Quick Update---

The past two weeks have been extremely busy with the graduation preparations and with going away parties for friends. My sadness continues as it pains me to leave...

Fotitos:

August 06/09
El Tazumal

I went to go visit my aunt in Nahuilingo again but this time I was lucky to hitch a ride with her husband and go to El Tazumal and Lago Coatepeque.

While I was at El Tazumal I couldn't help feeling frustration. For a country that is rich in archeological history the size of El Tazumal was disappointing. I met the director of the site, he was a wonderful man that gave us a tour through the small museum. He grew up in the area and told me that unfortunately due to lack of education many of the sites have been destroyed. He also told me that when he was a child he used to find different artifacts in his backyard. Most of the items he found were little clay pots or vases. People would often use them to store their pens and pencils failing to realize the actual significance of these articles. Unbeknown-st to them these cups/vases/pots etc were once used to collect blood. El Tazumal was once a ritual site for the Mayan's and for this reason different tombs have been found in the area.

Interesting facts:
-The Mayan's determined one's profession/calling in life depending on what day you were born and what their calendar dictated.

-Remains have been found in the area that are over 2 meters in length. This is strange because it was known that most indigenous people in the area were quite short in stature. According to the director the reason this was possible goes back to the fact the Mayan calendar dictated the type of life a baby/child would lead. Meaning that if the calendar indicated that a baby was to be brought up to be an athlete he (most likely a male) would be fed items that would make him strong for example meats while there rest of the population continued to consume legumes, vegetables, and grains.

- The highest honour for an athlete was to die during competition. Often the loser's head would be cut of and used as a ball.

- Jade was worn (still worn) to keep evil spirits away.

- Usually after the killing of an enemy, the enemy would be skinned and their skin would be worn.

- There is a river that flows under El Tazumal

- People have often said that they hear spirits in the area. (Director said it is the noise from the river)

- it can be argued that the first people to settle were Olmecs, (they had the ritual of bloodletting and a mesonamerican ballgame). According to the director we are all descendants of Olmec tribes because they made a large influence not only in ES but all over North, Central and South America.

El Tazumal

Lago Coatepeque (Cerro de Culebras in Nahuatl)

I also visited Lago Coatepeque, which is a crater formed by a volcanic eruption. The lake like El Tazumal are both located in Santa Ana.

Lago Coatepeque

Posada en El Cielo

All my fans deserve a lengthy update....basically things are winding down and I can't help to feel a sense of nostalgia. :(...

01-August-09 to 03-August-09
The first week of August is a national holiday for the department of San Salvador. Most of the population has this week off for “Las Fiestas Patronales.” Most of us at CIS had plans to leave the country for this week. The girls decided to head to Guate while I had made plans to visit La Palma, in Chalatenango. During August 01 to 03 I was up in the mountains (2400 mts of elevation)of El Salvador away from the blistering heat I often go through in San Salvador.

Getting to the mountains of La Palma was quite a trek, we took a bus that takes you up close to the border of Honduras which took about two hours to get to San Ignacio. During this bus ride we went through many cities, one that stuck out was Apopa. It was in Apopa where I witnessed about 40 vendors traversing on the bus to sell random things. Eduardo and I made a game from that point; we counted how many vendors got on the bus at each stop. Finally when we did arrive at San Ignacio we waited another hour to take another bus to take us up a very steep mountain. The view going up was spectacular, as the bus struggle to go up I would see palm trees and then pine trees. I felt the cold breeze, and saw the white puffy clouds. I felt like I was in heaven. This was perhaps the first time I had seen clouds so close I could almost extend my hand out the window and touch them. We spent the night at “El Posada del Cielo” it was beautiful; we were surrounded by pine trees, and clouds. When I got there I saw people wearing scarfs, and toques. Meanwhile I show up wearing a tank top, jeans, and flip flops like I'm experiencing a Canadian summer. At night while everyone was sipping on hot chocolate by the fire place I was chillin' on the terrace with a cold Pilsner.
Unfortunately half my pictures were deleted because someone was trying to use my camera but my camera has English settings...

On August 3rd, I went to La Libertad and spent the day at the beach....FUNN... More updates tomorrow....

La Palma, Chalatenango

What is the difference between you and a tourist? blog assignment number...I lost count Larissa :p

I have been avoiding this blog assignment not because it's not a great topic but because there are so many angles I can approach it. For me personally for this experience I do feel like a tourist at times but being Salvadoran I don't fit the stereotypical look I would rather adhere to the term traveler. Even when I am with the rest of the volunteers and interns at CIS I just tend to blend into the background and receive less attention from the locals.

I think tourism is a good thing for El Salvador in order to help the country economically. One of my students said yesterday while we did an assignment on tourism, “Tourism is good because then people will know we exist.” Upon further reflection on this it is true people don't realize what the small country of El Salvador has to offer. Often people associate the country with war. Mind you the country did go through a twelve year civil war however the ecotourism in El Salvador is spectacular. I have forever changed my ways. I was the type of person that can appreciate beauty but just don't ask me to hike a long trek with you. Now I find myself planning a five hour hike through “El Impossible” perhaps the country's most outstanding wildlife sanctuaries. I may bitch while I am hiking but I will complete the whole hike...lol

Last night while I was asking my students about their vacation (San Salvador has a week long vacation) we discussed the ongoing trend of turning Civil War history into a tourism draw. Perquin a town in Morazan use to be the headquarters for the FMLN during the war. Now there is a museum to display different memorabilia from the era. “Museum of the Revolution” features cannons, uniforms, weaponry, among other things that were used during the war by the guerilla. I asked my students what they thought about that. I also brought the argument that some think that foreigners know more about El Salvador than its own citizens. One student voiced that, “it is important to know this things in order to know our own history. Salvadoran people do not know about their past because they don't like to read and educate themselves.” Another student brought another interesting point, he said “I think civil war tourism is good for foreigners but for locals not good because some people don't want to remember the bad things.”

El Salvador is the first Central American country to promote their civil war history as a tourism draw. Perhaps Nicaragua will be next, the one thing I am sure is that more people are coming to ES not only for the beautiful beaches but to learn of the history. This is something that I am proud of because it is a country that people can travel through and learn instead of limiting themselves to a resort.

I know that I went on a bit of a tangent but hey.....this thing is informal...:p