Tiday 2010 Trip to El Salvador

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Here is a link to some pictures from our trip...

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Why am I in El Salvador? My first time at Casa La Atarraya (this private Christian school in EL Salvador) was in 1994. I chose to teach English at Casa La Atarraya as my time abroad. In 2009 I returned with a group of 11 for a short term mission trip. In the spring of 2010 I asked CLA if I could again come for an extended stay, this time with my children, ages 9 and 10.

What a blessing to be able to spend 3 weeks here teaching English. My stay allows the missionary's wife to have a 3 week respite from teaching. During this time she can focus on other aspects of this growing mission school. My children participate in classes here and especially enjoy the see-saw at recess and the Hamilton family of seven. But its not all play here for them either, they also have responsibilities like trash duty.

Casa La Atarraya is a Non-profit 501c3 organization, educating 150 under-served children (Pre-k through high school) in Ashapuco, El Salvador. You can follow the link to their site by clicking the photo at left.

Good Bye El Salvador

So we have had 2 great last days of school. John and Kyle have developed a web page to raise awareness of the needs that graduating seniors have here. The cost of about $50 a month actually keeps these students from being able to go to college. By the end of the week the site should be ready to go.

The children put on a lovely performance for us today as a farewell and there was even a special appearance by the band that 3 of my students play in. It is a unique peruvian Christian band. Delightful.

It was sad to say good-bye to my co-workers, students, family (the Hamilton's) and my friend Maria del Carmen today. I am reminded of the old song "A friend's a friend forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them." But I am so glad that I had the opportunity to come. I hope that I have been at least as much of a blessing to them as they have all been to me.

Some R and R

A moment ago, I saw Luke and Gabe leaning against the wood fencing that separates the pool area from the Pacific Ocean. They were pointing and talking about who-knows-what and I could hear the waves roaring. My camera battery died so I have taken a mental picture. I have never seen a more beautiful sight.

Today we are at the beach in La Libertad. All 13 of us drove the two hours to the shore. We are each involved in our own things. Some are watching the world cup while others play water polo. Right now five of the boys are battling the intense waves while I sit in this wooden chair up on the patio. Tough life. It is so nice to be able to take a few hours to get away.

Yesterday after classes, we started painting Eric's mural. The buildings around here are covered in murals. Last weekend we drove an hour away to buy the paint for Eric and we have been working on it for the 5 days since. Eric is glad to be at the fun painting part now. Kyle and I helped him before the afternoon rains came and then some of Eric's friends helped him in the evening. It's coming together.

Last night Nate and I had a double date with Bobby and Terri. We drove to Ataco and were the only people eating in the loveliest little restaurant. The boys stayed home with everyone else while we ate and got in some shopping for souvenirs. We met the mother of the artist who is responsible for most of the murals around our area and bought a painting of hers that I have been eyeing up.

While we were out the kids, all nine of them, ran the Friday night prayer service and then played Wii. A nice variety :)

They made it safe and sound...

What a blessing to have our family together again. Nathan arrived yesterday at 5:30 PM with Roberto and Pepe, a student and a graduate from the school where I teach. It was nice to have Daddy with us all day. He is such an encouragement to me in everything. He sat in on my classes and went with the boys to class, he was even a part of our sling shot lessons. I think that it was a little strange for him not to have heavy manual labor to do at the mission today, but I think he enjoyed just seeing us and the environment we have been living in.

It rained this afternoon during sling shot lessons, so Maria del Carmen was trapped here for about 2 hours. Rain stops all travel due to the mud. Nathan and the boys and I had a lot of time to sit and talk to her. Lukey tried his spanish on her one year old daughter.

Pepe and Roberto taught gym classes all morning and even came to English to help Nate and I for a little while. This evening they went out for ice cream with some of the local kids, Caleb and Jenn. I hear it was a lot of fun and a "cultural experience". The kisses came as a bit of a shock to the guys. I warned them about the nursing women, but I forgot the kissing... :)

NOTE: Proof that we should not rely on internet translators... I got a bag of cookies today that said "vanilla enrobed cookies". I had to laugh.

Thoughts from the classroom

I have been teaching in El Salvador for 2 weeks now. I teach 5 classes a day to kids in 6th through 11th grade. There is no 12th grade in El Salvador. My students are all pretty similar in their English ability. None of them had English before this year. The biggest difference between all the classes is their developmental stage and how that affects their learning.

The textbooks that the students were using before I arrived assumed a high level of language ability, so we haven't used them at all. Terri, a missionary here and the English teacher asked me to help the students with pronunciation, adjective/noun word order and verbs. I have been doing this by helping the students to invent crazy stories and to learn to read them and answer English questions about them.

My class sizes range from 4 to 18. The students are eager to please. My 10th grade boys all come to the front of the room to shake my hand before class starts. The students are meticulous in their handwriting and love to change the color they are using. They prefer to copy the questions out of the book before answering a question and some prefer to stand when reading. The cultural differences are a lot of fun. I notice that the students use "usted" with me all the time and they use vos (a variant of tú) when speaking to each other. Usted being a sign of respect.

Schedules seem to be extremely unpredictable here. Nearly every day I either have or don't have a class for which I anticipated the opposite, even though I have a schedule. In addition, the students are not familiar with many concepts that we would never think to explain. Yesterday we read a story and discussed it. I asked the students to answer the questions after the story. Only one out of 16 students used the story as his source for the answers to the questions.

I enjoyed teaching a group to play Memory yesterday. They did not understand that they should replace the card in the same position after their turn. The wanted to put the card in a new location, making Memory a rather difficult game :). Almost no one has ever played Bingo so I have to start with the most basic of instructions and we create our boards from scratch. The kids love that I give them prizes. The prizes are plastic toys Luke and Gabe brought home at one time or another. The 17 yr. old boys really like the stickers that change when you angle them. They seem to think they are perfect cell phone decorations.

Test taking was a little tough today. I asked the kids to number their papers from 1-10. I started with one and they were to write the sound I was saying. Right from the start this group of 6th graders had trouble putting the sound by #1. One boy wrote the first answer at #4. OK, I thought, this might need more explanation. Another student sat through the whole test and wrote nothing. Once I realized I went through it all again with her.

Nathan, Kyle, and John arrive in a few hours. My entries may get shorter by necessity. I think they will keep this place hopping.

Sling Shot Lessons

A chance of a lifetime...

We purchased 40 yards of rubber band (we bought the store out actually) and met in the school playground. Maria del Carmen brought the hand sewn piece to hold the stone. She started by showing us how to hold it and how to aim. The most common sling shot here does not include a piece of wood in the shape of a "Y". You simply use your fingers and they must be strong. On her first shot M. de Carmen broke a balloon about 30 feet away. The boys were ecstatic!

The simple construction is amazing. With 6 strands of rubber band a good shot can kill a bird. With 10 one could kill a rabbit or squirrel. She has started all the boys on 3 rubber bands. When she told me yesterday that there was a crazy man who lived near her, I asked her if she had a way to protect herself. She said she carries her ten string. I have no doubt she could be deadly.

Carmen is a good instructor. She is patient and explains things clearly and in an encouraging manner. She may not have even finished high school. Today she wanted to show me her handwriting :). She lives in an adobe home that they found deserted last December. She says that she will live there until someone throws them out.

Carmen is also a nursing mother. You might ask why I mention this. It is typical in this culture to nurse very openly. I have been proud of my boys. They don't even bat an eye lash when Carmen pulls a breast out in the middle of a sling shot lesson. They think she is amazing and call her "Legolas (from Lord of the Rings) with a slingshot". And she adores them. Gabe has been trying to think of how he could sell her rabbit skins in the states so that he can give her some money.

A day for trekking

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

"For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep..." Acts 13:36

Lord, I really want to serve your purpose in my generation. (I am not in a particular hurry to "fall asleep"...lol)

I took a seat on a metal chair in the adobe home of my friend Maria del Carmen. The home has one room. There is a bed in a corner for the family of 4 and about four feet to walk around it. Jennifer was staring over my head and asked "So do you eat rabbit?" I looked up and saw rabbit skins fastened to the wall.

"Yes. I kill them with my sling shot." Maria del Carmen's slingshot made of rubberbands and a piece of leather was sitting on the table beside me. Unbelievable. Her father had taught her when she was 3. Now she can use up to 20 rubberbands and feeds her family with the game she brings in.

So as a mother of 2 boys, I had to ask, "Could you teach this to my children?" Knowledge is a beautiful thing. You don't need to be wealthy to teach what you know to another person. She asked that they bring rubber bands for their first half our lesson. We will pick a few up today at the market.

Jennifer, Eric and I to her house because her daughter is showing signs of intestinal parasites. By God's grace, I was able to contact my medical friends in the US and relay the symptoms. They told me the prescription and I bought 5 days worth (the entire round) for 9 dollars at the pharmacy here (no prescription, just coaxing, was needed).

So we trekked beyond the walls of the mission in a couple of ways yesterday. We also climbed one of the smaller volcanos. It was a hard hike up. I don't think the coffee famers who use the path ever heard of using switch backs to ease the journey. The path was muddy and at some points actually a stream bed, but at the top we were rewarded, each in our own way. I got to see an acre of water lilies that are identical to mine in my garden at home. Luke found the perfect climbing tree. On the way back we took the road and the kids and I enjoyed finding bamboo which we brought home in the form of swords and a lovely bundle to decorate our room.

After our hike we stopped by a town called Ataco. We had been trying to go since we arrived, but the tropical storm held us up. Ataco is lovely. Like Ahuachapán, there are many murals, but it is far more quaint. The shopping was fabulous. It is hard to restrain a foreign language teacher in a store with authentic cultural items. Good thing I was short on money.

We came home and Caleb baked cookies for us all and for the first time we watched a movie. It was a relaxing evening and good day of exploring.

I had an email message from my principal. She says that the local paper heard about our "skypinar" and is doing an article on it. That's exciting. :)

Three and a half days until my husband arrives!

Our Second Friday

So yesterday I was standing outside of my room at recess. The young girls love to come over and talk. The topic of our conversation was... how many people have died in your family?They were all counting and naming cousins, grandmothers... etc.

Today at church I was talking with my friend Maria del Carmen. She asked if I like to cook. I said that, no, I don't really. I asked her what she likes to do. She said that she likes to cook, collect firewood, and pick fruit. We can add that to her tree climbing from our last conversation. Well.. she is living in the right place. It is so eye opening! It reminds me of a conversation I had with an amish woman at a picnic once. I asked her if her mother lived far away and she said,"Yes. Twenty miles away." I must have looked surprised because she added, "That is far on horseback." I really enjoy cultural differences.

This morning was painful. It seems that the government of El Salvador (socialist) has just issued a revised student handbook for all schools. Principals are required to read the new book in the hearing of all the students. Thirty-five minutes later I knew the proper size of girl's earrings, the PDA rules, the importance of uniforms and... my butt really hurt.

There were a few disturbing things today. One was that I learned that one of my students here transferred to CLA because they were abused by a teacher. The student has to travel 2 hours to get to school and then again to get home. The student is now beginning to come out of their shell. Another piece of sad news is that the Language Arts teacher resigned today. Jennifer (age 20) will be taking over the class until a replacement is found. Terri felt bad about the whole thing.

I really enjoyed my middle schoolers today. They wrote a great story about a boy and his blue winged bicycle which broke and dropped him into the Atlantic Ocean on his way to the World Cup. They are so creative :)

Luke and Gabe had a great day. They both went to classes all day, mostly math, computers and gym. They are so cute at recess when they play on the "sube y baja", the see-saw, with all the boys. It looks dangerous to me. I notice that none of the little girls are getting on that thing.

I look forward to Nathan coming to join us. He and I often just keep the Skype on so that he can hear our conversations and I can talk to him at any moment :). Nathan is bringing 2 teenagers with him, Pepe and Roberto. We are all looking forward to their arrival. Caleb wants to start preparations tomorrow.

Thursday July 1st

NOW I introduce and commend to you our sister Phoebe...help her in whatever matter she may require assistance from you, for she has been a helper of many including myself [shielding us from suffering]. Romans 16:2

The "shielding us from suffering" part has been sticking out to me. We are among people here who can't scrounge up $3 to pay for a month of school. We can't take them out of this, but we can shield them from suffering a little at a time.

Last night at church my new friend Maria del Carmen was talking to me about many things, one of which was her husband's lack of work. I had noticed that she never too any of the food that we distribute and I asked her why. She said because she had no money for the offering, she couldn't take any food. I took her to Eric (age 18, and wonderful translator for last night's service) who generously supplied her with food. She misunderstood the relationship between the offering and the food distribution. She has misunderstood for a long time. :(

I told Maria del Carmen that she had given to me just this week. She brought me bananas and mangoes. I asked her why she didn't consider her offering of fruit, which she also brings to church, a true offering. She said that it wasn't money. Anyway, Eric and I helped her carry home her food.

As a part of our earlier conversation, Maria del Carmen had asked about my boys. I told her that they like to climb trees. I had to laugh when she said, "Me too! I climbed the tree to get your bananas." Well, how about that!

Yesterday in school, Gabe had a language breakthrough. He sat on the see saw with 4 boys and he and the boy on his side counted to 150 together in Spanish. Today in school both boys came to my 3rd grade English class and we had a great time. Gabe helped me to put together a game of Bingo and Luke participated just like the the other kids.

Today was a full day of teaching. I really enjoyed my students. Most of them are some tough looking boys, but in class they seem to have hearts of gold. I am finally beginning to be able to tell them apart a little bit. One had a birthday today. He put the sticker that I gave him (age 18) on his cell phone.

I have begun a website to help my students after I leave. It will be a place that they can go and find the English sounds for the vowels. I have been teaching them about short and long vowel sounds. I am also posting activities for them to do next week when we have our computer lab time and the stories that they have been learning. It is interesting that poverty has not separated these students from technology. They understand cell phones, ipods, websites and there is not even a movie theatre for 2 hours in any direction.

claingles.blogspot.com is our english website if you are interested. :)

"Skypinar" with Brenda Leibundgut

Today Brenda Leibundgut, the principal at Carlisle Christian Academy, did a seminar for us at Casa La Atarraya. I translated and the teachers could see Brenda on my computer as well as her power point projected on the wall. Yesterday we were pleased to have a presentation from Maggie Lattin, director of student development. You can see me translating here and Caleb running the equipment.

A tropical storm...

Snow days are far more familiar to me than "rain days". On Monday only 50% of the kids came to school and at the end of the day we learned that the government had officially closed school for 2 days due to the tropical storm. There were no high winds... just rain, but apparently last Fall 300 people died in mud slides so... no school.

It made for an unexpected turn of events. Thanks to some of my teacher friends from home we had our first teacher seminar via skype today (in lieu of regular school) and another one is set for tomorrow. Teachers still come to school on "rain days", so we needed to fill the day beneficially. Maggie Lattin prepared a seminar on team work in the christian school and we had a "skypinar". The teachers were interested and full of questions when it was all over.

On Monday's small classes were a good opportunity to begin TPRS (Teaching Profficiency through Reading and Story-telling). We wrote some great stories and the kids got their first lessons in English pronunciation. My favorite story that the kids wrote was about a boy from class (Edgardo) who had a pink Ferrari. It was stolen by his mechanic and he was so glad. I expected Edgardo to tell me he was sad but he said (in Spanish), "No. I am happy because gas is very expensive." So Edgardo rode his magic bicycle to South Africa where he was the goalie for Brazil's World Cup team. We thoroughly enjoyed writing it (10th graders) and learned our grammar and vocab points.

Later that day Edgardo saw me with a pile of 10 books and came to ask if he could carry them for me. I have been here for a week and I am so glad to have 2 more ahead. I am just beginning to get my feet on the ground.

This morning I woke up 4 minutes before I had to be at a teacher meeting. That is one of the benefits of living at school. I put my hair up and threw on a dress and was there right on time. :) Today after the "skypinar" all the teachers wiped the mud off of the desks with water from the "pila" (an outside sink/reservoir). Then I went to another teacher meeting where we brainstormed fundraising. The teachers want to raise $150 to buy a banner and a flag. Their plan is to have 4 movie/video game events where the students pay .25 to participate. It was interesting to see the school staff discuss this.

OK, so I just heard a big crash! I jumped up to see if Luke and Gabe had pulled over a piece of equipment or a dresser. Caleb ran in because he heard me freaking out as I was separated from my boys by a locked door and said, "Don't worry. It's a coconut falling on the roof."

"Tin foil wars" have been brought to El Salvador and finally the "peanut butter and jelly tortilla" has arrived. Luke and Gabe are sure to leave their imprint here. Today we took the golf cart to visit a girl that Luke met last year. Kenya is 10 years old and her family lives on a corn, mango and orange farm. This was Luke and Gabe's first time to a local home. I guess that I hadn't realized that they had missed the trips to homes all the other mission trips. Kenya had been in the hospital just this morning and had blood taken. Her family is concerned because she is "pale". They took blood. I am suspicious that it could be iron deficiency caused, perhaps, by parasites. Kenya's home is in a beautiful area. The home is aluminum and bamboo with a dirt floor. There is no running water but there is electricity for a little TV.

Gabe did his first class in Spanish on Monday. Jennifer said it was time for Gabe to leave the house and she brought him to the 3rd grade. The class was playing a math game and Gabe proceeded to win by more than double every other player's points.

Our first Sunday

A long lazy morning inside (tropical storm), an afternoon World Cup game, and an evening church service. We enjoyed the change of pace for a Sunday :)

It was a relaxing day today. I worked for many hours preparing for tomorrow's classes. I made 2 posters about English pronunciation and 4 simpler posters about vocabulary. There is no poster board here and only one red marker, but I think it turned out pretty nice. I'm sorry to say that I think I killed the red marker...

After lunch I decided to go outside to read and made an unexpected friend. The rain had temporarily abated and I had a great seat in a chair made of coffee branches. I thought It would be a lovely spot... then Futbolito discovered me. "Lito" is a mangy looking dog but a real sweetheart. He came and dropped a coconut beside my chair. I threw the "ball" for him 10 times or so. When I decided to stop he just couldn't understand. "Lito" dropped the coconut on my foot and finally in my lap. Later he came back with a rock and tried to convince me. "Lito" is a pet and not one of the guard dogs. He sleeps in the church at night when the guard dogs are released. He was once nearly torn to pieces by them :/. He is a medium sized blond mutt.

At church, I seem to have made a friend. Her name is Maria Carmen and she is about 18 yrs old with 2 young girls. One was in the hospital this week with stomach pains and diarrhea. I suspect that it is intestinal parasites. I hope they gave her some albendazole. It makes me wish I had some on me like we do in Haiti. Maria Carmen sits behind me in church and always wants to chat a little bit after service. I think she is the only girl her age. She lives by the banana trees behind the school.

We laughed so hard tonight over bamboo. Caleb and Jennifer were telling me that there is Bamboo behind the house. I got all excited because I have been wanting to grow some at home. (I know its a customs issue) We talked all about the bamboo and and finally I asked something about its growth and Caleb says, "Oh. Its dead." "Dead?" I said. "You are telling me all about the bamboo and then its not even alive? That's like telling me you have a dog, but its dead..." We just laughed and laughed.

Luke and Gabe played all day other than a half hour of math/ reading to keep up their skills. Tonight Luke played "Oh the Wonderful Cross" for the church. He did a real good job. Then the 6 of us plus "virtual Nate" played Phase 10 and Gabe won.

We were all extremely thankful to have electricity today. We lost it about 5 times but it didn't really affect us.

Our first Saturday

We wrapped up last evening with a game of Phase 10. 6 of us played plus Nate via Skype. We set Nathan's cards in front of the video camera and it was almost like he was here. The only trouble we had was... we all wanted him to pass us the chips he was eating. They sounded delicious :). Nate was a threat in cards from 1,000 miles away.

So Saturday mornings are chore time. Luke, Gabe, Jacob and Kevin (the boy who came to play today) went around the school collecting garbage. The dogs got washed. The lawn was mowed and week wacked. The gardens were weeded. The wood pile was moved to the school kitchen. I was mostly just Caleb's helper. I tried to lighten his cleaning load by straightening the computer room and my bed room/bath. In the end my bed-making was less than satisfactory and Caleb had to re-do it. He is more than a little obsessive :). I just don't have the gift. Terry says he won't let her make her own bed.

So after lunch we watched the disappointing Ghana v/s USA game on TV. The tension was high! And then the rains started. It seems that we are in a tropical storm that is slated to become a hurricane in Mexico later next week. That said, the dogs have been released and we are in for the rest of the day.

The dogs are the security system. No one goes out here after dark (or in tropical storms) due to some intense gang violence that seems to pervade El Salvador. So once we are inside the dogs are released. Their barking alerts Bobby of trouble. I hear them bark a lot in the middle of the night. I must not be attuned to the difference between the danger bark and the "squirrel" bark. :)

Two weeks ago there was a break here in the "bodega" (storage room). The piano and some food bags were stolen. One of the dogs was cut to the bone by a machete. He is OK now and the bars that were bent have been replaced with better ones.

So... not much else to say as we all try to occupy ourselves here. Caleb made cookies. Terry is studying for a Psychology test. I was reading Pride and Prejudice and the kids are on Runescape.

NOTE: Terry tried to explain to the teachers the concept of the grass being greener on the other side. She said it was hopeless... no one has grass.

Parent /Teacher conferences day

The more things change... the more they stay the same...

Ok, so I am in meetings all day today. It doesn't seem to matter that I have travelled a thousand miles and that I am living in eternal summer surrounded by poverty. Most homes have no running water, little electricity, no cars, no sanitation, illiteracy and gangs are rampant and the topic of conversation at both the parent/teacher meeting and the teacher in-service...

• dress code violations
• cell phone usage (texting, etc.)
• tuition not covering costs

Other than the language difference and the lack of A/C... I could have been in Carlisle, PA. I had the opportunity to do a power point for the teachers about harmony in the school setting. I used my wonderful principals illustration of us all being on a bus. Everyone must be in the correct seat for the bus to be balanced. I used PS 133 as the key verse.

So tuition here is $3 per month plus an extra dollar if you are unable to help for your turn in the kitchen. Most mother's are single parents and making the $3 a month is a struggle. Thanks to the support of churches and individuals this school is one of the nicest in the area and charges half as much because it seeks to minister to the poorest of the poor. The teachers here are Christians who are dedicated to education but who earn half of what the public school can pay and this causes a fast turn-over of teachers. The Public school is a tenured position and although less beautiful and even less adequate materially, it does provide benefits and a nice pay check (there is still prayer in the public school here).

Next year, Casa La Atarraya hopes to double teacher salaries to become competitive with the public schools. This would also mean serving twice the number of students (half morning and half afternoon). Today in the meetings, the teachers were brainstorming ways to raise funds. It looks like a talent show and a kindergarten beauty pageant are in the works :)

So between meetings I have been cleaning the English classroom. Things get incredibly dirty here. Nothing a little soap and water can't fix.

NOTE: The black grapes... are wonderful! Caleb (age 16?) says that my mom taught him the most effective way to do dishes :). Way to go Mom!

A few fun thoughts for a Friday morning...

1. It is very strange to be the tallest teacher at staff devotions. Especially when 1/3 are men.

2. By 6:30 this morning (when I got out of bed) Gabe had already run 2 miles with Bobby and his wife and played basketball. Gabe and Josh lost.

3. Public schools here still have chapel and prayer.

First day of classes

It is so beautiful and cool here in the morning. I walk about 40 steps from the house door to my classroom. All the classrooms open out onto a garden that is blossoming with flowers.

Today I taught 5 English classes. The kids find English very difficult. There is only one book in the room and it belongs to the teacher. I have a desk and a white board :). There is no tray for the eraser... that keeps throwing me off, not to mention that the board isn't computerized. I know "poor you". But you do get used to those kinds of things. lol. My classes range from about 6 students (seniors) to 16 and I am teaching 6th to 11th grade. There is no 12th grade in this system.

Remembering that I was teaching them English was occasionally a problem. I would look at a student and very slowly say, "¿Qué te gusta hacer?" Then I'd realize that I was speaking the wrong language. I just laughed and moved on.

I loved hearing about all of their likes and dislikes. The students were very attentive. One little boy stayed after class to give me a silk flower :). Another little girl came in later to show me her poetry. It was quite good actually. She mixed up her "b's" and "v's" which is typical in Spanish speakers :). So fun to see though...

At the end of the day, my last class didn't show up. I went to see where they were and found out that instead of the 8th and 9th grade for 45 minutes I would have the 3rd grade for an hour. I was not exactly prepared for that, but we had fun. We wrote an English story about a rat that wanted to eat a ball that an elephant had. The elephant threw the ball to an alien and the rat cried. It was a tragedy.

After school we went for icecream :) The murals in town are phenomenal. We don't live in town. We live on the outskirts in a village called Ashapuco. The town is a bustling place called Ahuachapán.

NOTE: Bread all comes with the word"BIMBO" written on the bag and there is NO electricity or water on Sunday's. Great!

Arrival Day

Mud slides with rocks as big as trucks. We kept joking that in the USA we have signs that say falling rocks, but I never see any real rocks... but here there are no signs and the rocks could crush your whole car! Mud slides in Guatemala and ES are causing long rides from the airport :) but after 15 hours of travel yesterday (DCA airport to mission) we arrived!

My boys have been wonderful travelors. We all had a good laugh when it took us 10 minutes to go 10 feet with our luggage. Finally Gabe says, "SO, where IS dad?" Eventually we found the carts and with help from a stranger we were moving again.

I love the quotable quotes that come from kids. As I said the car ride was a bit long. Luke and Gabe continuously asked "¿Hemos llegado ya?". If you are 9 or 10 and are only going to know one phrase in a foreign language... it might as well be "Are we there yet?" When Bobby said, "40 more minutes" and 20 minutes later said, "30 more minutes" the boys were getting antsy. Finally I said, "Guys, this really isn't a science..." Luke looked at me and said, "I'm not talking science here Mom. This is Math. After 20 minutes, there should be only 20 minutes left." All the while we are passing dump trucks leaving a mud slide because the rocks are too BIG to fit in a truck.

We arrived at the mission one bag short (hope it turns up!). But seeing the whole Hamilton Family (5 kids and Bobby and Terri) and the school was wonderful. Caleb (10th grade) had prepared a great room for us and made us all Mac-n-cheese. Breakfast in the USA, lunch in Guatemala, and dinner in El Salvador.

NOTE: McDonald's in Guatemala delivers, has door greeters and table service!