Changes

One of the most delightful aspects of keeping a blog is the comments I receive from strangers. I think they happen upon my writing when they are homesick for El Salvador - completely understandable. But I love the emails they send me about when and why they were in this country! Always a pleasant surprise...

I thought that the most profound change we would face when we arrived in El Salvador would be the initial shock of moving out of the United States. I'm now fascinated with the way we have changed physically and emotionally in the eight months we have been here. For instance, my style of dressing has changed. First of all, it's hot here and you just wear less. Second, I have now lost 23 pounds and nothing fits anymore! It's either wear Maggie's clothes ( because hers no longer fit her either) or shop. Clothes here are youthful. I went to the hardware store yesterday in a tank top with my bra straps showing because it's just the way women dress here. What shocked me when I arrived is now the norm. (Big bonus - too hot for pantyhose!)

Emotionally we are different as well. We are far less fearful of embarassment. There's no longer a doubt that we will embarass ourselves everytime the interaction involves Spanish. It's just funnier now and far less painful. For instance, I bought Maggie a birthday cake at the San Martin Bakery. By the time I got home, the phone was ringing. I had left my credit card at the bakery. I understood everything the woman was telling me in Spanish "Is this Susan Dunlap? This is the San Martin Bakery. You left your credit card here." The panic set in when I tried to respond. All I could think was "C'est moi." High school French comes back when I least expect it. So instead I handed the phone to Maggie. She did a beautiful job (in Spanish) of being me, and we went straight back to pick up the card. I was all ready to show identification and act out in some sort of charades, "You have my credit card." Instead they all smiled the minute I walked in the door and handed me back my card. Guess we all stick out in this country more than we know. Maggie says how can you miss two tall female gringos in a Salvadoran bakery?

I'll close with a photo - not of some place we went this weekend but of some place where we wish we had been. I think there's no prettier place on earth than under this coconut tree by the Pacific Ocean. Hope to be there again soon! Susan