So I know yesterday's entry was pretty heavy, and today's might be even a little more so. Because it is Sunday, we got to sleep in until 9:30!! It was so nice and well-needed. We departed around 10 for the beach!! Some of our group members had never seen the Pacific Ocean, and while we couldn't go in the water, we could walk along the beach and get our feet wet. The undercurrents here are so strong it is too dangerous to go in any deeper. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, and is divided into departments, or [View Full Entry]

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When I went to bed last night it was raining, but I assumed it would stop so we could still have our Field Day. But no, was still raining and pretty wet in the morning, and since Field Day takes place on the soccer field, we had to postpone it until Tuesday. Aside from the wet field, the roads in the village are not paved and it would be dangerous to try and drive the vans through. So, we our modified schedule for the day and headed first to UCA, the University of Central America, run by Jesuits who aim for [View Full Entry]

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What a long day!! But a great one. Did so much today and I am exhausted, it is after midnight and I want to go to sleep but need to blog!!!! Since I did not leave myself enough time this morning, I had to rush through breakfast and packing lunch. And when we got to the work site, I did not know I was supposed to get on a different van to go to the church so I could be with the kids today. But no matter, I planned to deliver invitations to the kids at school for the Health Fair [View Full Entry]

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Last night, five youth performed a revival of a play that Aryeh first created with the técnicos (agronomists) of the organization two years ago. Although we had a rather rocky time putting together this peice (3 of the original cast members dropped out, and only 1 remained constant in his own part!), the result, after 5 rehearsals with all present (and bringing in new folks), was fun and moving. The play´s basic premise is about two indigenous "antepasados" (ancestors) who practice advanced methods of agriculture, planting according to the phases of the moon, sharing the land, and believing in the sacredness [View Full Entry]

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So much for a 7am wakeup call, I was awake by 5:30am!! Luckily though I was able to fall back to sleep until about 7:30. No showering in the morning, we get too hot and dirty during the day. So I save my cold shower for after a day of work when it feels refreshing and I can go to dinner nice and clean. The day began with breakfast - cereal and a banana, and then we made our lunches. Peanut butter and jelly!! Every day, all week, that will be my lunch. But no worries, I love PB & J!! [View Full Entry]

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I awoke in a panic this morning, convinced I had overslept. And since I took my watch off last night, I had no idea what time it was!! The only person still in the room was Kathy, and since she was going to the Center for Malnourished Children today, I assumed everyone else had left for the village. And it was fairly quiet in the house, which added to my anxiety. So, I jumped down from the bed (I sleep on top bunk) and grabbed my watch, only to learn that it was 6:30am... I will definitely keep my watch on [View Full Entry]

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Well, here is round two of Schwartzie´s Travelblog! Except now I am in El Salvador! And this is a much different trip than my Peru trip last summer. I am officially on a Mission Trip this year, and everything we do is service work and volunteer. Unlike my month in Peru last summer, all expenses paid, this time I had to purchase my own plane ticket and also pay a "donation fee" to the volunteer house in which I am staying. But it is all for a good cause, and I know I will benefit immensely from this opportunity. The focus [View Full Entry]

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Well.... after 8 years with out visiting my family in El Salvador. I decided to go back and take my little girl Kiara Renee with me. I though it will be a beautiful experience for her, she is 5 years old. And this will be her first trip out of the USA, she was really excited about seeing the beach and all the new things her uncle Vladimir told her she was going to experience soonest she arrived in El Salvador. This my first time trying to blog or writ I am not good at it but Ill give it a [View Full Entry]

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We found that Tortuga Surf Lodge was a great choice. We met the owner Roberto last night who was a very interesting and friendly guy. As you would expect he is surfing mad but after having a few beers with him and watching him in a surf video we realized there was more to him than just surfing. He explained the whole history both political and geographical and it was obvious this place was run more out of love of surfing than a business venture. For a tiny country El Salvador has about 10 murders per day (mostly gang related) which [View Full Entry]

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Finally we are at the beach and within 5 minutes of arriving at our beach side surf lodge we were in the water ducking under the waves. Its about 30 degrees here, very humid and much to our delight it seems to only rain in the middle of the night. The sea is like a warm bath which means you don't need to hurry out but we are lucky enough to have a refreshing pool with ocean views at our lodge. The village we are staying in is called El Tunco which pretty much merges into El Sunzal. This is a [View Full Entry]

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