I just want to make a quick note about my previous post. I did kind of write all of that after stewing about these various problems for a couple of weeks, and all of my frustrations sort of poured out at once. I just want to clarify that, although there are some rough patches and problems, I am still having an overall great time here. I'm learning a lot from the people I meet, I'm enjoying tons of opportunities to practice Spanish, and I live with an AWESOME, kind, caring, sweet host family.
Anyway, I was feeling pretty homesick last week, and I was thinking about some things that I miss from the United States, like washing machines, air conditioning, my boyfriend, being able to go places by myself and go where I want when I want, being able to go jogging and work out, being able to eat just a salad when I want to, and the fact that there are fewer biting insects where I live than there are here. I will also be glad to go back home where gas prices are under $4.00 (at least, I really hope they're still under $4.00...) I quickly realized that that kind of negative thinking was not going to help me last the next seven weeks, so I started letting myself think about all the things I love about El Salvador. I mean, my first week here was pretty amazing, so why let myself get into a rut when there's so much here to enjoy?
I mean, for example, I love the birds here. I will definitely miss listening to the chattering and singing of hundreds of species of birds when I go back to the states. There are 592 species of birds here, including several species of wild parrots and parakeets. I haven't even broken out my iPod yet because I am so content to just listen to the birds chattering in the trees above me. I love it!
I will also miss the cheap prices here when I go back to the States. Granted, if I were living on a Salvadoran salary, things might not seem so cheap, but compared to where I live, most things are amazing. I mean, I think the most expensive meal I've had at a restaurant cost me $4.00, and that was for carne asada, tortillas, casamiento, avocado, and salad. Most meals cost between $2.00 and $3.50. I will miss being disconnected from my phone. People here have cell phones, but everyone just hangs out in the streets and visits face to face anyway. I will miss being able to walk around the corner and buy a mangoleada for .25. I will miss being able to buy a 22 oz. Pepsi for 0.25. I will miss being fed delicious food three times a day when I go back to the States and have to cook for myself again. I will miss listening to the neighbors sing and play guitar at night. I will miss the students I work with, for sure. They're all great groups of kids. I will miss swimming at Atecozol. I will miss having time to myself, because even though I work 40 hours per week, I still have lots of time in the afternoons and evenings to take naps, read, work on blogs, write in my journal, practice Yoga and do some pushups and other exercises, and visit with Conny and her family. In the States, my work is incredibly stressful, and I can't relax when I go home, either. I always have something to do, and I feel like I never get to spend the time I need with my friends. That's something I want to try to change when I get back, although I know it's going to be REALLY hard to go back to working fast food after working here doing what I like and still having time to just chill.
So, yeah. Problems aside, I'm having a pretty great time here. Life is good.
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