This is San Vicente were we are working with Habitat. The people who we are building home for had their homes destroyed and lost everything during Hurricane Ida which was coupled with landslides as you can see on the volcano.


They are using molds for the houses in this area. This is the start of the first house.


People everywhere make pupusas- It is like a tortilla filled with whatever you want. The traditional kinds are filled with cheese, cheese and beans, or pork.


Everyone here is pumped for the World Cup. It is all over the papers and everyone is talking about it, even though El Salvador doesn’t have a team going.



We ride in style. We ride in buses of every sort- the bus, coaster, and micro. We take rides in the back of trucks- usually standing up holding onto a bar structure. Some days we take taxis, but they aren’t as fun. This is us on the way back from a church activity crammed in the back of a truck while it was raining!



We went to a young adult dance at a church building. It was a lot of fun and we learned some new moves!



So this is our awesome neighborhood guard Andres. He is so nice and funny. I needed to take pictures of Flat Stanley for Isabella so I tried to explain what it was to him and proceeded to ask him to take a picture with it. He laughed really hard and I don’t think he thought I was serious until I actually took the picture. It was a great time!



We are working hard and have been continuing in our Habitat, Balsamo, FUDEM, and English teaching projects. We also went with some orphans to the zoo. It was a lot of fun and they loved the attention. We have been meeting with the National Library, a Children’s Hospital, and others to establish more projects. My daily schedule usually starts with being out of the door at 6 and not getting home until after dinner at about 8 or later. It is hard work but it is rewarding seeing the joy in the Salvadorean’s faces. Thanks for your love and support and hope you have enjoyed some pictures of my time here.
Sorry the pictures are all out of order. I still can´t figure this thing out. Enjoy!

Week 1

So we aren´t supposed to look like tourists here, although we are the only gringos so it is pretty hard not to, but for this reason we aren´t supposed to pull out our cameras all the time. Also, it isn´t proper to do so with our partnerships. Therefore, sorry but for this time there will be words but no pictures.

We have begun working and are involved in some awesome projects:

FUDEM: We gave visual acuity tests in a rural outreach program. It was amazing how many people had sight problems and just lived with it. Many of them had cataracts or other problems as well. This organization gives the people an opportunity to get glasses or surgery for a very affordable price. So far, this has been my favorite project.

Habitat for Humanity: We are helping to build 50 houses in 45 days in San Viciente. Last November there was a hurricane which caused landslides. Many people lost everything they had. We are relocating and building a community for many families, and they are planning on expanding past the 50 houses.

Balsamo: We have just had a meeting with the organization, but we are going to be working in a community helping them learn how to build square foot gardens and adobe stoves, as well as teaching nutrition classes and drawing classes. The field is open to what we want to do and we will base it on what they want and need. We are going to visit the community Tuesday and then go from there.

English Classes: It is amazing how many people want the classes and need the skill to get jobs. We had to cap off our classes at 150 people.

We are working on establishing more partnerships and starting new projects. We will be working with an orphanage and with a hospital, as well as others.

If you want more info. about what we are doing you should check out our team blog:
http://help-elsalvador.blogspot.com/

I love working with the people here and trying to make even a small difference in someone´s life!

WOW

El Salvador has been amazing thus far! We haven´t actually started work but we have been meeting with partners and getting things up and running. We start actual work with the people on Monday! But hey, it is only my 2nd full day here. Here are some highlights (good or bad) of the first 2 days (they are in no particular order-

1. Getting stranded at the airport with no cell phone, hot, and having people yell ¨taxi, taxi¨ at me every 2 seconds. But it worked out well, my Country Director came and picked me up and now I know that I can deal with things in a positive way and I am more confident in my abilities to work through things and figure things out.

2. Eating at Estella´s or Mama´s. Estella is our wonderful cook who feeds us dinner Mon - Fri. It is authentic and very delicious. She has some cute granddaughters that we are able to play with and help with homework.

3. Going to the black sand beach.

4. Our competition to see who could get the grossest/ craziest thing at the fish market on the pier. It gave us a great opportunity to smell fabulous, talk to the people, and have fun. Oh did I mention that we had to get us home with us, which inluded carrying it all day and an hour bus ride home (I held mine out the window the whole way.)

5. Eating pupusas - they are delicious here!

There have been other great moments, but this is all I have time for now! My team is awesome and an´t wait to get started on the work!