Uh...I´m a pro with the buses...

GEEZ! It´s been FOREVER since I´ve written! I´m sorry! It´s just been craziness here!

So as you all know, I set up that blog. And last week, I attempted to just start adding stuff there and sending out the address to everyone. But...a couple of things happened.
(1) I got emails from people saying, "Does this mean you´re not going to send out the fun emails anymore??"
(2) I attempted to just post some info...not really sending out an email...(so it wasn´t fun info at all) and I got the 1 and only comment that I´ve received on the blog to date. It was from some random person that came across the blog and decided to comment, "Is this what a fun life is?" So now you all have to comment on something so it looks like my life IS fun! :)
(3) I have WAY more fun when I feel like I´m writing to all of you!

So...I´m going to continue my mass emails and then will post them on the blog. So...if you don´t feel like reading something, you can read it later by visiting the blog. I think we´ll all be much happier with this system. :) And I´m continuously adding photos to the snapfish site, so you can always go there and view updated photos. I´m keeping them all in one album, which is a little irritating, because you have to wait for the page to load and then go to the end, but you´ll only have one site to visit to see everything, instead of 15 different sites - 1 for each album. My album is entitled "Peace Corps"...the other ones that you may see are albums from other volunteers. The address to view these photos, again, is:
http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=40971123444958348/l=56054659/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
Ok....now onto current happenings....
So this weekend has been SO relaxing, although there was definitely drama every now and then. But that´s what makes everything fun, right?

Friday was Agustinas. It´s the Fiesta de Patronales (Patron Saints Festival) in San Salvador. Every city has one - they´re all at different times during the year - but the one in San Salvador is always a country-wide event. So Friday was the actual day to celebrate, but there is a fair that accompanies the celebration that lasts about a week and a half. It´s basically a big state fair - that´s the best way I can describe it. So on Friday, we were all planning to just sit around and home and rest for awhile. But Maria (my host mom) ended up getting a huge headache, and long story short...we ended up in the emergency room. Now, emergency rooms here are a bit different than what you would find in the states. Here are some things that stuck out to me:

1) No air conditioning - don´t high tech machines need air?? Why is it that every internet cafe and cell phone company have air conditioning, but the one place where you could die if something goes wrong doesn´t have it??

2) There are 2 nurses on staff that take in patients as they come in. When we came in, the nurse wheeled out this blood pressure machine and took Maria´s blood pressure, but the entire time she was doing it, she was talking to another nurse. Accurate? I think not. :)

3) The emergency patients all go into this patient area...all in one room...where they get a bed and that´s where the nurses and doctors look at them. But family members/friends/etc. can all walk in and out as they please. And all of us (Danira, Julie, Roberta, and me) sat on another bed around Maria. So I´m pretty sure the sheets are not sterilized. But I guess it´s cool that you get to stay with your loved one.

4) There is an ambulance outside of the hospital, but it doesn´t look like it´s been used for quite some time. So I´m wondering what happens when someone needs help that can´t get to the hospital!

Now, having said all of that, don´t freak out that I´m in big trouble if I need help! All volunteers are taken to American hospitals for treatment, or are air-flighted somewhere to get American-standard care. But I found the whole experience to be...interesting. I never even thought about what other people had to go through to get medical attention before this experience!

On Saturday, I attempted to go into the office in San Salvador. It´s where all mail is sent and where I can use computers for free. This trip was up to par with all other trips that I make in the capital. It started out as a wonderful day, as usual. I skipped happily along to the bus stop, saying hello to everyone that I passed with a huge smile on my face. Uh huh. So I get onto the bus that pulls up, and IMMEDIATELY after getting on, this guy that is selling candy pushes his way to the front (because of course the bus is jam-packed) and says, "Hello!" I said, "Hi." He said, "What is your name? Where are you going?" etc etc. So I say, "Michelle. I´m going to the capital." and then I turn my body to not face him. So he starts talking up a storm, crowding up next to me, etc. etc. And I just keep saying, "I´m good. No thank you." like I´m trying to tell him I don´t want candy (and attempting to make it seem like I have no spanish skills...which isn´t THAT far from the truth! So he starts asking me if I "have a companion". I´m like, "Yeah!" Well, it became apparent VERY quickly that he wasn´t asking me IF I had a companion; he was asking me if I WANTED a companion. Great. Chalk 1 for the great spanish skills! :) So I immediately was like, "Oh...my boyfriend this and my boyfriend that...on and on and on" and then I just stopped talking. I realized that I must have been the entertainment for the bus, because when I turned around again, like 20 people were looking at me and laughing at the whole situation. So I´ve decided I´m good for entertainment here. :) So I get to the capital without further drama, get off the bus, get onto bus #2 and go to Metro Centro (a big shopping area). Here I walk across the mall to get onto bus #3. Now this is where I´m a little iffy about the whole situation. I know I´m supposed to get off by a McDonald´s, but I´m not too sure where exactly it is. So I ride and ride and ride and ride looking for this McDonalds. And...yes,....I´m sure you know the outcome of this story. I end up at the end of the route on this bus with the driver saying, "You have to get off. This is the last stop." And of course, I say, "I need to go......" and he says, "Yes, you have to get on the same bus going the other way...." so as usual in the capital, I get off the bus and wait for the exact same one going the other way since I missed my stop. GEEZ. I wonder just how long these bus stories are going to continue?? You know what the problem is...there are NO maps ANYWHERE of the bus routes. You just have to rely on people to give you good directions. I´ve decided I´m not so much a fan of that, but I´ll deal. :) Anyway, so I get on the bus and immediately say to the driver, "I have to go....." and ask, "Can you tell me when we arrive there?" He´s like, "Yeah. No problem." Uh huh. So I ride and ride and ride and ride....and we end up back at the big mall where I started the whole drama. And I say to him, "Are we close?" and he goes off with all this spanish that I TOTALLY don´t understand. So I say, "How many more stops?" Again, on and on with spanish I have no idea about. So I turn to the people behind me and say, "Do you know where Zona Rosa is?" (the area close to the office) and they, of course, have no idea. So now I´m on a bus riding in what I think is the wrong direction, with a bus driver that is apparently totally unwilling to help me, and I´m NOT happy about any of it!! :) So about 3 stops later, we reach another shopping area (I know where these are!) so I decide to get off. At this point, I´m SUPER irritated. All I want to do is check my mail and email and I can´t because I can´t find the freaking office. You can imagine the types of things leaving my mouth at this point. :) So I´m like, "That´s it. I´m finding a chocolate chip cookie. That will make things all right." So I go inside, head straight up to Quizno´s and order a heated chocolate chip cookie. Yeah. They can do that. Run the cookies through the toaster. My friend Emily that owns one introduced me to that. It´s quite something. ESPECIALLY when you eat eggs and beans all the time! :) As I walk up (this is a bad sign) the people working behind the counter are like, "Hey!! We have FOUR chocolate chip cookies for you!" Seriously. I´ve been in the country 2 months and the workers at Quiznos (whom I´ve only visited twice I might add) already recognize me from afar! I guess I leave a lasting impression when cookies are involved. :) Anyway, so I was like, "Thanks! But I only need 1!" So they put it through the toaster, and I was like, "Finally. Things are starting to go well again!" So I take the cookie and decide to walk around a little while I´m eating it. So I put the tray in the special little place it goes (and throw away the tray cover) and all of a sudden, half of my cookie falls onto the floor! I just stood there, looking down at it for about 5 seconds. Then I bent over, and started picking up the pieces and throwing them into the trash. The toaster person at Quiznos cut the cookie into fourths, which caused issues for me, obviously. So I walked back to Quiznos and bought another one (it was time for a cookie and a half at this point) and I told them what happened and that I didn´t want it cut. So then it was their mission to save the next cookie, so it was a 10 minute process to decide what to do with the cookie so I wouldn´t drop it on the floor so they decided to give me re-inforcements to hold it. I was like, "Just give me the cookie!!" :) Anyway...it was quite an experience.

Then I left and met my family to go to the San Salvador fair/festival. I think this email has been long enough, so I´ll write more about that in the next email...

I miss you all!! I hope you´re all having a good time!! :)
M