My Last Week

* Photos to be posted soon

My Last Week
My dad came to visit and help me during my last week in El Salvador which was awesome. It was especially entertaining when we walked into my house after he arrived. I've never been sure what causes this, but always after I've been gone for a couple of days, 10 minutes after walking back into the house, this smell begins to permeate the kitchen and/or bedroom. Personally, I think there is some random animal living behind one of the walls and it starts thinking it owns the place and gets all mad when I come back. But I've never seen it, just smelled it. So, of course that happened when my dad and I walked in. Also, my dad saw a mouse run across the kitchen floor so he had to set out my "awesome" Christmas presents (the "reusable mousetraps"). Anyway, while he was inside going on about the mouse, I was outside in the bathroom. I just happened to look up for a moment and saw the largest spider ever. Don't get me wrong; I've seen this spider before. But never from below like I did that day! It spanned a space larger than my hand and it's body was suspended 3" from the wall because its legs were so long! I just said, "Woah" quickly followed by, "Dad! You have to see this!" He came out and didn't see it at first, but when he did, he responded with, "WHAT....is THAT??! Oh my FREAKING God....how long are we staying in this little shindig?" I was DYING laughing. So I figured it was a good time to point out a couple of other things, like my lizard friends that were chilling in my bathing bucket and the bats that did warm up laps each evening outside my door. Also, I informed him not to be alarmed if he heard someone walking on the roof at night and/or saw the roof cave in from footsteps because it wasn't a person; it was an animal that I had never seen, but a friend had freaked out over after seeing. Something about it looking like the giant opossum that the guy in the Princess Bride fought. Anyway, after all of this discussion, dad just stared at me with a look of disbelief. Then he said, "How many days are we staying here? Are you sure you don't want to go back to a hotel?" "Ah...está bien." And everything was ok until he found a cockroach in the bed the second night (he freaked) and the mouse was caught in one of the traps (I freaked). But good stories I guess.

Apart from all the house visitor fun, we did have a great last week. There were quite a few going away parties that we attended, including the last one that was thrown by the kids who worked on writing the plan for the technology project last year. They bought food, we played cards, I gave them photos from their graduations, and they went around a circle and one by one thanked me for coming to San Isidro and changing their lives. It was unbelievably touching and something I won't forget anytime soon.

And....thanks to all of you....the technology project is finished! The Friday before I left we picked up 56 computers from the Ministry of Education (it took FIVE pickups to transport them). The electricity in the elementary/middle school was installed by Saturday (the high school already had electricity in the computer lab). We got the donation of cable and switches from the Ministry of Education so we met the goal for the community-wide technology center. The check is on the way and Mary Susan, the volunteer living in the community next to mine, will be overseeing the reconstruction of that building with the funds you all donated. So, I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you for your support in this project. It has totally transformed education for the current and future students in San Isidro.


Back in the US of A
I'm really enjoying being back in the US. In DC, I did feel that everyone was moving extremely fast and prices were pretty high. And when we went out to dinner the first night, I was overwhelmed by the number of food and drink choices with all of the talking (there were about 12 of us), but I got over it. It hasn't seemed too hard to readjust (thus far). And I've loved having the opportunity to catch up with a lot of lost friends during the past week (and I'm happy people are still willing to let me stay on their couches at night). Currently, I'm in Columbus and will be driving with baby bro back to Illinois on Friday.

Well, that's about it for me! In the coming months, I'll be hanging out with friends and family, doing some traveling, and getting the surgery redone. I probably won't be sending out updates anymore since my life is now pretty much like all of yours...but I will update the blog when something interesting happens, like maybe during our Yosemite and/or China trips.

Thanks to all of you for your support and friendship! It was sure a roller coaster ride during these two years that definitely ended up at the end!

Peace out!

* Photos to be posted soon