Monday September 7, 2009
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
fregar: to break or to rip (romper)
cachucha: hat (gorra)
Photos
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.
So you have been on a family reunion and family history trip for Manuel! He could not go with you, or was busy at times visiting with others?
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