EL SALVADOR – November 2005

Location: San Vicente (hotel), San Lorenzo (work camp), Suchitoto (R&R)

Travel Buddies: Lisa Verploegh. Amanda Bullard, Nate Riegler, Vic Iyer, Bill Woodson, Kari Suter, Gail Saetta, Nancy Bennett, Danielle Koster, David Costa, Mary Ellen Miller, Matthew Rivard. & Brad Cope
HFH El Salvador: Griselda, Erick, & Lily

Overview: El Salvador is an amazing country with wonderful people! The best trip I’ve taken so far! El Salvador is a beautiful country with a mountainous lay of land. This was my first Habitat For Humanities trip that I ventured by myself. The HFH volunteers I met are all extraordinary people. The Flores family we built the house for in San Lorenzo are great people that were so appreciative of the work we did there. Geovanny made the trip so memorable!

• If a 9 year old cannot remember your American names, he will make them up randomly in Espanol…Stacy, ah Sonia…Nate, ah Bruno. Bruno = Don TomatoGeovanny = Bob
• If stuck in a predicament with a man/woman that you desparately want to get rid of, translate book suggests… “Easy Tiger”!
• HFH El Salvador 2005 work camp are all wonderful people, Lisa, Amanda, Nate, Vic, Bill, Nancy, Danielle, David, Gail, Mary Ellen, Kari, Brad, & Mateo Peso! Griselda, Erick, & Lily from Salvador HFH are also great people.
• Thanksgiving in a foreign country can be amazing….in the middle of a sugar cane plantation cooking fried chicken & sweet empanadas, all the towns people, dancing with the ninos all night, corn husking contests, Salvadoran mariachi band with flames on their shirt, youth group karaoke…Best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had!
• Mixing cement in El Salvador is a very precise mixture is a very precise mixture when taking instruction from a 9 year old.
  1. Create a volcano like pit with the sand, rocks, & cement.
  2. Pour agua in the middle.
  3. Mas mecla, mas chippes, mas agua, mas arena…no mas!
  4. Keep mixing until good consistency is formed or until your arms fall off, which ever comes first.
• I can barely speak Spanish to a 9 year old Salvdoran boy…every other phrase is “no intiendo” =(
• Pupusas are the Salvadoran staple food…we had a pupusa every day! Salvadorans usually eat this with yellow stuff (pickled cabbage) & red stuff (tomato sauce). Pupusas are Brad’s favorite food!
• “Innocent Voices” is a movie about the Salvadoran Civil War. It depicted the children’s role in the war. Boys would be drafted for the war as early as 12 years old. Based on the true story of screenwriter Oscar Torres: http://www.innocentvoicesmovie.com/
• “The Massacre at El Mozote” by Mark Danner In a remote corner of El Salvador, investigators uncovered the remains of a horrible crime -- a crime that Washington had long denied. The villagers of El Mozote had the misfortune to find themselves in the path of the Salvadoran Army's anti-Communist crusade. The story of the massacre at El Mozote -- how it came about, and why it had to be denied -- stands as a central parable of the Cold War.
• The destruction of many homes & communities in El Salvador were caused by an Earthquake on January 13, 2001 measuring 7.6 in magnitude struck El Salvador, 65 miles off the shore, southwest of San Miguel and the Salvadoran Civil War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Salvador_Civil_War
• On Saturday, 13 January 2001, a powerful earthquake struck El Salvador in Central America. This was the strongest earthquake to hit El Salvador since October of 1986. The quake killed hundreds of people in San Salvador, the capital, as well as in Las Colinas and other towns and villages. Hundreds more were injured and thousands were left homeless. Many people were trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings. Preliminary assessment shows that homes were destroyed beyond repair while more are in need of repair. The greatest damage to buildings, occurred in Las Salinas.
• When someone tell you have a guest even if you do not know a single sould in the country….you might want to give them the benefit of doubt. Mr. & Mrs. Jenkins, my coworker Jennifer’s parents came to visit our work site in San Salvador. They met in El Salvador years ago in the peace corp, got married in a village with 2000 guests, everyone in town attended including the mayor. They moved to America to raise their kids…Jennifer & her brother. They then retired & returned to El Salvador where they continue to participate in numerous community service projects and house volunteers on a regular basis. Amazing couple…inspiring!
• Bah is the Salvadoran word at the end of each sentence. Short for “basta” meaning whatever. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda….Bah!