So Much Happening...

Its hard to describe it all. This past week has been a bit of a blur. Huge amounts of activity and small amounts of sleep have made it seem like one big continuous event in my mind.

Where I last left off fiestas were starting in my town and I was getting very little sleep. Well I had no idea at the time, but things were just getting started. Its louder than I ever thought it could be and my house is more crowded than a barn at Harris Ranch. The noise is almost unbearable every night, and more people arrive to sell products and set up booths or food stands every day. To top it off, the band that lives in my house sets off fireworks at 4 in the morning and walks around town playing music to wake people up. Crazy I know, but true. And just to make sure I was a little more uncomfortable, water has been out here for more than 6 days. My family has been going down to a river to get water to bathe and flush toilets with.

During all this commotion we managed to have a few cool trips with the trainees. On Saturday we went to two sites that contain some ruins from Mayans. The first site had what seems to be the remains of a small town preserved because of several volcano eruptions. Nearby there is a site that seems to be more of a religious site that is composed of several pyramids and a large square. Its a bit of an experience because we got to walk basically all over the ruins and played frisbee in the old square. I enjoyed it, especially in comparison to the few Mayan sites I had visited in Belize years ago. The construction style is nearly identical, but the materials are totally different, leaving the Salvadoran sites much more exposed to decay by the elements. Still I find ruins fascinating and somehow mysterious to walk around and think about.

After all that excitement we all got up very early Sunday morning and set out to climb the volcano just outside San Vicente. I forget the actual name at the moment, but it was a hell of a climb. Actually I'd put it up there as the hardest hike I've ever done. That is a big claim since I've had some crazy hikes and and hiking mishaps, but I feel it is justified. We left our sites at just about 6am and got to our starting point and began to climb just before 7. On the way there were several nice vistas and we saw the house of one of the former presidents of El Salvador who apparently owns the majority of the volcano. Midway up I started having extreme hip pains, but I decided to tough it out because this wasn't going to be an everyday opportunity. I don't regret my choice, but from that point on it got more and more steep and my hip reminded me often that it wasn't happy. For a good way I was almost climbing on all fours and we were covered by forest canopy, so I couldn't see any progress. But at about 11:30 I got to the top and it was absolutely beatiful up there above the clouds. The view and time at the top was totally worth it. The descent went well except for a little bit of rain. But at that point it was too nice and I couldn't really complain.

Today we got our site assignents and I´m still realing over the news. I can´t wrap my head around the fact that I finally have a place to call my own. I am not posting the story because it seems a little odd, but it went out in an email and if you want to hear it email me and I will fill you in.