La Playa (the beach)

coin pouch...¡que chivo!


monster


malaria pills


Hombre Araña/ It´s difficult to find professional-looking notebooks in El Salvador.


chucho (dog, more common here than term ¨perro¨)


at the beach! with our counterparts!


chickens finishing our coconut


sad chicken/ no more coconut


There is a dog in the middle of these cows, asserting his authority.


just like on the Jersey shore

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Every so often it feels as though we are characters in a high school Spanish textbook: Bruce and Kelly are Peace Corps Volunteers serving in El Salvador, Central America. They are working with a development agency that has received a grant from an NGO in the U.S. Help Bruce and Kelly translate the following letter...

There are also times when you take a step back and realize that you are dicing radishes for a Salvadoran first communion.

We have now been in our site for one month (El Salvador for three). We have been keeping busy. Police-guided tours of the region. Excellent, beautiful hikes with new friends. Meetings at the mayor´s office about a new recycling-composting program. Soccer. The Carnaval in San Miguel--said to be the largest outside of Brazil. Candle-lit religious processions. Meetings with NGOs, schools, the local health center, Cruz Roja (Red Cross)...

On Monday we held a general assembly with an audience of our Peace Corps bosses and the leaders of the community. We formally introduced Peace Corps, our individual programs, and ourselves. We also presented a long list of project ideas that included excursions to forests and ancient ruins (of the Lencas), reforestation, environmental festivals, gender equality, sexual education, sporting events, English classes for teachers, community newsletters, nights of poetry/art/music/movies... Most or all of these projects will be youth-centered. We will work on these projects in conjunction with community organizations.

We miss everyone back home! Hope you all are preparing for a festive holiday season. ¡Feliz Navidad y Prospero 2009!