15 de septiembre

Tuesday was El Salvador's independence day! It is always a huge deal here and the celebrations, which include a parade, are so fun. Note the picture of my friend Thelma playing the trumpet in the marching band. She is the first female EVER in this town to play the trumpet, it caused quite the scandal. I am very proud of her! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

excursion!

On Wednesday, I went with 18 of the school kids, 5 parents, and one teacher from the rural school I work with to the capital to visit the David J. Guzman Museum of Anthropology and the Botanical Gardens. I received the funding for the trip from Peace Corps, and it turned out to be really wonderful. For the students, it was their first ever field trip and none of them had ever been to a museum before. In fact, I was really worried that many of them would not be able to come since their parents were so worried about letting their kids leave the community without them and especially about going all the way to the capital! In the end, every single one of the 7, 8 and 9th graders came and they all had a great time. They behaved themselves so well and I think they really got a lot out of the experience.

birthday pics

First off, I want to say thank you to everyone who called or emailed or facebooked me on my birthday this year. I had a really nice, very campo birthday celebration. My wonderful friend Candas came down to visit and my friend Stephanie also came in for the morning. In the morning we went on a boat ride on the Rio Lempa (one of my favorite activities here) and then in the afternoon I taught English in the school. In the evening we went to a friend of mine's house and we made pan con pollo, the traditional birthday meal. It was laid back and nice. That being said, it seems so strange that I am actually 25 now. 25 seems like a very grown up number and I am not sure I merit it. Especially when my dad tells me things like he was 25 when my brother was born. As a kid, I remember being certain that I would be married by the time I was 25. Nonetheless, I am very happy with where I am in life. I am proud of the things I have managed to finish and am very much looking forward to all that lies ahead. I am so blessed to have had the opportunities I have had to travel and grow and challenge myself and most of all, I am grateful for all the love in my life. The many friendships that have survived and strengthened over the years and my family and my boyfriend. So in sum, I guess I feel pretty good about being 25.