Visit home

I am back in El Salvador after spending a lovely week visiting home. It was so great – I saw family and friends, spent a lot of time in the city, made a quick trip to NH, and ate everything in site (literally, everything). I got to celebrate my dad’s birthday with him, which was awesome, and also go to a Red Sox game at Fenway on Marathon Monday (in 90 degree weather…those poor runners). This year is Fenway’s 100^th, so it was pretty cool to be at the stadium. I got to spend endless hours with my pets, and sit on a real couch and sleep in a real bed (sans mosquito net)!!!

Before leaving I was a little nervous that going home would make me want to stay at home, and make coming back here for another 17 months of service as a PCV unbearable. While I’m having a mildly hard time re-adjusting, I think that the trip really helped refresh me and if anything made me happy that I decided not to COS. Of course I was envious seeing my friends nice apartments in the city, and loved using a washing machine and driving a car, but all those things will be waiting for me when I finish my time as a PCV, and I would always regret if I had left early.

with my parents for Dad's bday dinner

In honor of being back in El Salvador, I decided to make a couple of lists – the things I miss most about the US and the things I love best about El Salvador.  This exercise doesn’t really accomplish anything, but it was fun.

Top 5 things I miss about the US:

1.     Friends and family

2.     Washing machines, dishwashers, AC, smartphones…etc

3.     Clean, well-fed and well-behaved, snuggly animals

4.     FOOD – all varieties always available

a.     Adding on to this – being able to drink alcohol without judgment

5.     The ease of everything – being able to drive where I want to go in a car, walk around without getting stared at, not get catcalled by every male in a 1 mile radius.

Top 5 best things about El Salvador:

1.     The people are SO friendly and so generous. Not always the same in New England

2.     Amazing fresh fruit and vegetables all for under $1 in the market

3.     Painfully beautiful weather 360 days of the year

4.     Being able to do 1 thing in and feel like you had a productive day

5.     Hammocks

anyway, now back to El Salvador life - aka washing my clothes by hand and reading in the hammock!