going on in politics and such.  Instead of national weather (which I imagine would be fairly homogenous, since it's a small country), they report on the weather of all of Mexico and Central America.  "World news" also pretty much means Latin American news.


Watching a sports report, I saw a word, "barrieron," that I didn't recognize.  The ending looked like a past tense ending on a verb, so I reconstructed that the verb would have to be either "barrir" or "barrer."  "Barrer" is a word I know, and it means "to sweep."  Ah ha!  Just like in English!  "They swept."

Day 11: School

Tuesday September 8, 2009

Vocabulary

castor: beaver

deslizar: to slide

yacer: to lie (not the false witness type)

Photos

Las Salinas

La Escuela

Kids Goofing Off 1

Kids Goofing Off 2

Today we went to the salt mines ("las salinas").  They are pretty run down and haven't been active for years, but the area is really beautiful.  One of my favorite spots in Dominica was a large forest of coconut trees that you pass on the way to Roseau, the capital city, and I've been keeping an eye out for a similar spot here.  There are plenty of palm trees, but usually in small groups.  But today on the way to Las Salinas we passed a true coconut forest much like the one in Dominica.

A few days ago I had planned to go to school with Luis to visit his English class but then I got sick and was unable to go.  Today was the only other day he had English, so after visiting Las Salinas (Luis goes to school in the afternoon) I went to his school.  It turned out his English teacher was sick, so I didn't end up getting to visit an actual class.  The kids just goofed off and sat around until their next class--no substitute teacher or supervision of any kind.  

The school schedule is much more flexible here than in the states and in general education is just not emphasized that much.  While I've been here all the kids have missed multiple days and no one seems to mind.  Luis is 13, and this will most likely be his last year of school because he's just not that interested in it.  

There are plenty of other things kids here are interested in besides school, and the two "goofing off" albums demonstrate some of those things.

I gave Luis two books for his birthday, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and "The Mouse and the Motorcycle."  I continued my family's tradition of reading the Narnia books aloud by reading some of TLTWATW outloud to Luis and some of the other kids, and I finished reading it to myself today.  Today's vocabulary are words I learned from that book.  "Castor" ("beaver") I had no reason to know before, but "deslizar" ("to slide") and "yacer" ("to lie") are useful words (and used VERY often in the book) that I'm surprised I did not know.  But now I do : )

Today it rained really hard during the day for the first time.  It was definitely some of the most impressive rain, and thunder, I've experienced in my life.  Luckily we were all home at the time with no urgent need to leave.  I did worry about it lasting so long that I might have to go to the bathroom, since the outhouses are not connected to the rest of the house, but it ended up lasting less than an hour.


This evening I sat down with Ester and then Alfredo to make sure I've got the family tree written down and also the names of everyone in my photos.  I don't have all the family names memorized, but at least I have them written down.

Day 10: Party Time

Monday September 7, 2009

Vocabulary

fregar: to break or to rip (romper)

cachucha: hat (gorra)

Photos

Usulután

Fiesta

One of the few assignments Manuel gave me for while I'm here is to get a professional photo of his daughter, Lisbeth Carolina.  Lisbeth and I have been planning on getting that photo taken today for awhile, so we went to Usulutan (the closest city) for that purpose.

Lisbeth dressed up in her best dress and ended up having her hair done three separate times (once by her, once by Ester, and once by the lady at the photographer's) in preparation.  She noticed a small rip in her dress (she said, "esta fregado," which means "it's broken/ripped" here but in standard Spanish would mean "it's washed/cleaned"), but luckily it wasn't too noticeable.  She's a serious child, and it's hard to get her to smile.  The professional photos came out fine, but she wasn't smiling.  We went to a park afterward and I encouraged her to smile at least a little bit while I took some more photos, and got some good ones (see album for more).

I continue to be surprised by the number and variety of things that people sell in the streets.  Today I saw a man walking around with about 10 light bulbs screwed into a long piece of wood, and it's quite common to see people walking around with clothing and belts to sell.  I guess it seems to me that you couldn't carry a large enough selection to make it worth your while, but I'm sure you gain some customers just by being mobile.

Whenever we drive on a highway, Alfredo tells me to put my seat belt on because the police can give us a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt.  This whole seatbelt situation is pretty silly for a few reasons.  First of all, everyone takes off the seat belts as soon as they get off a main road where there might be police.  Second, my seatbelt in one of the cars doesn't actually work, so I'm just supposed to hold it under my arm so it looks like I have it on.  Third, the most common form of transport around here is riding in the open back of a pick-up truck. When we went to the beach, there were twelve people in the back of the pick-up for the two hour drive, and we passed several trucks with at least thirty people in the back.  I even saw a pick-up being used as a hearse once, though I suppose in that case the seatbelt issue is moot.  So the importance of seat belts has obviously not entered the general consciousness of the people of El Salvador, and it's a little hard for me to take a police force seriously that will pull over and ticket a driver who doesn't have a seatbelt on while ignoring the 90% of people on the road who are traveling much more dangerously.

Speaking of cars, today while I was waiting in the passenger seat for Ester to run an errand, Alfredo had left the truck for a minute, and it started rolling downhill towards the parked car in front of us.  I tried to find some sort of brake to pull or push, but before I could do anything Alfredo had run back and jumped into the driver's seat (and applied the brake).  He then had me sit in the driver's seat and keep my foot on the brake while he went back to whatever he'd been doing (I don't remember what it was).

We drove by the American stretch of road in Usulutan, featuring Pizza Hut and Wendy's.  Pizza Hut is referred to simply as "Pizza" here, which confused me when Luis asked me if I'd ever eaten pizza, and what he meant was had I ever eaten at Pizza Hut.  Luckily the answer was the same to both questions.  There are also two local fast food chains along the same stretch, called Pollo Campero and Pollo Campestre (both basically mean "country chicken"), that are referred to collectively as "Pollo." I was eager to try Pollo Campero, because Manuel and I ate there in California, and he told me it was better in El Salvador.  But it turns out his family like Pollo Campestre better, so I haven't had the chance yet.

On the way home we stopped at the cemetery where Manuel's grandmother is buried.  She died five years ago at the age of 95, so this year she would have been 100.  It's a very peaceful, beautiful spot.

On the way home we also passed by an LDS chapel, the third I've seen here (and also much nicer than where we meet in Brooklyn...), so now I will know where to go for church the next time I'm here.

The errand Ester had to run in town was to buy the cake for tonight's party.  It was Hilda's birthday a few days ago (September 2nd, the day the calf, Hildita, was born), and we had a surprise party for her tonight.  I dressed up nice for the first time since I've been here, contacts and make-up and all, and got my first "que guapa" (I've gotten lots of "que bonita"s).  I also collected a fan club of little girls who were very excited to see my jewelry and make-up and followed me around as I was getting ready.  That's definitely never happened to me before.  It was fun.

The party was great.  The main event was two pinatas, which were quite a hit (no pun intended).  I'm getting pretty comfortable with my new camera and was able to take some decent photos in basically the worst conditions possible--action shots in low light.

The kids made good use of the broken pinata pieces--putting them on their heads as "cachuchas" (hats).  Pretty darling.

Day 9: La Playa

Sunday September 6, 2009

Vocabulary

sancudos: biting insects

bichos: bugs or (more commonly) kids (a swear word in some countries, but used commonly in El Salvador)

Photos

Playa: Ocean

Playa: Sandy Views

Playa: Splashing Around

Playa: Frolicking in the Waves

Playa: Lovely People

One of the few things I wanted to be sure to do while here was go to the beach, and today we did.  Anytime we go anywhere, more people than I think possible always pile into the car, and today was no exception.  The usual people were there (Alfredo, Hilda, Ester, Luis, Lisbeth, Daisy, and Carolina) plus Monica and her three daughters, Esmeralda (Daisy and Carolina's mother), and Sandra (a cousin of Esmeralda's).

On the drive to the beach (which was so beautiful, through green, mountainous country, but hard to get photos of), I saw multiple kids holding things up to sell.  At first I couldn't tell what they were, but I finally figured out they are dead armadillos.  I would have liked to try armadillo meat, but didn't get the opportunity.  Manuel assures me it's good.


And the beach!  It was great.  It reminded me of the beaches in Dominica, but better in every way except that there was no reef or pretty fish.  The sand was dark (volcanic), same as Dominica, and lots of beautiful palm trees.  The beach was expansive, and with large waves that were fun to play in.  There were also a lot of wooden shelters for shade (especially appreciated by my burned and peeling shoulders, which are quite tender and sensitive to the sun), and the price of parking included a hammock, table, and several chairs.  Deluxe.


I highly encourage you to take a look at today's photo albums (and I'm keeping the writing part short to offer further encouragement) to get an idea of the beauty.  There are also a few action shots of the kids that I'm pretty proud of.  I love the beach!

Day 8: My Team Wins!

Saturday September 5, 2009

Vocabulary

atol: hot, sweet beverage made from corn and served at breakfast

guajada: soft, wet, fresh cheese made into single-serving little bricks

salpicón: ground beef with onions and spices

Photos

Food and Cooking

Nature

Animals

So the big news today is that El Salvador played the US (in soccer, the only sport that matters around here), and the US won!  I tried not to rub it into Luis' face too much (doesn't he look sad?), but it was fun to "win."  El Salvador will play Costa Rica in a few days, and if they don't win that game they are out of the running for the World Cup.  We're going to be sure to watch that game, and Luis and I will be rooting for the same team this time.


I brought a few books with me in case I needed to entertain myself, and the last few days I've had more time to read.  I recently was reading a book about neurology (in the same vein as Oliver Sachs' books) called "Phantoms in the Brain," and Alfredo asked me if it was the Bible.  Reading is not a popular past time around here.  


Today I started a book of short stories in Spanish that I borrowed (I promise I'll give it back...) from Dad.  It's a text book, so there are introductions in English and footnotes with translations of selected vocabulary.  That's very helpful.  I also get fewer questions and strange looks if I'm at least reading a book that's in Spanish.  And the stories are good.  A step up from Ralph and his motorcycle.


I'm usually the last to wake up in the house, around 7 am, but today I was up at 6 am, before Ester and Luis, mostly because I spent a lot of yesterday sleeping since I was sick.  Going to bed at 8 pm and getting up at 4 am is not unusual here (from what I hear tell; it's not like I've ever been up at 4 am to check).  This morning at 7:30 AM Alfredo was blasting music from a loudspeaker that can be heard throughout the neighborhood.  I'm glad I was awake anyway.


A lady came by today selling clothes.  You can ask her to find something specific and she'll bring it next time she comes, which seems like a pretty good deal to me.  Dona Hilda had asked for a shirt to match a skirt she has.  My clothing is definitely on the casual side (I brought mostly shorts and tee shirts) here.  Women and girls pretty much always wear skirts and blouses.  I asked Carolina if she had any pants or shorts, and she said she had one pair one time but she grew out of them and hasn't had any since.  I don't think I own any clothing that would fit in, since my clothes that are nice enough would be too hot for the weather.  People also change, and reuse, clothes a lot here.  Someone might change clothes two or three times throughout the day depending on what they're doing and then wear at least one of those outfits again the next day.

Today's vocabulary is again food-related, as is the first photo album (it includes a picture of pupusas for those who are wondering what they look like).  There is a lot of food here, most of it quite good.  The only problem is that everyone is always trying to get me to eat more, and to eat between meals.  I want to try everything and not be rude, but it's a little much.  My newest trick is to accept the extra food and then offer most of it to the ubiquitous children.  This is pretty win-win.  Today Hilda made guajada, a soft cheese, from milk from their cows (sorry I don't have a picture).  Every few days I have atol with my breakfast, and I like it a lot.  Salpicon was yet another new food for me, and it's also really good.


Dad would not like the structure (or lack thereof) of meals here.  The whole family never sits down to eat together, even though I wouldn't call what they do grazing, because Hilda makes a meal that everyone eats, just not at exactly the same time or in the same place (Alfredo likes to eat outside while others prefer eating inside).  I now see where Manuel gets his aversion to sitting down together to eat (you wouldn't think it'd be too hard, since there are only two of us...).

I expected to eat a lot of rice and beans, but I haven't eaten a single bean, and there is not rice at every meal.  There is actually more variety than what Manuel and I normally eat (which includes rice and beans at almost every meal).  I have liked pretty much everything.  I especially like the breakfasts of fried plantains, atol, warm milk with cinnamon, or sweet bread.  They did buy some American breakfas food, corn flakes, specially for me, but they serve all soggy and with hot milk.  I don't like those so much.


As in any hot climate, it's a struggle to drink enough water.  I'm getting a little more used to it now, but the first few days I was always terribly thirsty.  I mostly drink bottled or bagged (drinks often come in bags here--you rip off one corner and then pour it into a glass, or just suck straight from the bag) water, though a few times I have drunk the tap water, which Manuel assures me is safe because it comes from a nearby well.  It may be safe, but it kind of tastes like dirt, so I try to stick with the bottled.

Continuing with today's photo albums, I think the nature photos speak for themselves.  If you don't look at any other albums, please look at this one.  It's so beautiful here.

And the animals.  Most meat, here as in the US, comes from chickens, cows, and pigs, and many families own at least some of those staples (we have chickens and cows).  There are also some more exotic domesticated animals (turkeys, ducks).  The wild animals are mostly insects and birds, though I did manage to get this photo of some bats.  I try to remember to drench myself in insect repellant at every opportunity (the little girls inexplicably love the smell of it), but I still have lots of bug bites.

There has been some kind of epidemic of chicken sickness while I've been here.  At least five chickens have died.  It's really sad, especially when it's one of the little "pollitos" (chicks, literally "little chickens").  You can tell they're sick for a few days (you can see the little chick to the right has its head down and eyes closed if you look close), and they give them medicine, but none have gotten better that I've seen, and after a few days of sickness they die.