Dan and Rose Do El Salvador

Some volunteers go their entire two years of service without so much as one visitor—from stateside or otherwise, nor a visit home to see their loved ones. Others, it seems, can’t go a month without at least one trip to Compala Airport to pick up yet another guest or fellow volunteers just stopping by for a visit. Though I would love to share my PC experience first hand, up close and personal more of you, I understand trips to visit me in one of the farthest corners of a tiny, developing country just aren’t in the cards. I have, however, been fortunate enough to have visits from my sister, Dana, this past March, and my parents this month.

It was really great for them to get a little peak into my work, to see the reality of my Peace Corps life and why I’m still here, fighting the good fight, regardless of the gamut of challenges and emotions I face on a daily basis. Hopefully my rundown of these visits will convince more of you to strap on your flip-flops, lather up with sunscreen and head on down to see me.

Dan and Rose Do El Salvador

A little over two weeks ago, my parents, Dan (AKA Captain America) and Rose, packed their bags, filled two suitcases with 78 pounds of surprises for me, and headed south to brave the heat and humidity of El Salvador. Over the course of their rapidly passing seven days spent with me in The Savior, my parents and I had a fun filled adventure, rivaled only by our Ecuadoran escapade three years ago.

I arrived at the airport fifteen minutes before their flight was scheduled to land overly anxious, dripping in sweat and with a pounding heart. After pacing a few minutes, checking the arrival board, tracking their flight status on my blackberry, I decided a trip to the bathroom would be a wise decision. I am my mother’s daughter after all, and I wasn’t quite sure how excited I’d get, if you know what I mean. (Oh, come on. Don’t pretend like that’s not funny.)

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I noticed another gringo waiting anxiously in khaki shorts and a baby blue v-neck tee, tapping his well-worn Keen hiking shoes. My first thought was, “How embarrassing! We’re wearing the same outfit! Salvadorans must think we gringos have a uniform.” Then I immediately realized it was my fellow PCV, Daniel, which explains the same wardrobe selections. I went up to him teasingly saying, “You knew it was my day to wear blue,” we hugged and then tapped our feet in unison while waiting. Daniel’s travelers, his sister and her friend, arrived first, while I was left straining to catch site of my beloved Big Boy and Rosie Baby.

My parents finally emerged from indoors, decked out in their best retiree travel wear (Dan with his nerd necklace travel organizer, Rose with her red passport cover and toenails painted to match), and glistening from the paralyzing Salvadoran midday heat. I sprinted to meet them as they exited the customs and immigrations corrals and nearly knocked them over with the force of my hugs. It’s been a little over seven months since I have been home with them, and though we talk pretty much daily, it’s the longest I’ve ever gone without actually seeing and touching them. Reunited and it feeeeels soooo gooooood.

With little delay we dragged the three rolling suitcases, two filled with my birthday treasures, and lugged my dad’s duffle to fill the trunk of our trusty little Jeep Patriot rental. We began the near four-hour drive up to my site and passed the time catching up on the details of life back at home. The ride was extremely uneventful except for the three dead horses on the side of the road and a dead armadillo for sale. I still think we could have made a tasty lunch out of them, but instead we stopped for a quick lunch at the BK Lounge in Santa Rosa before making the last push up to my site.

We finally arrived at around 4:30PM to the front of my house. Now, I’ll be honest, the façade of mi casa is certainly nothing to write home about, and I could tell both of my parents were a little tentative of staying there their first night. But, once we finally unloaded all the equipaje from the car into the front room that I never use and made our way up to my room, I knew they felt much better. The gleaming tile, soothing wall color, ceiling fan and shiny bathroom always trump first impressions.

After settling in a bit and bathroom breaks, it was time for me to quickly open my birthday suitcases. We had a dinner date with my adopted family, the Alfaros, to get to, so I had to hurry along. I was ecstatic to find new sheets from The Edmonds; towels, candy and baking mixes from Janet; a US map and muffin mixes from Vi; the Lady Gaga CD and photos from my aunts Debbie and Trisha respectively; and a mountain of goodies from my parents including Rosie’s famous zucchini bread and Cheerio Bars (though both recipes were stolen, the bread from Mrs. Miller and the Cherrio Bars from Aunt Imo), running shoes, boondoggle, new business cards, a portable hard drive, and back issues of Newsweek to name a few things.

The three of us went on a bit of a gringo parade as we walked the two and a half blocks to the Alfaros. Out front, the pupusa venta was in full swing and the whole family was waiting outside for our arrival. Now, Dan and Rose don’t speak more than ten words of Spanish, so this whole evening was an hysterical Spanglish filled event with lots of gesturing and expressive faces. Ana and I got straight to work making pizza dough for half of our big family dinner, while Dan and Rose were escorted to their seats of honor and given Fanta and Fresca to sip on. My parents’ arrival attracted some attention, and more family members than normal flooded the Alfaro’s house. The little boys were enchanted by my father’s nearly two meter stature, while Ana quickly fell in love with my mother.

As the pizza dough was rising, my dad was having a ball with the boys taking pictures and my mom and I stepped outside for a lesson in pupusa making. The heat, though normally unbearable, was made even more so by the hot plancha where the pupusas are cooked to crispy perfection. As I began teaching Rosie the art of pupusa patting and translating as fast as I could the rapid fire words that kept flying out of my mother’s mouth and the equally as fast responses from my Salvadoran tias, Ana ran out and tied a traditional apron around my waist. Everyone cracked up at this site.

Once the pupusas were finally crisped, I served my parents their first authentic taste of El Salvador: pupusas filled with bean and cheese, served with curtido, onions pickled in pinapple vinagar Abuela Maria makes, tomato sauce, and the East’s famous salsa negra. To say the least, after burning their fingers and mouths just enough to make the experience authentic, I think they really enjoyed them.

While Dan and Rose feasted on The Savior’s signature dish, Ana and I got busy making our pizza. I let Ana get her hands a little dough filled and spread the crust out on the trusty twelve-inch plancha that is good not only for pizza baking, but also cookies. (I have a lack of kitchen instruments. You have to be creative.) The first pizza we made was my and Ana’s favorite, pineapple and black forest ham. Of course the pizza took longer to bake than I anticipated, so my dad entertained himself playing canchita, basically game board soccer, with the boys (and surprisingly kicked all three little boys’ butts) while my mom and Ana continued to bond as Ana tried to teach her Spanish.

By the end of the night, we were all sufficiently stuffed with pizza and pupusas, thoroughly hydrated with sugary Salvadoran soda and bolsas de agua, and utterly exhausted. My two families hugged goodnight as a flood of Spanish and English tried to express gratitude to one another. Dan, Rose and I walked back to my house where we slung up my hammock, all got ready for bed and had a little sleepover. Just as we were laying down to rest, the rains started to fall, adding a calming ending to our first day together.

The next day, our real adventure began. We fueled up with the true breakfast of champions: fresh, warm tortillas topped with peanut butter and banana, before making the final rounds in my site and heading west. The obligatory visit to the mayor’s office was made, we stopped by my cooperative to say hello, and passed by the Alfaro’s to say goodbye. Like most kids, Ana completely fell in love with my mother and started crying as they were saying goodbye. The outpour of questions, why can’t you stay, why can’t you move here, started flowing. Mom tried to comfort Ana as best as she could, they hugged once more and we were on our way.

The ride to Suchitoto was overcast, and the skies looked downright ominous at certain points. But, as soon as we arrived in Suchitoto, the original capital of El Salvador and charming colonial town, the skies opened up and the sun was shining. We attempted to make a quick stop at the turicentro for some information on Suchi (as it is affectionately called), but silly me, I didn’t realize we arrived within the hours of noon and two, so naturally the office was closed for lunch.

We were able to easily locate our hotel, Los Almendros de San Lorenzo, which Lonely Planet writes up as one of the best hotels in the entire country. Lonely Planet I have found can sometimes be off base, especially in El Salvador, but this time they were spot on. Marcos, our charming waiter, bartender, bellboy, butler, receptionist, jack-of-all-trades, unloaded the car and quickly got us settled into our beautiful two-floor suite, complete with a stunning view of Lago Suchitlan from the balcony.

A bit famished and parched, our trio decided to almorzar before heading out to explore Suchi. We took full advantage of the hotel and its accommodations, including a stellar bar list and menu. I had my first gin and tonic since probably my birthday last year, as did Mom, while Dad decided to try a Cuban rum mojito. The mojito was so good, and the rum so tastey, Dad had to have another taste of the Cuban blend on the rocks. From the first taste he was enchanted and said, “I may have to start drinking rum.” Lunch itself was fantastic as well. It didn’t include corn, rice, eggs or beans, so for me it was a real treat.

Soon after, we ventured out to explore the colonial charm of Suchi. Being a Wednesday, the town was very quiet with not a lot of other visitors or activity going on. Of course we visited the famous Catholic church of Santa Lucia. Much to Rosie’s dismay, there was no mass scheduled so we just did a bit of a self-guided tour. From there, we explored the little shops and art galleries. We also got the opportunity to visit the turicentro that was finally reopened after lunch. The worker there was extremely helpful, but I must say, travel in El Salvador is not conducive to those who are not minimally proficient in Spanish.

The rest of the day we spent relaxing at the hotel, catching up on the last eight months of life, and discussing the finer details of development, Peace Corps and government. The hotel also had cable, which meant CNN in English! and internet, so I was in heaven. Dan managed to finish David McCullough’s book on the Brooklyn Bridge while Rosie and I gabbed. Dan and I finished the night off with a few Pilseners and Rose a banana smoothie, followed by Anderson Cooper in bed.

Day Three in The Savior finally brought a bit of adventure. We had an enjoyable breakfast at Los Almendros, attentively cared for by Marcos who appeared to have never left the premises. The novelty of foreign foods was still fresh and exciting for both of my parents and they thoroughly enjoyed the fresh chorizo and traditional Salvadoran breakfast of eggs, crema, casamiento (beans and rice), cheese, platano frito, and bread. The highlight for me, by far, was the coffee. For a country that is such a large coffee exporter, one would be lead to believe the best coffee is drunk here. On the contrary, all the good stuff is exported and we usually sip on Nestle’s Café Listo instant coffee.

With full bellies we drove down to La Puerta de San Juan about ten minutes from Suchi, to visit the Lago de Suchitan, the largest lake in the nation, if my memory serves me well. The thing to do there is go on a boat ride around the lake, but as to be expected, my mom was a bit tentative at first. These boats weren’t brand new, but they were certainly seaworthy (well, lake-worthy), and cared for. The US government actually paid for some of them as part of their FOMILENIO initiative in the northern region of the country. The intent is to improve tourism, as well as education, transportation access, to name a few themes. After walking around the nearly empty port (again, we were visiting during the week) my dad and I were able to convince my mom to a forty-five minute boat ride as long as life vests were involved. You’ve got yourself a deal, Rosie Baby! We went over to the boat dock, met our tour guide and captain, Ramon, strapped on the life vests, and boarded our lovely lake cruiser. The ride was quite enjoyable, cool, and smooth. Naturally my father had a laundry list of questions to be answered, and of course Ramon didn’t speak the English, so I did my best to translate the overly complex inquiries.

After the boat ride, we had pretty much done all that there is to do in Suchi, so we headed back to our lovely hotel that Rose and I both agreed would be a great place for an extended family reunion/vacation, if only we could get our family members to leave the country. Los Almendros is small and quaint, with just eight rooms. We packed our bags and had one more fantastic meal before saying goodbye to Marcos, June and all the other wonderful staff. By the time we arrived in Santa Ana, we were all exhausted from the four-hour drive, so internet time, cable TV in English and nightcaps sufficed.

Friday the 13^th, dun dun dun, and my 23^rd birthday, which officially makes me a senior citizen. We started off the day in Santa Ana at my favorite Central American coffee shop for breakfast, The Coffee Cup. From there, we headed to the best bakery MetroCentro has to offer, Ban Ban, to buy a couple cakes to share with my original host family, the Perezes, back in San Luis.

Without delay, we left Santa Ana and headed up to San Luis down the rocky roads and through the endless fields of sugar cane. When we arrived at my old house and poured out of the rental car, I found Mama Chila where I always used to find her, washing away at the pila. She was very excited to see me, and I was very excited to see her. I introduced her to my parents whom she had heard so much about over the course of our nine months living together. Just then, Mama Chila surprised me with what she said next; “¡Mira! ¡Tus padres son tan chiquitos como tu!” Aw, Mama Chila made a sarcastic joke: “Look! Your parents are so small just like you.” She was full of one-liners that day, including my favorite after looking at a photo just taken of her and my mom, “I look so thin next to your mom!” Oh, Salvadoran left-handed complements and tactless comments.

Most of the family was around, as well as some of my favorite kids, and they all passed by the house to say hello. I gave my parents the grand tour of my former home, including my outdoor bathing area that my sister, Dana, knows all too well, and the latrine. Eventually, we made our way to the school to check out if my maps were still intact from March, and though a little dirty from normal wear and tear and weather, they were still standing. Rose and the kindergarten teacher got into a conversation about education that I was stuck translating as quickly and accurately as I could, while my dad walked around the school with my favorite little boys, Ronald and Yefri, taking photos.

After visiting a few more friends, we headed back to the house to cut the cakes and enjoy each other’s company before heading out. Unfortunately we only had about two hours to spend with the Perezes, and all of my host family wasn’t present, but I enjoyed the time we did have together, and for certain I will be making my way back west for a visit.

From San Luis, we headed to my friend, Axel’s, site of El Congo for our monthly Peace Corps soccer match. This month, we were the main event at Axel’s community’s fiestas patronales. As usual, the ladies’ team was first on the field, so I did a quick wardrobe change, and without delay we hit the field. Our lineup, as always, was completely different than how we’ve played before, but it proved to be one of the best lineups we’ve had yet. As Rosie so kindly put it, “You guys looked like you were going to have your butts handed to you in the beginning, but you played well! It was defeat, but defeat with honor!” Oh, Mom. In the end, we only lost 3-2, which turned out to be a much better result than the boys, who should have had the mercy rule applied.

We left the boys game at halftime, but not before they could serenade me with a lovely rendition of “Feliz Cumpleaños/Happy Birthday”, and headed for our rental beach house in El Sunzal. The previous month another volunteer and her family stayed for a week at the same place, and their reviews were mixed. Of course, this ignited a bit of worry and anxiety about whether the accommodations would be up to par, or even close to what the website advertised. Upon our arrival, all my worries flew away. The perfectly laid out plan, the gorgeous chlorine pool, the absolutely breathtaking saltwater pool (though I didn’t spend too much time in it. The ocean’s dirty. Ew.), the fantastic two-story outdoor patio, and the rooms were pretty great, too. Sure, the kitchen wasn’t exactly gourmet, but the view, my goodnesss the view, certainly made up for it.

Two of the three days we spent at Los Farallones spectacular beach house were lazy ones by the pool, enjoying the sound of the waves crashing into the cliffs below. During our second day, party prep from Ros-a-Palooza, my big birthday party began. Rose and I wisely left Dan at home as we headed out for supplies. Super Selectos, AKA part central, provided us with all that we needed, including ten pounds of ground beef super especial, hot dogs, rolls, ingredients for salsa, beer, and the Salvadoran equivalent of Smirnoff Ice for Rosie Baby. One more stop at the bakery for a cake, and we were good to go.

Ros-a-Palooza day had finally arrived and I was up before the sun because there was no sun. It was rainy and I was ready to lose it. The weather had been absolutely gorgeous the entire week, and now, on the day of my party, it decides to rain? Apparently I was a very bad girl this past year. I remained busy doing as much preparation as I could, cleaning the surfaces that didn’t need to be cleaned because our caretaker, Jorge, had already cleaned, making my killer salsa, a mean pasta salad and making sure my costume was ready to go. Oh, yeah. Ros-a-Palooza was a costume party.

Around 11AM when my guests called for directions from the “party micro” the sun decided to make an appearance, and Rosie started singing and dancing, “Grey skies are gonna clear up! Put on a happy face!” and put on a happy face I did. In little over thirty minutes my guests had arrived, all eighteen of them, and the party began.

After lunch, hanging out and a nice long saltwater pool session, it was time for the main event: the costume runway show. With Lady Gaga blasting in the background, Dan and Rose positioned at the judges table and everyone lined up in alphabetical order by last name, except for me, the show started. I kicked off the runway show as Rosie the Rivetter, and was immediately disqualified in the competition for best costume because my parents couldn’t be objective. Oh, well. The show continued with all the “R” themed costumes and included The Riddler, Little Red Riding Hood, Rafel of the Ninja Turtles, a Rook, Robin Hood, Rosellen (me), Raiden, Rambo, Rednecks, Rodeo, a Road Biker, Rainbow Bright, a Retiree, to name a few. The top three prizes went to Isabel who dressed up as Rafael, Helen who creatively made a Rook costume, and Axel as the Riddler, who went so far as to have a jumpsuit and gloves made by members of his community. My friends really outdid themselves in the costume department and certainly dressed to impress!

The rest of the night, we feasted on burgers, dogs and pasta salad, until it was time for cake. In true Salvadoran fashion, I had a paper crown on my head, my face was painted with frosting and then I was asked to give a speech. Like usual when I speak publicly, I have an Old School-esque moment in which I give a brilliant response but have no recollection of what I said. Oh, well. I think it was good. Right when I finished, someone perfectly cued “Stand By Me” and a ridiculous circle group singing session began. This indeed will be a birthday I won’t soon forget.

Monday was Dan and Rose’s last day, so after the party crew finally cleared out, we packed up and headed to the capital, San Salvador. We arrived at the oasis, The Sheraton Presidente, and checked in before returning the rental car. Rosie and I then, smartly leaving Dan to putz around on the internet, headed to the artisan market to buy recuerdos of their time in El Salvador. Being the mean negotiator that I am, I got Rosie some real steals on a nativity scene, tablecloth, and more. Weighed down with her treasures, Rosie and I headed back to the Sheraton to drop off them off before heading back out to the grocery store to buy some Salvadoran goodies.

Finally we were back at the Sheraton and shared one final, wonderful dinner together. It was hard to believe that a week had already passed and the next morning I would be putting them in a cab, though thankfully Axel would be with them (he was on their flight to Atlanta) to help with the Spanish.

Tuesday morning, I enjoyed one final, indulgent meal, eggs Benedict with bacon and hash browns, with my parents before back to a diet of corn, beans and eggs (I’m being facetious. Sometimes I eat pasta, too.) The thought of getting on a bus to travel all the way back to site after the ease of travel in a vehicle was aweful. The thought of having to go back alone was dreadful. I didn’t want to say goodbye. Not yet, at least. But, as I reminded my mom as we were hugging goodbye, both choking back tears, I will be home in less than four months, this time for three weeks, this holiday season. And, like the past year, the four months will fly by.

The final hugs and kisses given, the final adioses said, and they were gone in Don Marcelo’s van with all their luggage, including two suitcases full of treasures.

I am grateful my parents even made the investment and were adventurous enough to come down and visit me. It was just one more way of illustrating their love and support for me and this Peace Corps experience. I know so many volunteers whose parents refuse to make the effort to come down, or even worse, outwardly hate it when they are down here. For this, I can never repay my parents.

I hope this recount of my parent’s visit wasn’t too boring, or repetitive, seeing as you probably have heard most of it from Rose already. Also, I hope it convinces, maybe even just one of, you to come down and visit, too. Be sure to check out our photos on Facebook. The albums are named “Dan and Rose Do El Salvador” and “Ros-a-Palooza”.

Special thank yous go out to Aunt Debbie, Aunt Trisha, Aunt Gail, Dana, Vi, Marsha and Reggie, Janet, Caitlin, Aunt Lynn and Uncle Randy for remembering my birthday. I loved all the cards and appreciate your gifts. I look forward to sharing them with my friends in site, especially the baking mixes, candy and Lady Gaga. We love us some Lady Gaga here.

Please keep me in your thoughts, and if you get a chance drop me a line, whether it be email, G-chat, or snail mail. Any news to me is good news. Best of luck with the beginning of the new school year, and keep on rocking on!