It's not as bad as they told us ...

We've been here one full week now.  Things have not gone according to our original plans.  But I guess I should have known that since I've already experienced how things in Indonesia and India function in their own way and on their own time.  LOL

There is so much we want to do during our stay here, but logistically, things are not very easy to accomplish.  For one, my mom's place is way out in the boonies and she does not own a car.  So we have to make arrangements with my cousin Nelson, who lives in the capital San Salvador (about 40 minutes away from the main road and another 15 up the dirt road to my mom's), to come pick us up and take us out.  We have not been brave enough to use the transit system.  I hope we can attempt it before we leave, but with all the stories we've heard, I don't know if that is a wise idea.  But apparently the bad stuff happens more on the urban bus routes, not  so much on the rural ones.  So maybe we'll do a local route soon to test the waters.

Before coming here, everyone told us that it is very dangerous here, that we would have to be super careful.  We were told we can't be out after certain times, we can't speak English in public, or that we have avoid dressing all "fancy" like we do in Canada.  Julio and I were very concerned about security based on all this talk.  But we've realized that it really depends on where you go and who you are with. There are some obvious places you have to avoid, such as Apopa and parts of Soyapango, both suburbs of San Salvador.  But for the most part, we have not run into any obvious dangers nor have we seen the famous mareros (gang members) that we've heard so much about.  But apparently, they are not easy to identify because they no longer sport the mara (gang) tattoos on their faces nor do they dress like they used to.  One of my cousins told me they look just like regular every day people, and that has now become very scary because you never really know who you are dealing with.  And when it comes to fashion, I look like a hippie bum compared to a lot of the women here.  Many of them sport heels and skinnies with nice tops.  So the "fancy" clothing thing was a total lie.

All this tension gets to me now and then.  Sometimes I feel very safe and happy here, sometimes I feel very, very afraid and tense.  In those moments, I feel like going back to Canada.  It makes me very sad to feel this way in my own homeland, but this is the reality of my country and the legacy left behind by the Civil War.  Sometimes I wish I could pull up those carefree feelings I had in India when I was travelling alone, but the context is completely different - TOTALLY not the same thing!  Julio, on the other hand, is completely at ease it seems.  He's become quite oblivious to the stares we get when we are out on our own or when we are at the beach and he is topless sporting his tattoos.  I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing.

(Note: actually I just asked him how he felt.  He says he does notice and it does really bother him, but he chooses not to show it cuz what's the point?  There's nothing he can do about the stares, especially towards his tattoos, and it's better to not show anger or fear because that will just get him into trouble).  Very smart.

Anyway, I guess my point is that in general, things are not as bad here as everyone makes them out to be in terms of security.  Obviously one has to take certain precautions and avoid certain areas, but in reality, El Salvador is a beautiful place with charming people.  Yes, there are moments where we feel a bit insecure, but this is our homeland and we cannot let our fears take over this moment we have to reconnect with our roots.

Highlights since we got here:

·         Radio interview: we went to this radio station called Radio Cadena Mi Gente (loosely translated to 'the people's radio').  My dad belongs to a support committee that raises funds to help this radio station stay on air.  It provides critical commentary on Salvadoran politics and dialogue/debate on social issues affecting the country.  It also serves as an educational tool, providing educational programming on things such as community health, education, etc.  Radio is the main method of communication particularly for the rural poor.  My dad send us on a mission here to visit and say hello on behalf of the Vancouver committee.  Julio and I ended up getting interviewed on the air and the host asked us our opinions on what we felt the Salvadoran needs to set as priority to help the Salvadoran people.

After our radio interview at Radio Cadena Mi Gente.  Radio booth in the background with a pic of Monseñor Romero.

·         El Boqueron volcanic crater: My grandmother's house is at the base of this volcano.  It was so cool to see, I'll put pictures up soon.  It was a lot more chilly up there then down in the capital and very very windy.  Vendors here grow all sorts of berries which I was really shocked to see.  The crater inside the volcano serves as a water store during the rainy season.  There are little hiking paths you can take down to the inside of the crater.  Definitely on a future to do list.



El Boquerron, loosely translates to "the big mouth".  Sorry it's sideways, can't fix it.

·         Visiting madrina Soccorro (Julio's godmother): it's been over 20 years since he last saw her.  She is an elderly woman now with a very sick husband.  We spent some time with them so Julio could catch up.  They told us stories about Julio's late father and about their experiences during the war where their neighbourhood was taken over by the 'esquadrones de la muerta' (the Death Squads) during the war.  Their youngest son was an FMLN guerrilla who was one of the desaparecidos (the disappeared) during the war.  There are hundreds of people who disappeared during the war, without any trace or knowledge of what happened to them.  Very sad.  They were so happy to see Julio and it was really beautiful to see them reconnect, especially considering how much they took care of Julio when he was little amidst their poverty.

·         Suchitoto: this town is about 20 minutes away from my mom's place.  It is considered the safest large town in all of El Salvador because it gets a huge amount of tourists from Europe and Asia.  It has the old colonial style going on and there are lots of international NGO's that have set up local programs and small businesses in partnership with the locals.  You can totally see that it's been "gentrified" in certain ways to attract the European tourists though.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  My cousin Gertrudis, a local doctor here, told me it works here because it focuses on capacity building with the locals, so it's not like the 'cheles' (white people) come here to impose their value systems on the locals.  This town photographs beautifully, especially with nearby Lake Suchitlan - it looks a lot like Lake Okanagan.

Lake Suchitlan with adobe rooftops from the colonial town of Suchitoto.  Too bad our camera died after this pic.

·         Playa del Sol: my cousin Gertrudis had a conference at one of the beach resorts on the coast.  She invited Julio and I go to hang out with her son Elias while she attended her conference.  We spent the day being beach bums and enjoyed the beautiful coast line.  The waves were huge and along the shore you could see miles and miles of sand the gates of the local land owners who own most of the beachfront property.  The local beach futbol (soccer) team, La Seleccion, was practicing on the beach.  This is where Julio got tonnes of stares from the local young men for sporting his tattoos.  It kind of creeped me out.

Well, that's all for now.  Enjoy the pics everyone!  More to come.