Songs from the Olive Branch: Tormenta en Verano

In Suchitoto, people love to listen to music. They also love to share their incredibly loud speakers with their neighbors. I am currently listening to the greatest hits from the 80's, with a disco twist.

Privacy is expensive. Here, the doors are thin, and the rooves are tin.

The truth is, the people here in Suchi don't seem to care. They are used to sharing. Whole families live in small apartments, sharing rooms, sharing food. Many people spend every afternoons sitting on the cobblestones, talking with their neighbors.

Our roommates Noel and Elba often have family or friends stay the night. At one point we had 8 people sharing one bathroom. This goes against all I know as a middle class American, but at the end of the day it's not a big deal. While waiting for the shower, I had a 20 minute conversation with my roommate while wearing just a towel. We're used to it by now - our shower is outside and it's just too hot to wear a robe.

Chris and I talk often of our crankiness. Between the heat and the lack of alone time, it can get to be a bit much. Some days I miss anonymity. It is a 15 minute walk uphill to our workplace, but it often takes 30 or 45 minutes. Everyone loves to stop and chat. There are days when I love this, and how wonderful that we have friends to talk to! But then, there are those days when I just want to go home and close the door.

Needless to say, we are still adjusting to the culture change!

The children of Suchi have been on a break for the past 2 months, and went back to school January 21st. I look forward to the sense of routine that will bring!

Our schedules have been somewhat up in the air since November. Some children came to the arts center looking for things to do over break. Others who had been attending classes every week, stopped coming. When we took a week off for Christmas, many students didn't return.

We can't take ourselves too seriously. Kids are kids, and here in Suchi many of their parents allow them to make their own choices. If a child wants piano lessons, they have to seek it out, they have to get to the lesson, they have to practice. Discipline is a difficult skill to learn!

Chris has found that his piano lessons are more successful with 3 friends learning and practicing together as opposed to one-on-one. This creates a bit of chaos at times, but it is much more motivating and cool if the children can learn with their peers. You have to meet people where they are.

We will take a trip across the border of Costa Rica next week, along with our friend Allie. We have to leave El Salvador every 90 days in order to renew our tourist visa, and stay out of the CA-4 region for 72 hours. It is a good opportunity to travel!

I leave you with some photos of Lake Suchitlan, right before the thunderstorm started. Thunderstorm in the dry season? I'm not sure what that means, but I was glad when we got off the boat.