poking around

i'm making strident achievements. today i successfully lit a lighter and lit my stove with it. i guess i just never had an occasion to use a lighter before. i made a texturally sumptuous blend of caramelized onions and toasted israeli couscous, dappled with slap ya mama, a cajun spice blend i have grown to adore. i have dispersed it to some of you this summer as part of my johnny slappleseed tour. the rest of you should explore independently.
i also took a whole bunch of city buses. as the united states grew weary of their school buses throughout the 80s and 90s, central america has received them with open, god-loving arms. salvadorans paint them and put posters of christ in them and all that. some buses here are really amped up on the front wheels and heavy on the back wheels, making them look like wienermobile monster trucks. ew bad image. anyway, the bus is 20 cents and leaves eruptions of diesel fuel for 3 blocks. the buses are marvelously frequent, a few minutes apart even yesterday on a sunday. private companies buy bus routes from the government and then operate their own buses on them. the government still regulates the cost. it creates an interesting competition between individual buses. each bus has a cobrador (money collector) who encourages people to get on the bus. i felt lukewarmly encouraged on my first bus and robustly encouraged on the rest.
i went to metrocentro, the, uh, largest shopping center in central america. every person in el salvador was in this mall yesterday. i watched a documentary on bees last winter and it was like that. indoor shopping malls are everywhere, and they are massively popular. it's sort of disheartening to come here and see salvadorans falling in love with pizza hut and payless shoe source. however, when you compare immaculate, climate controlled malls filled with treasure to the danger and grit of the street and neighborhoods, it makes sense why salvadorans are drawn there.
seedlings are already emerging in the garden at the clinic! today i did yoga from the internet in my living room during the thunderstorm.

putting down roots (heh)

i am helping a volunteer give a charla (talk) on nutrition
i am very helpful, i brought out that l33t easter basket

our clinic has a small micro health insurance program that has been running for over a year. the 12 women and their kids came to the clinic for the grand planting of a nutritional garden which will produce lots of healthy vegetables. they are each planting one type of vegetable at home too, and when they harvest they will share them. a mini food coop! planting was really exciting - agro-expert don julian came to help out and everybody did some hoeing, but mostly one woman did it, one woman who'd be really good at rugby.

carolina and cristina compare notes on how to plant their seeds at home

don julian unveils the carrot seeds

pushing the seeds in

as far as metaphorically putting down roots, i'm still adjusting to living in el salvador. sometimes i forget that i can't throw toilet paper in the toilet, but i'm learning real fast. the sun rises at 5 and sets at 6:30 every day of the year. i'll be excited about that come december. i read my brother nick's blog from belgium with jeal when he describes their lavish recycling system, for no recycling occurs here. there is bottled water galore because generally if you drink tap water you will populate your intestines with tiny enemies. i miss you, recycling. i am sure nick is luxuriating in heaping mounds of glass bottles and plastic bottles, but only separately of course.
HOWEVER, i can get used to going to the movies for $2, a wonderful pricing anomaly i will seize upon and cherish. 2 for 1 wednesdays!

agreed!

i'm glad we could reach an agreement wherein i will joyously blog and you will delightedly read. as you may know, i am working in el salvador for the next year for the foundation for international medical relief of children (fimrc.org). i am working at a child and maternal health clinic in a ruralish area and living in the capital city of san salvador, or as i like to call it, "miami's spinster aunt with too many brooches who breathes smog and keeps fried chicken in her pocketbook." i've never been to miami though, i guess maybe once but it was night. might have been fort lauderdale.

so here are some pictures of some places. you can click to enlarge the picture.

san salvador and one of its volcanoes

look at this adorable toaster/coffee maker in guatemala city! even has a little spot on top for upright toasting. probably performs all three functions poorly. but cutely!

la puerta del diablo where i "hiked"

some tree

the end of places

it looks like a climbed some giant mountain with an eerie, rocky summit. that's true, but i only climbed the last fifteen minutes, we drove up most of the mountain, walked up, walked down, and then got pupusas to replenish our expended nutrients. pupusas are el salvador's most ubiquitous food, little corn flats with cheese or beans or whatever inside. but yeah, thanks for coming to my blog. teaser for next time: pictures from planting a nutritional garden with the micro health insurance group at the clinic.